Smoking and sleeping
Fever, and how caused
Bradley returns
A doctor wanted
A doctor's fee at the mines
Medicine scarce
A hot air bath and a cold water bath
Indians engaged to work
Indian thimble-rigging
An Indian gamester, and the stake he plays for
More sickness
Mormons move off
A drunken dance by Indians
An Indian song about the yellow earth and the fleet rifle
An immodest dance by Indian women.
_July 12th, Wednesday_.--We finished our cradles late upon Saturday
night, but delayed working until Monday. A few of the miners pursued
their avocation on the Sunday, but the majority devoted the day to
rest--smoking and sleeping in the shade alternately. I walked through
the washings, and heard that many of the miners had been taken ill with
intermittent fever, a circumstance which did not astonish me. Bad diet,
daily exposure to the sun while it is at its greatest height, followed
by an exposure to the cold damp air at night time--these conjoined were
quite sufficient to bring on the most severe illness. On my return to
the tent I looked over our little stock of medicine, which I foresaw I
should soon be required to use.
On Monday we commenced operations in the old style--digging, fetching
water, and rocking the cradle. The sun came blazing down with great
power, causing headaches to most of the party, particularly Malcolm,
who complained much. The day's taking was very good; we having realised
nine ounces with one machine, and seven and a half with the other. At
night, as Malcolm still continued to complain of his head, and as there
was evidently a good deal of low fever about him, I gave him a dose of
calomel and a febrifuge mixture, which by the morning produced a good
deal of relief.
Bradley made his appearance during the forenoon, after a fatiguing ride
from Sutter's Fort. He had seen the Captain, had delivered the gold,
and settled the transaction. We were hard at work the whole of to-day.
In the evening a man came crawling into the tent to know if we had any
medicines we would sell. I told him I was a doctor, and asked him what
was the matter. He had been suffering from remittent fever of a low
typhoid type. I gave him bark, and told him he must lay up and take
care of himself. He said he would; but next day, during the intervals
of fever, I saw him working away with his pan. The news of there being
a doctor in the camp soon spread, and I am now being continually called
on to prescribe for a large number of patients. An ounce of gold is the
fee generally given me. This sort of work is as much more profitable as
it is less laborious than working at the cradle. But the great drawback
is that one has to do something else beyond advising. People require
physicking, and as I cannot submit to be deprived of the little stock
of medicine I had brought with me in case of my own friends having
occasion for it, I am obliged to give over practising in those cases
where medicine is absolutely necessary.
The native Californians, both Indians and whites, have an universal
remedy for febrile affections, and indeed for sickness of almost any
kind; this is the temascal, a sort of hot air bath, shaped not unlike a
sentry-box, and built of wicker-work, and afterwards plastered with mud
until it becomes air-tight. There is one of these machines at the Weber
Creek washings, which has been run up by the Indians during the last
few days. One of them used it for the first time this afternoon, and to
my surprise is still alive. After a great fire had been made up close
to the door--a narrow aperture just large enough for a little man to
squeeze through--it was afterwards gradually allowed to burn itself
out, having in the meantime heated to a very high degree the air in the
interior of the bath. Into this the Indian screwed himself, and there
remained until a profuse perspiration was produced, which he checked
forthwith by a plunge into the chilly water of the river. Here he
floundered about for a few minutes, and then crawled out and lay down
exhausted on the ground.
The atmosphere continues exceedingly sultry, and the miners who work by
the river, out of the shade, have in several instances sunk exhausted
under the toil. Dysentery, produced probably by unwholesome food, has
also begun to show itself, and altogether the aspect of things is
anything but cheerful.
_July 15th, Saturday_.--We have engaged a large party of Indians to
work for us in the ravines. They belong to the Snake tribe, and appear
to be a poor set of half-starved wretches. We pay them in provisions,
and occasionally drams of pisco--a spirit made from Californian grapes.
On visiting the encampment of our Indians, last night after work was
over, I found about a dozen of them eagerly engaged gambling away--the
stake, in some instances, being the supper which had just been served
out to them--with an ardour equal to that of the most civilized
gamesters. So far as I could make out, the game had some analogy to our
"thimble-rigging;" but appeared to be fairly played. A small ball was
passed by three of the Indians from hand to hand, with such rapid
dexterity, that no eye could keep pace with their movements; three
others watched it with peculiar eagerness. Every now and then the
latter made a correct guess, and one was scored in their favour--if
wrong, a mark was scored against them. The Indians are in general
strongly addicted to games of chance, and they sometimes gamble away
all the clothing on their backs. I heard of an instance which occurred
near the saw-mills, of an Indian who, after having lost every article
of clothing he had, one after the other, to his more fortunate
antagonist, staked his labour for a week against the cotton shirt which
he had lost only a few minutes before. He had a run of bad luck, and,
when he left off, had to work for six weeks, at gold-washing, for his
antagonist, who fed him on nothing better than acorn bread. Mr. Neligh,
who told me of this circumstance, had seen the man at work duly
fulfilling his engagement.
The sickness amongst the miners continues to increase, and in our own
party Lacosse has been laid up for two days with fever; however, I
think he is now doing well. The climate does not appear to be
unhealthy. It is the exposure to the work which does the mischief.
There is some talk afloat among our party of removing further up the
country, nearer to the mountains, where gold is said to be in greater
abundance. Yesterday, a large party--many of them Mormons--started for
the Bear River, a small stream which runs into the Sacramento, and is
said to be about fifty miles distant, due north from where we are
encamped.
The Indians at work here have caused the price of pisco and whisky to
rise to a most exorbitantly high rate. They content themselves with
feasting on the bitter acorn bread, and spend all their earnings on
"strong water" and a little finery. Sometimes a party of them, when
intoxicated, will get up one of their wild dances, when the stamping
and yelling are of a far more fearful character than is generally the
case at these singular exhibitions. The dance begins generally with a
rude song, the words being of the usual harsh guttural character, but
the ideas are generally striking and peculiar. One has been explained
to me which recites the praises of the "yellow earth," because it will
procure the Shoshonee the fleet rifle with which he can slay his Pawnee
foe. It says nothing, however, about the "strong water," which renders
the arm of the war-chief weaker than that of a child; for, with all
their vices, there is still that pride about the Indian character which
makes them ashamed of those weaknesses they are unable to resist.
Frequently, while the Indian warriors repose from their exertions,
after the termination of one of these wild dances, the women of the
tribe will occupy their place; but in general their postures and
movements are indelicate in the extreme. But modesty is hardly to be
looked for in the amusements of savage life.