all come this way?" appealed Charley. Thirty thousand there
were, so people said; and what a procession they would make!

"No. There's that southern trail, around by the Gila, and to San Diego
or up through Los Angeles. And the northern trail, to Oregon and then
down. But the Eastern papers advised taking the Oregon trail up the
Platte and across South Pass beyond Fort Laramie, to Fort Hall; then
south to the Mary's River that Fremont named the Humboldt, down the
Humboldt to the Sinks, over to the Truckee and across the Sierra to the
head of the north fork of the American--the way we came in with Fremont
in Forty-five. And there's that other way, about our trail of
Forty-four: by the Carson River, which is south of the Truckee, over
Carson's Pass of the Sierra, to the South Fork of the American--which
would strike down this trail, like as not, to Sacramento. But in my
opinion the trail up the Truckee to the North Fork is the best, and the
bulk of the people will come that way."

So saying, Mr. Grigsby shouldered his long rifle, and strode out, to
lead. Charley occupied the middle, with the burro. His father limped
in the rear.

XIX

A GREAT DISCOVERY

Coloma, near to the celebrated Sutter's saw-mill, was about thirty
miles on east, up the trail. The trail did not always keep to the
American, but diverged from it. However, streams flowing into the
American were crossed, and ever the trail waxed more interesting.
Several new towns were passed--one, called the Mormon Diggings, was
inhabited largely by Mormons from Salt Lake. Here mining was in full
blast, with many improved methods, as by "cradles," which were boxes
set upon rockers and rocked like a cradle so that the water and sand
were flowed out as from a pan; and by long boxes called "Long Toms,"
set on an incline so that when the water and dirt were flowed down
them, their cleats, nailed across the bottom on the inside, caught and
held the heavy sand and gold. Then the cleats were cleaned and the
gold separated. As further into the foothills the trail led, the more
numerous were the miners; and when the first of the mountains were
entered, every gulch and ravine held its busy population.

Now the mountains, high and thickly timbered, clustered before and on
either side, when, on the afternoon of the second day (for Mr. Adams
traveled slowly on account of his lame leg), Mr. Grigsby, ahead,
pointed and said:

"There's the saw-mill."

So it