anything for
entertainment, horse-shoeing, and fresh supplies for the road.
Hospitality is a savage virtue, and disappears with civilization.

As the ores in the Santa Rita Mountains did not make a satisfactory
yield, we turned our explorations to the west of the Santa Cruz River,
and soon struck a vein of petanque (silver copper glance) that yielded
from the grass roots seven thousand dollars a ton. This mine was named
in honor of the president of the company, "Heintzelman," which in German
mining lore is also the name of the genius who presides over mines.

The silver bullion over expenses, which were about fifty per cent, was
shipped, via Guaymas, to San Francisco, where it brought from 125 to 132
cents per ounce for the Asiatic market.

Silver bars form rather an inconvenient currency, and necessity required
some more convenient medium. We therefore adopted the Mexican system of
"boletas." Engravings were made in New York, and paper money printed on
pasteboard about two inches by three in small denominations, twelve and
one half cents, twenty-five cents, fifty cents, one dollar, five
dollars, ten dollars. Each boleta had a picture, by which the illiterate
could ascertain its denomination, viz: twelve and a half cents, a pig;
twenty-five cents, a calf; fifty cents, a rooster; one dollar, a horse;
five dollars, a bull; ten dollars, a lion. With these "boletas" the
hands were paid off every Saturday, and they were currency at the
stores, and among the merchants of the country and in Mexico. When a run
of silver was made, anyone holding tickets could have them redeemed in
silver bars, or in exchange on San Francisco. This primitive system of
greenbacks worked very well,--everybody holding boletas was interested
in the success of the mines; and the whole community was dependent on
the prosperity of the company. They were all redeemed. Mines form the
bank of Nature, and industry puts the money in circulation, to the
benefit of mankind.

In the autumn of 1857 a detachment from the regiment of First Dragoons
arrived in the Santa Cruz Valley, for the purpose of establishing a
military post, and for the protection of the infant settlements. The
officers were Colonel Blake, Major Stein, and Captain Ewell. The first
military post was established at Calaveras, and the arrival of the
officers made quite an addition to the society on the Santa Cruz.

Incident to the arrival of the military on the Santa Cruz was a
citizens' tr