ment having somewhat subsided, they were allowed to
proceed on their journey, the money, which they both swore R. had
willed in his dying moments to a near relation of one of these very
men, having been taken from them, in order to be sent by express to the
friends of the deceased in the States.

Although they have been acquitted, many shake their heads doubtfully at
the whole transaction. It seems very improbable that a man, accustomed
all his life to hard labor and exposure, even although slightly unwell,
as it is said he was, at the time, should have sunk under the cold
during a walk of less than twenty miles, amid a gentle fall of snow and
rain, when, as it is well known, the air is comparatively mild. It is
to be hoped, however, that the companions of R. were brutal rather than
criminal, though the desertion of a dying friend under such
circumstances, even to the last unfeeling and selfish act of removing
from the expiring creature his blankets, is, in truth, almost as bad as
actual murder.

I hope, in my next, that I shall have something more cheerful than the
above chapter of horrors to relate. In the mean while, adios, and think
as kindly as you can of the dear California, even though her lustrous
skies gaze upon such barbarous deeds.

LETTER _the_ TWELFTH

[_The_ PIONEER, _February_, 1855]

A STORMY WINTER--HOLIDAY SATURNALIAS

SYNOPSIS

Saturnalia in camp. Temptations of riches. Tribute to the miners.
Dreariness of camp-life during stormy winter weather. Christmas and
change of proprietors at the Humboldt. Preparations for a double
celebration. Mule-back loads of brandy-casks and champagne-baskets.
Noisy procession of revelers. Oyster-and-champagne supper. Three days
of revelry. Trial by mock vigilance committee. Judgment to "treat the
crowd". Revels resumed on larger scale at New Year's. Boat-loads of
drunken miners fall into river. Saved by being drunk. Boat-load of
bread falls into river and floats down-stream. Pulley-and-rope device
for hauling boat across river. Fiddlers "nearly fiddled themselves
into the grave". Liquors "beginning to look scarce". Subdued and
sheepish-looking bacchanals. Nothing extenuated, nor aught set down in
malice. Boating on the river. Aquatic plants. Bridge swept away in
torrent. Loss of canoe. Branch from moss-grown fir-tree "a cornice
wreathed with purple-starred tapestry". A New Year's present from the
river. A two-inch spotted trout. No fresh meat for a month