f it,
thousands of dollars to be had for the taking up. Locks and keys were
unknown, and, when the miner went down to the Forks on Saturday night
to settle his account, he, as a rule, handed the merchant his purse and
let him weigh whatever amount he demanded, without question.

When the great Californian novel which has been prophesied of, and for
which the literary world seems to be waiting, comes to be written, it
will not be a bit popular. And that is because every true Californian,
no matter how depraved he may be, somehow has somewhat of the hero and
the real man in his make-up. And as for the women that are there, they
are angels. So you see there is no one to do the business of the heavy
villain.

Sixty miles from the nearest post and neighboring mining camp, it was
utterly cut off from communication the biggest half of the year by
impassable mountains of snow.

How dark it was down there! The earth it seemed had been cracked open.
Then it seemed as if Nature had reached out a hand, smoothed down the
ruggedest places, set the whole in a dense and sable forest, topt the
mountains round about with everlasting snow, then reached it on to man.
And then it looked as if man had come along just as it was nearly ready,
slid into the crack, and not being strong enough to get out, resolved to
remain there.

The wild beasts were utterly amazed. In this place even the red man had
never yet set his lodge. Deep, and dark, and still. Even the birds were
mute. Great snowy clouds, white as the peaks about which they twined,
and to which they flew like flocks of birds at night to rest, would
droop and droop through the tops of tossing pines, and all the steep and
stupendous mountain side on either hand glistened with dew and rain in
Summer, or glittered and gleamed in mail and rime of frost and ice in
Winter.

These white, foamy, frightened little rivers ran and tumbled together,
as if glad to get down the rugged, rocky mountain, and from under the
deep and everlasting shadows of fir, and pine, and tamarack, and spruce,
and madrona, and the dark sweeping yew, with its beads of scarlet
berries. They fairly shouted as they ran and leapt into the open bit of
clearing at the Forks. Perhaps they were glad to get away from the
grizzlies up there, and were shouting with delight. At all events, they
rose together here, united their forces in the friendliest sort of
manner, and so moved on down together with a great deal more dignit