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19 - In the Heart of the Rockies by G A Henty · In the Heart of the Rockies

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Speaker 1: Recording is in the public domain. Read by Alan Kammer,
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Speaker 1: Chapter eighteen. Back to Denver. When are you going to
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Speaker 1: make a start again, Jerry asked, after drinking a pannikin
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Speaker 1: of tea. We are not going on today, perhaps not tomorrow.
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Speaker 1: It will depend on how you get on. I shall
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Speaker 1: be a nuisance to you anyway, the miner said, And
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Speaker 1: it would be a dog on site the best way
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Speaker 1: to lead me here. But I know you won't do that,
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Speaker 1: so it ain't no use my asking you. I expect
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Speaker 1: I shall be all right tomorrow except for this shoulder.
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Speaker 1: But just now my head is buzzing as if there
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Speaker 1: was a swarm of wild bees inside. You will be
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Speaker 1: all the better when you have had a good sleep.
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Speaker 1: I reckon we could all do a bit that way.
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Speaker 1: Young Tom and hunting Dog are going to try a
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Speaker 1: bit of fishing with those hooks of yours. We talked
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Speaker 1: about it when we started, you know, but we have
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Speaker 1: not done anything until now. We want a change of
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Speaker 1: food badly. We may be a month going down this
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Speaker 1: canyon for anything, I know, And if it keeps on
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Speaker 1: like this, there ain't a chance of seeing ahead of game.
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Speaker 1: It ought to be a good place for fish at
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Speaker 1: the foot of the rapids. That is, if there are
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Speaker 1: any fish here, and I reckon there should be any
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Speaker 1: amount of them. If they do catch some, we will
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Speaker 1: wait here till we can dry a good stock. We
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Speaker 1: have nothing now but the dried flesh and some of
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Speaker 1: the big horn. There ain't above twenty pounds of flour left,
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Speaker 1: and we would clear up all there is in the
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Speaker 1: boat in a week, so you need not worry that
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Speaker 1: you are keeping us. Half an hour later, hunting Dog
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Speaker 1: and Tom put out in one of the canoes, and
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Speaker 1: paddling to the foot of the rapids, let the lines
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Speaker 1: drop overboard, the hooks being baited with meat. It was
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Speaker 1: not many minutes before the Indian felt a sharp pull.
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Speaker 1: There was no occasion to play the fish, for the
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Speaker 1: line was strong enough to hold a shark, and a
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Speaker 1: trout of six pounds weight was soon laid in the
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Speaker 1: bottom of the boat. My turn now, Tom said, and
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Speaker 1: the Indian, with a smile, took the paddle from his
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Speaker 1: hand and kept the boat up stream while Tom attended
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Speaker 1: to the lines. Fish after fish was brought up in
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Speaker 1: rapid succession, and when about midday a call from below
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Speaker 1: told them that it was time for dinner. They had
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Speaker 1: some thirty fish averaging five pounds weight at the bottom
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Speaker 1: of the boat. There was a shout of satisfaction from
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Speaker 1: Harry as he looked down into the canoe, and even
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Speaker 1: the chief gave bent to a grunt that testified his pleasure.
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Speaker 1: Hand me up four of them, Tom, I did not
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Speaker 1: know how much I wanted a change of food till
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Speaker 1: my eyes lit on those beauties. We saw you pulling
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Speaker 1: them out, But I did not expect it was going
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Speaker 1: to be as good as this. The fish were speedily
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Speaker 1: split open and laid on ramrods over the fire. I
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Speaker 1: reckon you will want another one for me. Jerry, who
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Speaker 1: had been asleep since they started, remarked, I don't know
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Speaker 1: that I am good for one as big as those,
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Speaker 1: but I reckon I can pick a bit. Anyhow, a
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Speaker 1: small fish was put on with the others, and as
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Speaker 1: soon as they were grilled, all set to at what
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Speaker 1: seemed to Tom the best meal he had ever eaten
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Speaker 1: in his life. He thought when he handed them to
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Speaker 1: Harry that two would have been amply sufficient for them all,
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Speaker 1: but he found no difficulty whatever in disposing of a
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Speaker 1: whole one single handed. Now, Tom, the Chief and I
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Speaker 1: will take our turn while you and hunting dog prepare
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Speaker 1: your catch. He will show you how to do it.
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Speaker 1: It is simple enough. Cut off the heads, split and
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Speaker 1: clean them. Run a skewer through to keep them flat,
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Speaker 1: and then lay them on that rock in the sun
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Speaker 1: to dry. Or wait, and I will rig up a
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Speaker 1: line between two of the rocks for you to hang
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Speaker 1: them on. There is not much wind, but what there
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Speaker 1: is will dry them better than if they were laid flat.
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Speaker 1: Jerry went off to sleep again. As soon as the
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Speaker 1: meal was finished and the bandages round his head, rewhetted
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Speaker 1: the paddle from which the strips had been cut, furnished
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Speaker 1: wood for the skewers, and in the course of half
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Speaker 1: an hour the fish were all hanging on a line.
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Speaker 1: Twenty two more were brought in at sunset. Some of these,
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Speaker 1: after being treated like the others, were hung in the
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Speaker 1: smoke of the fire, while the rest were suspended like
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Speaker 1: the first batch. The next morning, Jerry was able to
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Speaker 1: move about, and the fishing went on all day, and
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Speaker 1: by night a quantity considered sufficient had been brought ashore.
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Speaker 1: There are over four hundred pounds altogether, Harry said, though
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Speaker 1: by the time they are dried, they won't be more
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Speaker 1: than half that weight. Two pounds of dried fish a
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Speaker 1: man is enough to keep them going, and they will
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Speaker 1: last us twenty days at that rate, and it will
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Speaker 1: be hard luck if we don't find something to help
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Speaker 1: it out as we go down. They stopped another day
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Speaker 1: to allow the drawing to be completed. The fish were
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Speaker 1: taken down and packed on board that evening, and at
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Speaker 1: daylight they were afloat again. For the next ten days,
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Speaker 1: their labors were continuous. They passed several rapids as bad
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Speaker 1: as the one that had cost them so dear, but
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Speaker 1: as they gained experience, they became more skillful and letting
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Speaker 1: down the boats. Some days only two or three miles
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Speaker 1: were gained, on others they made as much as twelve.
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Speaker 1: At last they got out of the granite. Beyond this,
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Speaker 1: the task was much easier, and on the fifteenth day,
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Speaker 1: after leaving their fishing ground, they emerged from the canyon.
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Speaker 1: By this time Jerry had perfectly recovered and was with
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Speaker 1: great difficulty persuaded to keep his arm bandaged. He had
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Speaker 1: chafed terribly at first at his helplessness and at meaning
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Speaker 1: unable to take any share in the heavy labors of
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Speaker 1: the others, but after the rapids were passed, he was
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Speaker 1: more contented and sat quietly at the bottom of the boat, smoking,
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Speaker 1: while Harry and Tom paddled the two Indians forming the
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Speaker 1: crew of the other canoe. The diet of fish had
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Speaker 1: been varied by bear's flesh leaping horse, having shot a
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Speaker 1: large brown bear. Soon after they got through the rapids,
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Speaker 1: a shout of joy was raised by the three whites
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Speaker 1: as they issued from the gorge into a quiet valley
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Speaker 1: through which the river ran a broad, tranquil stream. Even
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Speaker 1: the Indians were stirred to wave their paddles above their
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Speaker 1: heads and to give a ringing whoop as their companions cheered.
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Speaker 1: The boats were headed for the shore, and the camp
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Speaker 1: was formed near a large clump of bushes. Their joy
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Speaker 1: at their deliverance from the dangers of the canyon was
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Speaker 1: dashed only by the thought of the loss of their
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Speaker 1: two comrades. The next day, three short canyons were passed through,
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Speaker 1: but these presented no difficulties, and in the afternoon they
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Speaker 1: reached the mouth of the Rio Virgen, and, continuing their journey,
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Speaker 1: arrived five days later at Fort Mojave. This was a
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Speaker 1: rising settlement, for it was here that the trader's route
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Speaker 1: between Los Angeles and Santa Fe crossed the Colorado. Their
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Speaker 1: appearance passed almost unnoticed, for a large caravan had arrived
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Speaker 1: that afternoon and was starting east the next morning. We
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Speaker 1: had best hold our tongues about it altogether, Harry said,
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Speaker 1: as soon as he heard that the caravan was going
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Speaker 1: on the next morning. In the first place, they won't
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Speaker 1: believe us, and that would be likely to lead to trouble,
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Speaker 1: and in the next place, we should be worried out
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Speaker 1: of our lives of questions. Besides, we have got to
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Speaker 1: get a fresh outfit, for we are pretty near in rags,
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Speaker 1: and to buy horses, food and kit We can leave
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Speaker 1: the boats on shore. No one is likely to come
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Speaker 1: near them. I will stop and look after them. Tom said,
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Speaker 1: there are saddles, buffalo robes, blankets and ammunition. This shirt
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Speaker 1: is in rags, and the last moccasin's honey dog made
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Speaker 1: me are pretty nearly cut to pieces by the rocks.
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Speaker 1: I would rather stay here and look after the boats
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Speaker 1: than go into the village. Besides, it will save you
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Speaker 1: the trouble of carrying all these bags of gold about
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Speaker 1: with you. Harry nodded, cut two of the little bags
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Speaker 1: free from their lashings and dropped them into his pocket,
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Speaker 1: and then went up to the fort with Jerry and
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Speaker 1: the Indians. Tom cut the other bags loose and put
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Speaker 1: them on the ground beside him, threw a buffalo robe
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Speaker 1: over them, and then sat for some hours, watching the
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Speaker 1: quiet river and thinking over all they had gone through.
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Speaker 1: It was almost dark when the others returned. It has
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Speaker 1: taken us some time, Tom, his uncle, said, as they
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Speaker 1: threw some bundles down beside him. The stores and clothes
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Speaker 1: were easy enough, but we had a lot of trouble
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Speaker 1: to find horses. However, we did not mind much what
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Speaker 1: we paid for them, and the traders were ready to
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Speaker 1: sell a few at the prices we offered. So we
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Speaker 1: have got five riding horses and two pack ponies, which
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Speaker 1: will be enough for us. That bundle is your lot,
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Speaker 1: riding breeches and boots, three pairs of stockings, two final shirts,
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Speaker 1: a Mexican hat, and a silk necked handkerchief. We may
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Speaker 1: as well change at once and go up to the village.
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Speaker 1: The change was soon effected. Harry and Jerry Curtis had
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Speaker 1: clothes similar to those they had bought for Tom, while
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Speaker 1: the Indians wore over their shirts new deer skin embroidered
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Speaker 1: hunting shirts and had fringe Mexican leggings instead of breeches
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Speaker 1: and boots. They too had procured Mexican sombreros. Taking their
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Speaker 1: rifles and pistols and hiding their stock of ammunition the
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Speaker 1: gold and their buffalo robes and blankets, they went up
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Speaker 1: to the village. It was by this time quite dark,
9:15
Speaker 1: the houses were all lit up, and the drinking shops
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Speaker 1: crowded with the teamsters who seemed bent on making a
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Speaker 1: night of it. This being the last village through which
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Speaker 1: they would pass until their arrival at Santa Fe. They
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Speaker 1: slept as usual, wrapped up in their buffalo robes by
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Speaker 1: the side of the boots, as all agreed that this
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Speaker 1: was preferable to a close room in a Mexican house.
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Speaker 1: They were all afoot as soon as daylight broke and
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Speaker 1: went up and breakfasted at Afonda, Tom enjoying the Mexican
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Speaker 1: cookery after the simple diet he had been accustomed to.
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Speaker 1: Then they went to the stable where the horses, which
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Speaker 1: were strong, serviceable looking animals, had been placed, and put
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Speaker 1: on their saddles. And bridles. The pack horses were then
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Speaker 1: laden with flour, tea, sugar, bacon, and other necessaries. By
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Speaker 1: the time all was ready, the caravan was just starting.
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Speaker 1: Harry had spoken the afternoon before of two of its
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Speaker 1: leaders and said that he and four companions would be
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Speaker 1: glad to ride with them to Santa Fe. Permission was
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Speaker 1: readily granted, the traders being pleased at the accession of
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Speaker 1: five well armed men, for although Indian raids were comparatively
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Speaker 1: rare along this trail, there was still a certain amount
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Speaker 1: of danger involved in the journey. Some hours were occupied
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Speaker 1: in crossing the river in two heavy ferry boats, and
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Speaker 1: the process would have been still longer had not half
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Speaker 1: the wagons been sent across on the previous afternoon. The
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Speaker 1: journey was made without incident and no Indians were met
10:44
Speaker 1: with a few deer were shot, but as it was
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Speaker 1: now laid in the autumn, the scanty herbage on the
10:51
Speaker 1: plains was all withered up, and the game had for
10:53
Speaker 1: the most part moved away into deep valleys where they
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Speaker 1: could obtain food. The tail of their passage of the
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Speaker 1: canons was told more than once, but although it was
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Speaker 1: listened to with interest, Harry perceived that it was not
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Speaker 1: really believed. That they had been hunting, had been attacked
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Speaker 1: by Indians, had made canoes and passed through some of
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Speaker 1: the canyons was credible enough. But that they should have
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Speaker 1: traversed the whole of the lower course of the Colorado
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Speaker 1: seemed to the traders, who were all men experienced in
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Speaker 1: the country, simply incredible. The party stopped at Santa Fe
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Speaker 1: a few days and then started north, traveling through the
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Speaker 1: Mexican villages and finally striking across to Denver. At Santa Fe,
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Speaker 1: they had converted the contents of their bags into money,
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Speaker 1: which had been equally shared among them. The Indians were
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Speaker 1: not willing to accept more than the recognized monthly pay,
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Speaker 1: but Harry would not hear of it. This has been
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Speaker 1: no ordinary business, sleeping horse, he said warmly. We have
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Speaker 1: all been as brothers together, and for weeks have looked
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Speaker 1: death in the face every hour, and we must share
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Speaker 1: all round alike in the gold we have brought back.
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Speaker 1: Gold is just as useful to an Indian as it
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Speaker 1: is to a white man. And when you add this
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Speaker 1: to the hoard you spoke of, you will have enough
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Speaker 1: to buy as many horses and blankets as you can
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Speaker 1: use all your lifetime and to settle down in your
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Speaker 1: wig bomb and take a wife to yourself whenever you choose.
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Speaker 1: I fancy from what you said. Hunting Dog has his
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Speaker 1: eye on one of the maidens of your tribe. Well,
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Speaker 1: he can buy her father's favor. Now the time is come,
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Speaker 1: in Chief when the Indians of the plains will have
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Speaker 1: to take to white men's ways. The buffaloes are fast
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Speaker 1: dying out, and in a few years it will be
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Speaker 1: impossible to live by hunting, and the Indians will have
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Speaker 1: to keep cattle and build houses and live as we do.
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Speaker 1: With his money, hunting Dog could buy a tidy ranch
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Speaker 1: with a few hundred head of cattle. Of course, he
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Speaker 1: can hunt as much as he likes, so long as
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Speaker 1: there is any game left. But he will find that
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Speaker 1: as his cattle increase, he will have plenty to look
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Speaker 1: after at home. We will take the gold if my
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Speaker 1: brother wishes it, the chief replied gravely. He is wise,
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Speaker 1: and though it seems to Leaping Horse that redskins have
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Speaker 1: no need of gold, it may be that some day
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Speaker 1: he and Hunting Dog may be glad that they have
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Speaker 1: done as their brother wished. Thank you, Leaping Horse, It
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Speaker 1: will make my heart glad when I may be far
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Speaker 1: away from you, across the great salt water, to know
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Speaker 1: that there will always be comfort in my brother's wigwam.
13:26
Speaker 1: On arriving at Denver, they went straight to the Empire.
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Speaker 1: As they entered the saloon, Pete Hoskins looked hard at
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Speaker 1: them straight Harry by thunder, he shouted, and Jerry Curtis,
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Speaker 1: and young Tom, though I would not have known him
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Speaker 1: if he hadn't been with the others. Well, this are
13:42
Speaker 1: a good sight for the eyes, and tomorrow Christmas Day.
13:46
Speaker 1: I had begun to be afeared that something had gone
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Speaker 1: wrong with you. I looked for news from you nigh
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Speaker 1: three months ago. I got the message you sent me
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Speaker 1: in the spring, and I have asked every old hand
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Speaker 1: who came along east since the end of August if
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Speaker 1: there had been any news of you. And I began
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Speaker 1: to fear that you have been rubbed out by the utes.
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Speaker 1: We have had a near escape of it, Pete, but
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Speaker 1: it is a long story. Can you put us all up?
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Speaker 1: You know leaping horse, don't you? The other is his nephew.
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Speaker 1: I should think I do know a leaping horse, Pete
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Speaker 1: said warmly, and went across and shook the Indian's hand heartily.
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Speaker 1: I was looking at you three, and did not notice
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Speaker 1: who you had with you. In that letter the chap
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Speaker 1: brought me you said that the Chief was going with
14:29
Speaker 1: you and Sam Hicks and Ben Golston. I did not
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Speaker 1: know them so well. That is, I never worked with him,
14:35
Speaker 1: though they have stopped here many a time. They have
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Speaker 1: gone under Pete. Sam was drowned in the Colorado, been
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Speaker 1: shot by the Navajos. We have all had some close calls.
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Speaker 1: I can tell you, well, now can you put us up?
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Speaker 1: You need not ask such a question as that, Harry,
14:53
Speaker 1: Pete said in an aggrieved tone, when you know very
14:56
Speaker 1: well that if the place was chock full, I would
14:59
Speaker 1: clear the crowd out to make room for you. There
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Speaker 1: are three beds in the room over this that will
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Speaker 1: do for you three, and there is a room beside it.
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Speaker 1: His leaping horse and his nephew can have, though I
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Speaker 1: reckon they won't care to sleep on the beds. No more,
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Speaker 1: shall we, Pete. We have been fifteen months and more
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Speaker 1: sleeping in the open, and we would rather have our
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Speaker 1: buffalo robes and blankets than the softest bed in the world.
15:22
Speaker 1: You must have had a cold time of it in
15:24
Speaker 1: the last three months up in those ute hills where
15:26
Speaker 1: you said you were going. We left there five months ago, Pete.
15:31
Speaker 1: We have been down as low as Fort Mojave, and
15:33
Speaker 1: then crossed with a caravan of traders to Santa Fe.
15:37
Speaker 1: Pete began pouring out the liquor. Oh, you won't take
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Speaker 1: one chief, nor the young brave. Yes, I remember you
15:42
Speaker 1: do not touch the fire water, and you may be
15:45
Speaker 1: sure I won't press you. Well. Luck to you all,
15:48
Speaker 1: and right glad I am to see you again. Ah,
15:50
Speaker 1: here is my bar tender. Now we will get a
15:53
Speaker 1: good fire lid in another room and hurry up supper,
15:56
Speaker 1: and then we will talk it all over. You have
15:58
Speaker 1: put your horses up. I suppose, yes, we knew you
16:02
Speaker 1: had no accommodation that way, Pete. The room into which
16:05
Speaker 1: Pete now led them was not his own sanctum, but
16:08
Speaker 1: one used occasionally when a party of miners coming in
16:11
Speaker 1: from the hills wanted to have a feast by themselves,
16:14
Speaker 1: or when customers wished to talk over private business. There
16:17
Speaker 1: was a table capable of seating some twelve people, a
16:21
Speaker 1: great stove, and some benches. A negro soon lighted a
16:25
Speaker 1: large fire. Then, aided by a boy, laid the table,
16:28
Speaker 1: and it was not long before they sat down to
16:31
Speaker 1: a good meal. When it was over, Pete said, lend
16:34
Speaker 1: me a hand, Jerry to push this table aside. Then
16:37
Speaker 1: we will bring the benches round the stove and hear
16:39
Speaker 1: all about it. I told the bartender that I am
16:42
Speaker 1: not to be disturbed, and that if anyone wants to
16:45
Speaker 1: see me, he is to say that he has got
16:47
Speaker 1: to wait till tomorrow for that. I am engaged on
16:50
Speaker 1: important business. Here are brandy and whiskey, and tobacco, and
16:54
Speaker 1: cigars and coffee for the chief and his nephew. I
16:57
Speaker 1: think you may say for all of us, Pete, Harry,
17:00
Speaker 1: he said, after being a year without spirits, Jerry, Tom
17:03
Speaker 1: and I have agreed to keep without them. We wouldn't
17:06
Speaker 1: say no to you when you asked us to take
17:08
Speaker 1: a drink, and we have not sworn off. But Jerry
17:11
Speaker 1: and I have agreed that we have both been all
17:13
Speaker 1: the better without them, and mean to keep to it.
17:16
Speaker 1: And as for Tom, he prefers coffee. Do as you please,
17:20
Speaker 1: Pete said, I am always glad to hear men say no.
17:24
Speaker 1: I have made a lot of money out of it,
17:26
Speaker 1: but I have seen so many fellows ruined by it
17:28
Speaker 1: that I am always pleased to see a man give
17:31
Speaker 1: up drink. There is one thing, Pete Tom said, before
17:35
Speaker 1: we begin. We left our bundles of robes and blankets
17:39
Speaker 1: in the next room. If you don't mind, I would
17:42
Speaker 1: a deal rather spread them out here, and I am
17:44
Speaker 1: sure the chief and hunting dog would and squat down
17:48
Speaker 1: on them instead of sitting on these benches. It is
17:51
Speaker 1: a long story. Uncle will have to tell you. We
17:54
Speaker 1: will fetch ours too. Harry agreed. Benches are all well
17:57
Speaker 1: enough for sitting at the table to eat one's dinner,
18:00
Speaker 1: but why a man should sit on them when he
18:01
Speaker 1: can sit on the ground is more than I can
18:03
Speaker 1: make out. Pete nodded. I will have my rocking cherry ann,
18:08
Speaker 1: he said, and then we shall be fixed up for
18:10
Speaker 1: the evening. The arrangements were soon made, pipes were lighted.
18:15
Speaker 1: The landlord sat in his chair at some little distance
18:17
Speaker 1: back from the front of the stove. Tom and the
18:20
Speaker 1: two Indians sat on their rugs on one side. Harry
18:23
Speaker 1: and Jerry Curtis completed the semicircle on the other. Well
18:28
Speaker 1: in the first place, Pete Harry began, you will be
18:30
Speaker 1: glad to hear that we have struck it rich, the
18:33
Speaker 1: biggest thing I have ever seen. It is up in
18:36
Speaker 1: the Ute country. We have staked out a claim for
18:39
Speaker 1: you next our own. There are about five hundred pounds
18:43
Speaker 1: of samples lying at Fort Bridger, and a bit of
18:46
Speaker 1: the rock we crushed panned out five hundred ounces to
18:49
Speaker 1: of a ton. You don't say, Pete exclaimed, If there
18:54
Speaker 1: is much of that stuff, Harry, you have got a bonanza.
18:57
Speaker 1: There is a good bit of it anyhow, Pete, it
19:00
Speaker 1: is a true vein, and though it is not all
19:02
Speaker 1: like that, it keeps good enough. Fifty feet back we
19:06
Speaker 1: found it run twenty ounces. That is on the surface.
19:10
Speaker 1: We can't say how it goes down in depth. Where
19:13
Speaker 1: we struck it on the face it was about fourteen
19:15
Speaker 1: feet high, and the load kept its width for that depth. Anyhow,
19:20
Speaker 1: that air good enough. The landlord said, now what do
19:23
Speaker 1: you reckon on doing? The place is among the hills, Pete,
19:27
Speaker 1: and the utes are hostile and went very nigh rummin
19:30
Speaker 1: us all out. We reckon it ought to be worked
19:32
Speaker 1: by a party of thirty men. At least they ought
19:35
Speaker 1: to be well armed, and must build a sort of fort.
19:38
Speaker 1: I don't think the utes would venture to attack them
19:40
Speaker 1: if they were of that strength. There's a little stream
19:44
Speaker 1: runs close to the vein, and if it were dammed up,
19:46
Speaker 1: it would drive a couple of stamps, which, with a
19:49
Speaker 1: concentrator in tables and blankets, would be quite enough for
19:52
Speaker 1: such stuff as that I reckon. Fifteen men will be
19:56
Speaker 1: quite enough to work and to hold the fort. The
19:59
Speaker 1: other fifteen men would include three or four hunters, and
20:02
Speaker 1: the rest would go backwards and forwards to Bridger for
20:05
Speaker 1: supplies and to take the gold down. They would be
20:08
Speaker 1: seven or eight days away at a time, and if
20:11
Speaker 1: there should be trouble with the Redskins, they would always
20:14
Speaker 1: be back before those at the fort were really pressed.
20:17
Speaker 1: But we should not be alone long. The news that
20:19
Speaker 1: a rich thing had been struck would bring scores of
20:22
Speaker 1: miners up in no time. We have taken up our
20:25
Speaker 1: own ten claims, which will include of course the rich part.
20:29
Speaker 1: Then we have taken up the next eight or ten
20:31
Speaker 1: claims for our friends. As I said, we put yours
20:35
Speaker 1: next to ours. We have not registered them yet, but
20:38
Speaker 1: that will be the first job. And of course you
20:41
Speaker 1: and the others will each have to put a man
20:43
Speaker 1: on your claims to hold them. The load shows on
20:46
Speaker 1: the other side of the creek, though not so rich,
20:49
Speaker 1: still plenty good enough to work. But as we shall
20:52
Speaker 1: practically get all the water, the load cannot be worked
20:55
Speaker 1: by any one but ourselves. Still, the gravel is rich
20:58
Speaker 1: all down the creeks, which is anything I have seen
21:01
Speaker 1: in California, and will be sure to be taken up
21:04
Speaker 1: by miners as soon as we are at work, so
21:07
Speaker 1: there will be no real danger of trouble from the Indians.
21:09
Speaker 1: Then what we propose is this. We don't want to
21:13
Speaker 1: sell out. We think it is good enough to hold,
21:16
Speaker 1: but we want to get a company to find the
21:18
Speaker 1: money for getting up the machinery, building a strong block
21:21
Speaker 1: house with a palisade, lying in stores, and working the place. Jerry,
21:26
Speaker 1: Tom and I would of course be in command at
21:29
Speaker 1: any rate for the first year or so when the
21:32
Speaker 1: rich stuff was being worked. How much money do you
21:35
Speaker 1: think it will want, and what shared do you think
21:37
Speaker 1: of giving, Harry, Well, I should say fifty thousand dollars,
21:42
Speaker 1: though I believe half that would be enough. Not a
21:45
Speaker 1: penny would be required after the first ton of rock
21:47
Speaker 1: goes through the stamps. But we should have to take
21:50
Speaker 1: the stamps and iron work from the railway terminus to
21:53
Speaker 1: Bridger and then down. We might calculate on a month
21:57
Speaker 1: or six weeks in getting up the fort, making the
21:59
Speaker 1: lead and water wheel, putting up the machinery, and laying
22:02
Speaker 1: down the flumes, say two months from the time we
22:06
Speaker 1: leave Bridger to the time we begin to work. There
22:10
Speaker 1: would be the pay of the men all that time,
22:12
Speaker 1: the cost of transporting stores, and all that sort of thing.
22:16
Speaker 1: So it would be better to say fifty thousand dollars.
22:19
Speaker 1: What share ought we to offer for that? Well, if
22:23
Speaker 1: you could bring that five hundredweight of stuff here and
22:25
Speaker 1: get it crushed up and it turns out as good
22:27
Speaker 1: as you say, I could get you the money in
22:30
Speaker 1: twenty four hours. I would not mind going half of
22:33
Speaker 1: it myself. And I should say that a quarter share
22:36
Speaker 1: would be more than good enough. Well, we thought of
22:39
Speaker 1: a third Pete. Well, if you say a third, you
22:43
Speaker 1: may consider that part of the business is done. You
22:46
Speaker 1: won't be able to apply for claims in the names
22:48
Speaker 1: of Sam and Ben, And if you did, it would
22:51
Speaker 1: be no good because they could not assign them over
22:54
Speaker 1: to the company. There are eight claims without them, and
22:57
Speaker 1: the one you have put down in my name is none. Well,
23:01
Speaker 1: I can get say eleven men in this place who
23:04
Speaker 1: will give you an assignment of their claims for five
23:06
Speaker 1: dollars apiece. That is done every day. I just say
23:11
Speaker 1: to them, I am registering a share in your name
23:13
Speaker 1: and the tom cat mine. Write an assignment to me
23:16
Speaker 1: of it, and I am good for five dollars worth
23:18
Speaker 1: of liquor. Take it out as you like. The thing
23:21
Speaker 1: is as easy as falling off a log. Well, what
23:24
Speaker 1: are you thinking of doing next? We shall buy a
23:27
Speaker 1: light wagon and team tomorrow or next day and drive
23:30
Speaker 1: straight over to Bridge. Then we shall go to Salt
23:33
Speaker 1: Lake City and register our claims at the mining office there.
23:38
Speaker 1: We need not give the locality very precisely. Indeed, we
23:41
Speaker 1: could not describe it ourselves so that anyone could find it,
23:45
Speaker 1: and nobody would go looking for it before spring comes
23:48
Speaker 1: in the snow clears. Besides, there are scores of wild
23:52
Speaker 1: cat claims registered every year. Until they turn out good,
23:55
Speaker 1: no one thinks anything of them. When we have got
23:58
Speaker 1: that done, we will go back to Bridger and fetch
24:01
Speaker 1: the rock over here. We will write tomorrow to Pittsburgh
24:05
Speaker 1: for the mining outfit for all the iron work of
24:08
Speaker 1: the stamps, the concentrator and everything required with axes, picks
24:13
Speaker 1: and shovels, blasting tools and powder to be sent as
24:17
Speaker 1: far as they have got the railway. But they will
24:20
Speaker 1: want the money with the order, Harry Pete said in
24:22
Speaker 1: a tone of surprise. They will have the money. We
24:26
Speaker 1: wash the gravel for a couple of months before the
24:28
Speaker 1: utes lit on us, and after buying horses and a
24:31
Speaker 1: fresh outfit for us all at Fort Mahab we have
24:34
Speaker 1: between us got something like five thousand dollars in golden
24:37
Speaker 1: green backs. Geejosfat Pete exclaimed. That was good, indeed for
24:43
Speaker 1: two months work. Well, look here, there is no hurry
24:46
Speaker 1: for a few days about your starting back to Bridger.
24:49
Speaker 1: Here we are now nearly at the end of December.
24:52
Speaker 1: It will take you a month to get there, say
24:55
Speaker 1: another fortnight to go on to Salt Lake City and
24:58
Speaker 1: register your claim and get back to Bridger. Then it
25:01
Speaker 1: would be a month getting back here again. That would
25:04
Speaker 1: take you to the middle of March. Well, you see,
25:08
Speaker 1: it would be pretty nigh the end of April before
25:10
Speaker 1: you were back at Bridger. Then you would have to
25:13
Speaker 1: get your wagons and your men and that would be
25:15
Speaker 1: too late altogether. You've got to pick your miners carefully,
25:19
Speaker 1: I can tell you, and it is not a job
25:21
Speaker 1: to be done in a hurry. When they see what
25:24
Speaker 1: gold there is in the rock, they will soon set
25:26
Speaker 1: to work washing the gravel, and the day they do,
25:30
Speaker 1: they will chuck up your work altogether. I will tell
25:33
Speaker 1: you what I would rather do, and that is pick
25:36
Speaker 1: up green hands from the east. There are scores of
25:39
Speaker 1: them here now, men who have come as far as
25:42
Speaker 1: this and can't start west till the snows melt. You
25:45
Speaker 1: need not think anything more about the money. You tell
25:49
Speaker 1: me what you crushed is a fair sample of that
25:51
Speaker 1: five hundred pounds, and that is quite good enough for me.
25:55
Speaker 1: And the gravel being so rich is another proof of
25:58
Speaker 1: what the load was when the stream cut through it.
26:01
Speaker 1: I can put the twenty five thousand dollars down, and
26:04
Speaker 1: there are plenty of men here who will take my
26:06
Speaker 1: word for the affair and plank their money down too.
26:10
Speaker 1: If there weren't, I would put a mortgage on my houses.
26:13
Speaker 1: So that matter is done. Tomorrow I will get the
26:16
Speaker 1: men whose names you are to give in for a
26:19
Speaker 1: claim each. It will be time in another two months
26:22
Speaker 1: to begin to look about for some steady chaps from
26:24
Speaker 1: the east, farmers, sons and such like. That is, if
26:28
Speaker 1: you think that plan is a good one. I mean
26:31
Speaker 1: to see this thing through, and I shall go with
26:33
Speaker 1: you myself, and we three can do the blasting. We
26:37
Speaker 1: shall be wanted to look after the stamps and pans.
26:40
Speaker 1: Harry said, we had best get three or four old
26:43
Speaker 1: hands for the rock. Yes, that is best, Pete said.
26:47
Speaker 1: Between us, it is hard if we can't lay our
26:50
Speaker 1: hands upon men we can trust, and who will give
26:52
Speaker 1: us their word to stay with us if we offer
26:55
Speaker 1: them six dollars a day. We might offer them ten dollars,
26:59
Speaker 1: Harry said, without hurting ourselves. But we can say six
27:03
Speaker 1: dollars to begin with, and put some more on afterwards.
27:06
Speaker 1: There is old Matt Morgan, Jerry put in. I don't
27:10
Speaker 1: know whether he is about here now. I would trust him.
27:13
Speaker 1: He is getting old for prospecting among the hills now,
27:16
Speaker 1: but he is as good as a miner as ever
27:18
Speaker 1: swung a sledge hammer, and as straight as they make them. Yes,
27:22
Speaker 1: he's a good man. Pete agreed, and after some talk
27:26
Speaker 1: they settled upon three others, all of whom Pete said
27:29
Speaker 1: were either in the town or would be coming in shortly.
27:32
Speaker 1: Now you stop here for a week or two or
27:34
Speaker 1: a month if you like, Harry, then you can go
27:36
Speaker 1: to Salt Lake City as you propose, and then go
27:39
Speaker 1: back to Bridger. If as you pass through you send
27:42
Speaker 1: me five and twenty pounds of that rock by express,
27:45
Speaker 1: it will make it easier for me to arrange the
27:47
Speaker 1: money affair. When you get back, you might crush the
27:50
Speaker 1: rest up and send me a word what it has
27:52
Speaker 1: panned out. Then later on you can go down again
27:55
Speaker 1: to Salt Lake City and buy the wagons and flour
27:58
Speaker 1: and bacon, and take them back to Bridger. When March
28:01
Speaker 1: comes in, I will start from here with some wagons.
28:05
Speaker 1: We want them to take the machinery and powder and tools,
28:08
Speaker 1: and the tea and coffee and things like that, of
28:11
Speaker 1: which we will make a list on to Bridger with
28:14
Speaker 1: the four men we pick out, if I can get
28:16
Speaker 1: them all, if not some others in their place, and
28:19
Speaker 1: a score of young immigrants. I shall have no difficulty
28:23
Speaker 1: in picking out sober, steady chaps, for in a place
28:26
Speaker 1: like this I can find out about their habits before
28:28
Speaker 1: I engage them. However, there will be plenty of time
28:32
Speaker 1: to settle all those points. Now let us hear all
28:35
Speaker 1: about your adventures. I have not heard about you since
28:38
Speaker 1: Tom left, except that he wrote me a short letter
28:40
Speaker 1: from Bridgers saying that you had passed the winter up
28:43
Speaker 1: among the mountains by the Big Wind River, that you
28:45
Speaker 1: had had troubles with the Indians and hadn't been able
28:48
Speaker 1: to do much trapping or looking for gold. Well, we
28:51
Speaker 1: will tell it between us, Harry said, for it is
28:53
Speaker 1: a long yarn. It was indeed past midnight before the
28:57
Speaker 1: story was all told. Long, for it was finished. The
29:01
Speaker 1: two Indians had taken up their rugs and gone up
29:03
Speaker 1: to their room, And although the other three had taken
29:06
Speaker 1: by turns to tell the tale of their adventures, they
29:09
Speaker 1: were all hoarse with speaking by the time they got through.
29:12
Speaker 1: Pete had often stopped them to ask questions at various
29:15
Speaker 1: points where the narrators had been inclined to cut the
29:18
Speaker 1: story short. That beats all, he said, when they brought
29:22
Speaker 1: it to an end, only to think that you have
29:25
Speaker 1: gone down the Grand Canyon. I would not have minded
29:28
Speaker 1: being with you when you were fighting the rappahoes of
29:30
Speaker 1: the Utes, but I would not try going down the
29:33
Speaker 1: canyons for all the gold in California. Well, look here, boys,
29:37
Speaker 1: I know that what you tell me is gospel truth,
29:40
Speaker 1: and all the men who know you well will believe
29:42
Speaker 1: every word you say. But I would not tell the
29:45
Speaker 1: tale to strangers, for they would look on you as
29:48
Speaker 1: the all firedest liars in creation. We have learnt that already,
29:53
Speaker 1: Pete Harry laughed, and we mean to keep it to
29:56
Speaker 1: ourselves at any rate till we have got the mine
29:58
Speaker 1: at work. People may not believe the story of a
30:02
Speaker 1: man in a red shirt. And mind you, I have
30:04
Speaker 1: heard a good many powerful eyes told round a miner's fire.
30:08
Speaker 1: But when it is known we have got a wonderfully
30:10
Speaker 1: rich gold mine, I fancy it will be different. The
30:14
Speaker 1: men would say, if fellows are sharp enough to find
30:17
Speaker 1: a bonanza, it stands the reason they made me sharp
30:20
Speaker 1: enough to find their way down a canyon. Now let
30:23
Speaker 1: us be off to bed, for the heat of the
30:24
Speaker 1: stove has made me so sleepy that for the last
30:27
Speaker 1: hour I have hardly been able to keep my eyes open,
30:30
Speaker 1: and have scarcely heard a word of what Jerry and
30:32
Speaker 1: Tom have been saying. They only remained a few days
30:35
Speaker 1: at Denver, after the life they had been leading they
30:38
Speaker 1: were very speedily tired of that of the town, and
30:41
Speaker 1: at the end of a week they started on horseback
30:44
Speaker 1: with a light wagon drawn by a good team, to
30:47
Speaker 1: carry their stores for the journey and to serve as
30:49
Speaker 1: a sleeping place. There had been no question about the
30:52
Speaker 1: Indians accompanying them. This was regarded as a matter of course.
30:57
Speaker 1: It was by no means a pleasant journey. They had
31:00
Speaker 1: frequent snowstorms and biting wind. Had had sometimes to work
31:03
Speaker 1: for hours to get the wagon out of deep snow
31:06
Speaker 1: which had filled up gullies and converted them into traps.
31:10
Speaker 1: After a stay of three days at Fort Bridger to
31:12
Speaker 1: rest the animals, they went on to Utah, having forwarded
31:16
Speaker 1: the sample of quartz to Pete Hoskins. A fortnight was
31:19
Speaker 1: spent at Salt Lakes City. Wagons, bullocks and stores were purchased,
31:24
Speaker 1: and Harry arranged with some teamsters to bring the wagons
31:27
Speaker 1: out to Fort Bridger as soon as the snow cleared
31:30
Speaker 1: from the ground. End of Chapter eighteen