Page images
PDF
EPUB

THE

OVERLAND MONTHLY.

DEVOTED TO

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY.

VOL. IX. (SECOND SERIES.)-JANUARY, 1887. -No. 49.

THE PUNTACOOSET COLONY.

Upon the first day of September, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, Gila Cañon was a pleasant little sequestered mountain nook, as yet unvisited by foreign footsteps and untouched by any hand excepting that of generous, unspoiling nature. At the one side, the rocks rose somewhat steeply, with almost level summit, though here and there broken into craggy and picturesque outline, and, like a fortifying wall, seemed to shut out the scene in that direction from all human communication. At the other side with less appropriate adaptation to the valley's designation, the ground sloped gently away in a broad rolling expanse, dotted here and there with single oaks or smaller trees in groups,and giving fair prospect of rich herbage in the intervening open, sunlit spaces. At either extremity of the prospect stood dark groups of giant pines, shutting out with their towering masses of interlaced branches great segments of the eastern and western skies; and in the centre ran along with gentle murmur, a little silvery stream--the mere initial and harmless thread of what, when swollen deep and turbid with the thaw of spring, became a roaring and impetuous torrent.

No life was to be seen within the cañon

VOL. IX.-1.

[ocr errors]

at any time excepting that of congregated birds and insects, or where some little frightened brown hare would now and then scamper wildly across from thicket to thicket, or where at night the dusky forms of equally timid coyotes would sit complacent in the bright moonlight, and utter their unmelodious echoes. Once in a while there might chance to appear a circle of rudely constructed huts, while for a day or two, a score of Digger Indians made their encampment; but these poor vagabonds of the soil seldom remained there for any length of time, being little attuned to the natural beauties of the place, and preferring other more cherished localities, where acorns and pine burs were to be found in thicker profusion.

Upon the first day of the ensuing month, the whole location swarmed with restless and excited men, not fewer than a thousand active adventurers having been there collected. The pretty little stream, so long and pleasantly undisturbed in its peaceful and forgotten flow, had become smaller and more threadlike still, and its natural brightness all defiled; for a dam had been rudely. thrown across it a furlong or so above, and a shallow trench hollowed out on one side,

(Copyright, 1886, by OVERLAND MONTHLY CO. All Rights Reserved.

Commercial Publishing Company, Printers.

[blocks in formation]

of dingy tents marked the base of the southern slope, with a few brush huts intermingled, and here and there the more pretentious and aristocratic feature of a log hut. The nearest pines had already been felled to the ground, and the whole surface was made ghastly with white stumps and withering branches, while the symmetry of the more distant groups was destroyed by ragged gaps where the most valuable and available of the massive trunks had been brought to the earth. The day-long song and hum of birds and insects was either hushed, or drowned by the louder cry and turmoil of labor; and at night the shrill-barking coyotes no longer held their confederate concerts in the open valley, but sat apart upon the sloping hillside, silent and amazed, as they watched the flashing leap of blazing camp-fires, and listened to the unaccustomed ring of convivial chorus.

In all this scene of desolation and destruction, there appeared to be only one pleasant counterpoise; and this was where, a grove of pine being cleared away toward the eastern end of the narrow plain, more sunlight was allowed to stream through the open gap, and far beyond, in the almost illimitable distance, could now be seen the jagged, snow-clad peaks of a hitherto unnoticed spur of the giant Nevada range, flashing white and glistening over the whole prospect, and seeming to shed a gleam or two of their sparkling radiance even into this secluded corner.

Of course the secret of all this change is of ready comprehension. Gold in pleasant and encouraging abundance had been discovered in the valley. Not in impalpable dust, or running in fine threads through tenacious quartz, demanding furnaces, crushers, a laboratory of amalgams, the skill of the chemist, and a general concentration of capital, before it could be extracted; but in hard, solid lumps, from the size of a shot to the weight of many ounces, with here and there a pretty well authenticated story of a pound or two--lying loose upon the foundation rock of creek and valley bed, and only requiring the spade and pick, with the labor of strong and active arms, for its possession. For it had happened that a few days before, a party of three men who had been out prospecting, feeling hungry, and faint, and dispirited with ill-success, had stopped upon their homeward way back to Scorpion Gulch, and encamped for the night in this little valley. These men were Colonel Rollock, a handsome, dashing fellow, one of those magnetic men, full of fire and good feeling, who always carry everything before them, and almost in spite of themselves are pushed into the front in any emergency; Mark Redfern, a quiet, unassuming man of the yeoman class of life: and a short, thick-set sailor, rejoicing in the name of Ohio's Pride. This appellation had been given him, it might be stated, not with complimentary allusion to the great commonwealth of that name, but merely in sarcastic reference to the frigate Ohio, from which, as it lay in San Francisco Bay, he had escaped at dead of night, and to which vessel it was scarcely considered that he had been either an ornament or of abundant service.

It might at first sight have seemed singular that three men of such dissimilar character and condition should have consorted in any enterprise. But it happened that they were all from Puntacooset, a little town in one of the far-east States. They

had never met while at home; and if they had, would certainly not have become in any way associated. But in California, the fact of their similar nativity, as it had accidentally developed itself at another mine, had drawn them into temporary communication; and when becoming better acquainted, as soon happened, it was found that their widely differing careers had given to each a fund of adventurous recollection, making him not at all disagreeable to the others.

Now having encamped upon the border of the little stream, Mark Redfern, in idle mood and with scarcely perceptible expectation of any result, but rather from mere force of habit, had carelessly washed out in the camp flour-pan a pound or two of sand from the banks of the little stream, and had found a residuum of four or five grains of bullet gold. This at once aroused the flagging spirits of the whole party, and making further search, they soon found more. Then they proceeded to pitch their tent, preparatory to a longer stay, unshipped the rocker, and began deliberate work. The very first day they took out fifteen ounces and were pretty well contented-the next day six ounces only, and were proportionately dispirited. But upon the third day the luck again changed, and they washed out fiftythree ounces, including one rich nugget weighing almost half a pound; and then they began to believe that upon the whole they had stumbled upon a pretty fair thing.

In fact, with such a flattering prospect, it seemed that they might have speedily enriched themselves, had they only been wise. and kept their secret. But it chanced that upon the third night, Ohio's Pride volunteered to run over to Kelly's Gap--the nearest mine--and purchase some tobacco for the party. Now their pipes had been empty for many days, and they were not averse to getting a new supply; being rather cross, in fact, for the want of it. So they. very willingly let him go; charging him, at

the same time, with many injunctions about caution and secresy.

"Let me alone for that, boys," responded Ohio's Pride. "Let me alone for that. You may string me up if I let out a single word that I should keep to myself."

With that he went off, shaking his head sagely in token of his fixed confidence in his own sagacity, and in due time arrived at Kelly's Gap, still occasionally shaking his head to himself. But when he had purchased a few pounds of Cavendish, he still lingered; and being of a thirsty disposition and convivially inclined, he must needs invite all the neighboring hangers-on to drink with him, and after that he drank in turn with them. Then once more they drank with him; and by that time, having lost much of his boasted caution and sagacity, he proceeded to pay for the whole score out of the half-pound nugget.

[blocks in formation]

This, accompanied with a significant wink, was his pleasant idea of caution, he being already pretty drunk; and in his own mind he congratulated himself upon his marked discretion, and drew a vivid picture of the amusement with which his companions of the camp would listen to his description of the manner in which he had rebuffed the whole crowd.

But of course he had already told enough. There was a good-natured laugh at his caution, and one or two slapped him upon the back commendingly, and paid him a few rough compliments, and then they took another drink; and so, after a minute or two, that subject was dropped and seemed forgotten. Perhaps it really was forgotten

by many of them, and those who remembered it were generally too indifferent or inefficient to build any plan upon it. But there was one quiet man in gray sitting at the end of the counter, with his arms folded and his slouch hat pulled over his eyes, who had said nothing at all; and, in fact, from the moment the lump of gold was displayed, had seemed to fall into a doze. When the conviviality gave indications of approaching its end, this quiet man in gray began slowly to awaken, and with a yawn sauntered into the open air; and as soon as Ohio's Pride had started back upon his old spare-ribbed horse, the quiet man was also on horseback, following at a safe and proper distance, and so tracked him to the camp. He, being in turn watched, in a day or two ten or twelve others knew the secret; and then, naturally, since the thing had gone so far, in twenty-four hours longer a thousand had heard of it. And with that, the great rush at once began.

Cañon.

The neighboring mines had been paying poorly for a while past, and the thoughts of almost everyone had been turned longingly to a change, if they could tell where to go. So now, from Baker's Ridge and Scorpion Gulch, from Basket Hill and Kelly's Gap, from Rattlesnake Bend and Fiddler's Delight, the vast throng of the unsuccessful and the uneasy took up their route for Gila Some on horseback with long rockers strapped crossways on the crupper; some on foot with only rifle and wash-pan; companies with tents and mules and provisions for a winter's stay--all these journeyed towards that common focus; some few of them openly avowing their destination, but the majority, without especial reason and from mere force of habit, keeping up a pretence of mystery and saying nothing about Gila Cañon, but rather seeking to inculcate a belief in their return to San Francisco, mining as they declared-being pretty well played out.

"Just my luck!" said Ohio's Pride, as with unspeakable disgust he watched the

eddy and play of the ever increasing crowd about him. "It wouldn't have happened to anyone but myself--now would it? I didn't open my mouth except to tell them that I wouldn't tell them anything. And now, just see what has come of it. If I had only known the other night that there was some one behind me, dogging me home--” With that he signified his further intention rather by gesture than word. But now, of course, any violent procedure, either as a preventive or remedy, was altogether too late. He could scarcely expect to conquer and drive out of the mine a thousand people. And so, having been from that time ignominously repulsed from all partnership with his late associates, who in turn soon after separated as different interests drew them apart, he could only take his tin wash-pan to some little out-of-the-way and unappropriated corner of the valley, where, with good luck and much hard work, he might make his two dollars a day, and nurse his wrath, and curse his fate, and wish that he could even now find out which was the man who had followed him out from Kelly's Gap the night he went to bring the tobacco, and in spite of all temptations, observed such marked discretion.

Still the throng increased, as the news spread more widely. Even distant mines, as far as Pete's Plantation, Crusoe's Claim, and Long Pine Hill, began to send their deputations. Then, as the tidings flew eastward, carried thither in the mouths of some who still prospected for yet brighter chances, it struck the wagon-trail from the Missouri Forks, and turned into that new channel many of the overland emigrants; so that soon there was scarcely a day in which white topped wagons were not to be seen toiling over the neighboring hill-slope, and then, as they gained the valley, stopping, as in a new land of promise. So ran up the numbers--five hundred--eight hundred--a thousand. There at last it seemed to rest. Every claim was taken up,

ers.

and there was little left to tempt new comAnd so, some merely passed through, while the number of those who tarried was pretty nearly off-set by those who went away.

In this manner, there finally ensued a sort of stability to the place. From the wild restlessness that had at first prevailed, order was evolved. A few of the tents gave way to huts and log-houses. The drinking booths, and the things that called themselves shops and restaurants, assumed a little more comfort and appearance of preparing to remain longer than a day. The principal miners began to know each other, and to confederate together for the preservation of social peace and quiet, and there was some talk of meeting in mass and electing an alcalde; but as no necessity for it had yet arisen, the matter was postponed and remained only in contemplation. fore two weeks had elapsed from the first settlement of the valley, the place had assumed in population and habits of life, all the appearance of the older mines.

Be

Not a feature was wanting. There was the stream now at last left dry, and its bed pierced with holes and trenches. There was the broad expanse of level valley rudely torn up in every direction. There was the row of places of entertainment along the base of the hill, forming a street in themselves--by day forlorn and dingy, but at night, when lighted up with plenteous tallow candles and enlivened with picturesque costumes, seeming rather attractive than otherwise. There was the sheltered bower brightened up more brilliantly than any other place, and ringing with flute and fiddle, to tempt the unwary loiterer to lose his day's earnings at the monte-board.

[blocks in formation]

the men who in the early days of gold-digging had done that very thing and had gambled away their little property at once, and now, with natural exaggeration, were pointed out as having lost their tens of thousands at an evening's play; the hard handed men, who had too tempestuously struggled with life in the East to neglect their present opportunities, and now, with thoughts of distant wife and children ever uppermost in their minds, delved manfully among the rocks. and sand, nor spent a dollar foolishly, but quietly hid their gains away and made no useless disclosures of either good or bad luck;--these, as unknown individuals of separate, well-known classes were all to be there found.

Then appeared also certain distinct, recognizable faces. There were the men who had led floating, drifting lives, being seen by turns in almost every mine, until at last they became celebrated for their apparent ubiquity--remembered the more readily, perhaps, through some peculiar physical trait. There were the men who, with no especial bodily individuality, made themselves everywhere conspicuous, and at last became well known through their energetic action in everything except work, as well as through the loud mouthed vehemence with which they endeavored to sow in the settlement the still uncared for seeds of political discusssion--looking forward, probably, to the time when the mine, having become a town, would be obliged to hold elections, and then might remember with gratitude the self-sacrificing citizens who had so early urged the others on to their responsibilities. There were the men who did not work or talk politics, but who had unpleasant expressions of countenance, indicative of blood-thirsty, knavish, and crafty dispositions; and were looked at askant, as persons who were bent upon mischief. And there were the men of similar appearance who were known to have already done mischief, and bore about with them the flavor

« PreviousContinue »