The stock of gold remaining weighed and shared
Squabbling over it
The party separate
The Author and others start off
They meet with Lacosse and the trapper
Lacosse's explanation
Arrive at Sutter's
Purchase flour at eighty-five dollars a barrel
Camps of miners
A gold-washing colony
Encamped for the night
Horses and flour missing in the morning
Visit a big bony American
A hole threatened in their skulls
How quarrels are settled
Lacosse promises to join the party at Sutter's
The march resumes
Arrive at Malcolm's shanty
The doctor prescribes for his patient
Malcolm's first idea of the lasso
The party leave for Sutter's.
We made a hasty meal from our scanty stock of provisions on the morning
of the 6th, and directly it was over--just as I was about saddling my
horse, to start off to visit poor Malcolm--Don Luis informed me that
our companions seemed all to be of opinion that it would be best to
share the stock of gold still remaining at once, when those that
preferred it could make their way to the settlements, and the others
could continue working, if they pleased, on their own account. I had no
objection to offer to this proposition, and the gold was all collected
together and weighed. Bradley undertook the charge of Lacosse's share,
and I was requested to convey Malcolm's to him. Altogether we scraped
up nearly forty-two pounds weight; for, besides the gold which Don Luis
and Bradley had in their saddle-bags, there were a few pounds more
belonging to the general stock. This had to be divided equally, for the
gold we had brought from Weber's Creek had been confided to Malcolm's
charge in a separate bag. It gave exactly four pounds two ounces a
man--value seven hundred dollars. This, with six hundred and fifty
dollars, my share of the gold deposited with Captain Sutter, and the
dust, scales, and lumps, arising from my share of the sale of the
cradles, and the produce at the Mormon diggings, before Lacosse and
Biggs joined us, would amount, in the whole, to over fifteen hundred
dollars.
The greater part of the morning was taken up with squabbles respecting
the weighing of the gold. I took no part in it, and was content to
receive just what was allotted to me. I called McPhail aside, and asked
him what it was he intended doing. He replied, that if any of the
others would join him, he would start in pursuit of the men who had
plundered us. He was sorry the old trapper was not here, as, with his
assistance, he felt certain the scoundrels might be ferreted out.
Feeling that the journey to poor Malcolm was too dangerous a one to be
attempted alone, I was compelled to wait until I could prevail on some
of the party to join me. Don Luis, José, Bradley, McPhail, and myself,
at length arranged to start off. Biggs, who was now quite well,
preferred waiting behind a few days longer. Neither Bradshaw nor
Bowling were sufficiently recovered to travel. Story determined to wait
until they were well enough to accompany him. I hardly liked the notion
of leaving these four men behind--only two, or at most three, of them
able to protect themselves in the event of their being attacked; still
they did not seem to fear the danger: though, even if they had, most of
us had grown so selfish and unaccommodating, that I don't think they
would have met with much sympathy.
It was an hour beyond noon when we were in readiness to start. We took
two of the baggage-horses with us, to carry the tent-poles and
covering, and a few utensils. Our personal baggage was packed on the
horses we rode. Bradley and Don Luis rode in advance, José followed
with the baggage-horses, and McPhail and myself brought up the rear. We
had not proceeded more than four miles on the trail when we saw a
couple of horsemen some distance ahead; advancing towards us. As soon
as we were within a couple of hundred yards of each other, we at once
recognised them to be Lacosse and the old trapper. Urging our horses
into a smart trot, we soon arrived alongside of them; and, on inquiring
what it was that had caused them to remain so long at Sutter's, and
also how it was that they had neither the baggage-horses nor,
apparently, any provisions with them, Lacosse gave us this explanation.
He stated that after leaving the camp, they struck the Sacramento River
that night, and succeeded in reaching the upper settlements towards
evening on the following day. The next morning they pursued their
journey and arrived at Sutter's Fort about sundown; they encamped near
here for the night. Flour was as much as eighty-five dollars a-barrel,
and everything in the way of provisions was in the same proportion.
They purchased a stock of flour, and, packing their horses, moved off
the same day. In the evening they encamped some fifteen miles up the
Sacramento, near the mouth of the Feather River, and within a hundred
yards of the spot where the Indian village existed which Captain Sutter
had destroyed; the whole circumstances connected with which we had
already heard from the old trapper. They resumed the journey early on
the following morning, and by the evening had made about twenty-five
miles, when they rested for the night near one of the little camps of
miners, which they found scattered about the valley every few miles
along the route. The next day they pushed forward, and found those
encampments much less numerous--only one or two were passed throughout
the entire day. Just after sundown, however, they saw by the fires up
the hills quite a little colony of gold-washers, which they moved
towards; and, after purchasing some provisions at a store recently
opened there, for which they paid a most exorbitant price, they
securely tethered their horses to stakes they had driven in the ground,
and encamped for the night. They did not think it necessary to keep
watch, but when they awoke in the morning they found the baggage-horses
had been driven off, and their packs stolen. The horses they had been
riding on were just as they had left them over night. The trail-marks
around the camp were too numerous to make anything out of them.
On making inquiries at several of the tents, they were treated in a
very cavalier sort of manner. No one, of course, knew anything about
their horses and packs, and one big bony American even threatened to
put a rifle-ball into them unless they left his shanty. This was rather
too much for them to swallow quietly, so they rated the fellow in round
terms; but he very coolly reached his rifle down from a shelf above
him, and told them that he would give them time to consider whether
they would move off or not while he examined his flint, and if they
were not gone by that time, he would make a hole in each of their
skulls, one after the other. Finding that he was coolly preparing to
carry out his threat, they made their exit, and found some ten or
twelve people gathered together outside. From one of them Lacosse
learnt that this man had shot two people since he had fixed himself at
this spot, and that he was a terror to most of the miners in the camp.
It appears to have been no uncommon thing among them for a man to
settle a quarrel by severely disabling his adversary. There were
several people at work down by the river, with their arms in slings,
who had received serious injuries in quarrels with some of their
fellows.
They thought it best to escape from such a state of things with as
little delay as possible, and immediately mounted their horses and
pursued their journey. That night they took good care to encamp far
enough off from any of the gold-finding fraternity.
It was now our turn to explain to Lacosse the reason of our return to
the settlements, and the unfortunate circumstances that had led to it.
Ho was disappointed enough at the intelligence. He said that he should
go on to the fort and collect his baggage together, and would, if
possible, join Don Luis, Bradley, and McPhail at Sutter's, and see
whether any plan could be arranged on for recovering our stolen
treasure. The trapper was to accompany him, and it was agreed that
either Bradley or McPhail should await their arrival at Sutter's Fort.
We resumed our journey, and at sundown fixed our tent at the bottom of
a steep hollow, and supped off the moderate rations we had brought with
us from the camp. The night was quite frosty, and when I awoke in the
morning, my limbs were numbed with cold. We prepared our coffee, and
partook of our slight breakfast, then, saddling the horses, resumed our
march. It was late in the evening when we reached the rude shanty to
which poor Malcolm had been conveyed a couple of days since. It was an
anxious moment to me; but I was gratified to find that he had so far
recovered from the injuries he had sustained as to be able to sit up
and to take some little nourishment. He told me that beyond the severe
bruises with which his body was covered, and a wound in the fleshy part
of his leg, he did not think he was otherwise injured. Throughout the
whole of yesterday he had experienced the most violent pains in his
head; but a comfortable sleep into which he had fallen last night had,
to all appearances, entirely deprived him of them. He was troubled
though, he told me, with a sickening sensation, which made him loathe
anything in the shape of food. I at once prescribed such remedies as I
thought necessary to be applied immediately, and left him in charge of
his kind nurse until the morning.
I was at his bedside shortly after the sun rose, and watched by him
until he awoke Another good night's rest had greatly benefited him.
During the day, recurring to his misfortune, he told me that when the
lasso first fell over his shoulders, he fancied for the moment that he
was in the gripe of some wild beast, but immediately he felt himself
drawn from his horse, the truth became apparent to him. He was stunned
by the fall, and lay insensible on the ground, quite unconscious that
the horse of one of the robbers had trampled upon him, as had evidently
been the case.
Don Luis, Bradley, McPhail and José left us about noon on their way to
Sutter's Fort. I promised to rejoin them in a few days, if Malcolm so
far recovered as no longer to be in need of my services. I was in great
hopes of such a result, as he showed evident signs of improvement since
I saw him the previous day.