[Theodore H. Hittell, Grizzly Adams in Nevada, from The adventures of James Capen Adams, mountaineer and grizzly bear hunter, of California (1860)]

JAMES CAPEN ADAMS

 

PART SECOND.

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CHAPTER I.

OUR CAMP IN THE SIERRA NEVADA.

My old Camping-ground. Condition of my Wigwam. Predominance of the destructive Faculties. Repairs. Preparations for Winter. A Visit to Howard's Ranch. Furlough of Tuolumne and Stanislaus. My Solitude. Occupations. Lady Washington. Her Disposition. A Hunt at Bell's Meadows. Experiment of packing the Lady. Conduct of the Lady. An old Grizzly entrapped. The Lady and I on Watch. A Grizzly Dam and two Cubs entrapped. Disposition of them. Return of Tuolumne and Stanislaw. Adventure with a Bear at Strawberry Ranch. Attacked by Coyotes. My Castle. Advance of Winter. Our Excursions. The Snow. Tuolumne's Feet frostbitten. Treatment of them. Stanislaus and I overtaken in a Snow-storm. Our Shelter. Lady Washington my Bedfellow. Snowshoes. Sledges. Lady Washington as a draught Animal. Selected Passages of my Adventures.

            UPON reaching the old camping-ground at the head waters of the Merced River, I found that my wigwam, in its untenanted and uncared-for condition during the summer, had become dilapidated. Not that the elements had done much to demolish it ; its substantial construction would have successfully resisted all attacks of the weather ; wild beasts would not have troubled it, and the Indians would, for my sake, have respected it ; but my brother white man, it seems, could not forego his destructive inclinations, and on every side there were evidences of his devastating visits. The doors, which I had made with much trouble, were broken down; the clay plastering

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of the walls was peeled ; many of the poles which made a part of its frame were displaced ; and the marks of the hatchet were to be seen all about it. Just as, in the settled world, every man feels it incumbent upon him to fling a stone or kick off a board from a deserted shanty, so, in the mountains, a hunter or a miner can rarely pass a vacated cabin without hacking into it or pulling apart its timbers. Curiosity, or a hope of finding hidden treasure, might, perhaps, instigate this desolation ; but the more probable cause is the mere spirit of wanton destruction which characterizes a large class of men, and particularly the greatest rovers.

            Fortunately, my tools and all my small valuable property, left in California, I had concealed in a cave ; and, as those had escaped, there was but little to be lost, even though my cabin had been entirely destroyed. At any rate, the labor of a few days, with Tuolumne and Stanislaus to assist, placed things in a better condition than before ; and I soon found myself completely prepared to meet the winter, which was rapidly approaching. We made a comfortable home for ourselves, a good stable for such of the horses or mules as we might wish to keep about us, and put up several stacks of dried grass for horse-feed, when the mountains should be buried in the deep mantle of frost.  In a few days after thus arranging camp, I made a visit to Howard's Ranch, where I had left my wagon ; and, finding that it had been well taken care of during my absence, made a further agreement

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with Howard to retain it, and also to take charge of my mules till I should require them the next spring ; for I had already projected a visit to the Rocky Mountains, and wished them to recruit for the service by an entire winter of ease and good pasturage. Upon this visit, I passed a village of Indians, who proved to be the tribe to which my boys belonged ; and their chief wished to know of me what had become of them for so long a period. I replied that he should see them in a few days ; and, upon getting back to camp, I presented Tuolumne and Stanislaus with new suits of buckskin, and, giving them one of my horses to dispose of as they pleased, started them off on a visit to their people. They were highly delighted with the permit, as well as with the presents, and bade me good-bye in high spirits, promising to return before the spring, and accompany me upon any expedition, wherever I should choose to lead them.

            When they had gone, I was, of course, again left alone in the mountains, far from my fellows, far from what are usually considered the pleasures and comforts of society, with none to think of but myself, my horse, my bear Lady Washington, and my little dog, the gift of my friend, the Indian chief, Kennasket. For a few days, after being thus left, I felt lonely indeed. It seemed as if I had lost everything in the world, and I knew not what to do ; but, by degrees, the burden of solitude grew lighter, and, in the course of a week, I was as busy and contented as during the solitary months of the previous winter.

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            The old cave in the rocks, which served as a hiding-place for my tools, had preserved them well, and I was soon at work, repairing and getting traps ready for every prize which chance might throw in their way.

            Lady Washington was now a constant companion of all my little excursions. She accompanied me to the scenes of my labors, stayed by me while I worked, and followed me when I hunted. The kind and gentle disposition she had begun to exhibit in Washington Territory improved with time and care, and she was now as faithful and devoted, I was going to say, as it was possible for any animal to be ; but, in making this assertion, my noble Californian grizzly, Ben Franklin, that most excellent of all beasts, must be excepted. But for Ben, the history of whose magnanimous traits of character will adorn the following pages, the Lady could truly be pronounced second to none of all the creatures over which the Creator appointed man to be the lord and master.

            One day, when hunting with the Lady at Bell's Meadows, four or five miles from camp, I killed a fat buck, and attempted to carry it home upon my shoulders ; but soon found it more than I was either willing or able to bear. The idea here struck me, of making the Lady carry half of it ; and no sooner thought than done. She had been taught to carry small burdens in Washington, as has heretofore been related ; but never before had her power been applied to a practical purpose. I accordingly split the deer in two parts, and bound one upon her back, — not,

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indeed, without an expectation that she would roll upon and render it useless ; but it would still serve for her own food or bait for the traps, and would, consequently, not be a matter of much loss. Having bound the burden as firmly as possible, I took the remaining meat upon my shoulder, and with my rifle started ahead.

            During all the time of the packing the Lady stood very still, only sometimes looking up in my face with an expression indicating that she would rather eat than carry the load ; but, as soon as I started ahead, she looked around at the load and the lashings, then raised first one paw, and then the other, and endeavored to pull them off. Each time she did so, I exclaimed at her, and she made a step forward ; but presently she fairly turned around, caught a portion of the pack in her teeth, and would have torn it off had I not picked up a stout cudgel and given her several raps, on the receipt of which she growled, but desisted. I then started ahead rapidly, calling her along, and she jumped up and followed. We advanced, however, only a short distance, when she lay down and commenced rolling, trying in this manner to get the burden off; but again I gave her a few cuffs. On starting forward a second time, she again followed a short distance, then lay down and rolled as before ; but at last, finding that resistance to my authority was vain, she acquiesced in her task, and finally, after a troublesome and hard afternoon's work, we arrived at camp. Such was the first packing of the Lady, who afterwards, on more than one occasion,

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bore my camp equipage and other heavy burdens with willingness, and even alacrity.

            In a few days after this, I entrapped a large grizzly, which was so violent that it was necessary to watch to prevent his breaking out of the structure. On this occasion, for the first time, I packed the Lady with my blankets ; and she carried them without dissent, thus affording me the satisfaction of foreseeing of what great assistance she would be. She remained with me at the trap all night ; lay peacefully by the rousing fire which I built ; and for several nights, indeed until a secure cage was made and the new prize safely transferred to it, she kept me company in my exposed vigils.

            A week or two subsequently, I caught a female grizzly and two yearling cubs, which, together with the old grizzly above mentioned, I soon afterwards carried down to Sonora, and disposed of at good rates, laying in and bringing back with me a stock of necessaries for the winter. Just previous to starting on this trip, the Indian boys, Tuolumne and Stanislaus, returned according to their promises ; and my camp was therefore in good hands during my absence.

            On my return, when within a mile of Strawberry Ranch, late in the afternoon, I shot a fat buck ; I was, however, too much fatigued to pack the body, and left it lying, while I rode on to a log-hut, intending to go back for it after refreshing and resting myself. Upon returning about sundown, I perceived that a grizzly bear had taken possession of the meat,

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and was busily making his supper ; which audacious intermeddling of his, after I had made up my mouth for a good roast that evening, was as unpleasant as it was unexpected. I determined to punish the fellow with proper spirit ; and, accordingly, crawling around without being perceived, I got behind a huge pine-tree, from which, taking a deliberate aim, I fired at him. Owing, however, to the duskiness of the hour, my aim was not as good as could have been wished, and the ball must have glanced, for the bear, after uttering a tremendous growl, rose upon his feet and looked around for his disturber ; but, not discovering me, he soon dropped upon all-fours again, and ran off with a speed which did credit to the locomotive powers of the species. After he had disappeared, I ventured down to the deer ; but found that the bear had got his full share, for he had eaten nearly half. He had, as is the general habit of bears, commenced operations at the breast, consumed the vitals, and then attacked the foreparts. I shouldered what he had left, and started off ; but must acknowledge that every rustle and stir for a while produced anything but a pleasant effect upon my nerves, and more than once I supposed that now the real battle would come.

            The bear, however, had got enough ; but in a short time three saucy coyotes came up behind me, and disputed the title to the venison. They ran around, barked and snapped at the meat, and endeavored to seize it ; and, it being too dark to procure aim with my rifle, the only way left to defend the booty was to

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take my bowie-knife to them. The cowardly knaves seemed to understand the virtues of the steel, and kept at a respectable distance ; till at length I reached the hut, and built up a large fire, which effectually scared them off, though they afterwards returned with an accession of forces, and barked and yelped about the neighborhood all night. After roasting and eating my supper, I carried the remainder of the meat with me into the cabin, and, bolting the door, lay down and had a comfortable night of sleep, to which my fatigue had disposed me.

            The next day, I reached camp and found everything in good order, as was to have been expected under the care of my faithful boys. From this time, for the next month or two, we continued in our mountain camp, making short excursions in search of game only as we required it. Meanwhile the winter advanced ; first the rains fell, and by degrees the snows came more and more frequently, until at length the regular snow-line descended from the higher peaks far below us ; and at last the entire mountain-side was enveloped for the season in a glittering white mantle As the snow-line descended, the game, as usual, preceded it ; so that it was only occasionally that our traps procured us a stray wolf or bear, and all our hunting had to be done in the more moderate climates in the foothills below. In our trips up and down the mountains, we were at first much incommoded by the snow ; but presently, after a few thaws and frosts, the crust became sufficiently hard to bear us well, and we travelled upon it with comparative ease.

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            Upon one of these trips, Tuolumne complained about his feet ; and, on examination, I ascertained that they were frostbitten. I immediately directed him to bathe them in very cold water, then anoint them with panther's oil, and wrap them up in cotton cloths. After doing this, he was put to bed and required to remain at camp for several days, by which time he fully recovered.

            One of these days, Stanislaus and I went out on a short hunt, but were overtaken by a dreadful storm, and compelled to take shelter for the night under a pine-tree. We built a rousing fire, and lay down to sleep ; but in the course of the night I awoke, and finding the weather very severe and Stanislaus suffering from cold, I made him take my blanket in addition to his own. As for myself, I coaxed Lady Washington, who accompanied us, as near the fire as possible, and then lay down next her, having her shaggy coat on one side and the fire on the other. It was my first experiment of this kind, and I felt a little fearful for a while of having a troublesome bedfellow ; but, being very sleepy, I soon forgot my anxiety in slumber. Once only she got up and withdrew for a few minutes, but soon came back, lapped my hands a moment, and again nestled down in her former position, apparently with the object of getting as close to me as I wished to get to her. It was late the next morning before I waked, when I found my shaggy companion still sleeping, and as calmly and peacefully as could have been desired.

            In the early part of the winter we also made our-

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selves snow-shoes, by bending tough pieces of green wood into large bows, and weaving over them strips of green hide. These we fastened to the bottom of our moccasins with straps of buckskin ; and, having thus wide foundations, we were able to walk easily upon the surface of the snow, even when it was very soft ; and they were of great service on many occasions. We also constructed sledges to transport our game through the snow ; and sometimes hitched up Lady Washington, and made her draw them. She was slow in learning her duty at this kind of service, and required watching and correction some time before she took to the work with proper spirit ; but, by degrees, she learnt the lesson well, and was thus of great value, not only as a beast of burden, but also as a draught animal.

            But a detailed account of our wintering in the mountains of California, where there were so many objects to attract and engage the attention, would furnish in itself ample matter for a large volume. I must remember that I have an almost interminable subject before me, and am therefore compelled to compress and abridge with an unsparing hand ; and sometimes pass over much time in a few words. I must remember, that now, and here, I can only select the more important passages of my adventures, and present them to the reader in as brief, plain, and unadorned terms as possible.

 

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CHAPTER II.

YOSEMITE.

Arrival of Solon. Resolution to visit the Yosemite Valley with him. Our Contract. Our Start. The Road. First Impressions of the Valley. Splendors of the Scene. The View from the Foot of the Cliffs. General Hunting. Birth of Rambler. Ben Franklin. Discovery of a Grizzly's Den. My one Idea. My Resolution. My Preparations. The Ravine. Chaparral. Reconnoitring. The Position and Appearance of the Den. Provision for my Mule. A Night-watch. Report of the Rifle among the Hills. Subterranean Sounds. A Day-watch. A Sight of the Grizzly Dam. Change of Position. Preparation for a Combat. Sleep. A Panther's Scream. Alarm. Reflection. My Determination. The Grizzly Yell. The Response, Appearance of the Bear. Our relative Positions. My Attack. A desperate Effort. Death of the Bear. My Feelings.

            As the spring of 1854 approached, and the snow line moved higher and higher towards the summits of the mountains, and the grass began to spring upon slope and shelf, and the game to follow, and the hunters to come up, we had occasional visits from the rovers of the countries below. One of these was Mr. Solon, of Sonora, who stopped on his way to the famous Yosemite Valley, that most sublime region of California, and perhaps of the world. He came, he told me, having heard of my hunting, to persuade me to go upon a general hunt in the great valley ; and it was not long before we projected a trip, which was to last about a month. The agreement between us was, that, in consideration of my furnishing a

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horse, two mules, and the assistance of Tuolumne, I was to receive two thirds of the prizes and profits of the expedition. We immediately proceeded to make arrangements for the hunt ; and, at the end of a few days, after bringing up the mules from Howard's, and laying in a stock of provisions for the subsistence of Stanislaus during our absence, we started off over the mountains southeastward, taking with us, besides the horse and mules, my bear Lady Washington, and a greyhound which I had purchased on my last visit to Howard's, and brought up with me.

            Our road was rough and difficult ; but, after travelling three days, we arrived upon the brink of the great valley. The first view of this sublime scenery was so impressive that we were delayed a long time, as if spellbound, looking down from the mountain upon the magnificent landscape far below. It is vain to attempt to convey the effect produced by those giant and picturesque cliffs three thousand feet high, that romantic valley-bottom with its green carpet and silvery stream, and those groves of trees, which are formed and placed as if a skilful artist had disposed them to portray the essence of romance. It is vain to attempt with words alone, to convey the impressions produced upon the mind by such an enchanting sight ; magnitude may be imagined, beauty may be conceived, but the breadth and scope of these rocks, the tempered tints of these distances, the influence of these sublime forms, inclosing within their compass lawns and groves and grassy banks, presenting at every turn

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new and unimagined splendors, — all these must be seen and felt, to be fully comprehended.

            But, however grand the valley looked from above, it was not until the next day, when we descended into it and looked upward, that we obtained the grandest views ; just as, at Niagara, the most awe-inspiring sight is from the foot of the falls, looking up at the waters, pouring, as it were, out of heaven. There is a fall here, too, thousands instead of hundreds of feet in height ; but it was not the fall, so much as the scenery below and around, that ravished my eyes, and produced impressions upon my mind that are ineffaceable. Who could ever forget those stupendous cliffs, with their fit associates, the tapering evergreens ? or the greenswards, and oak and cotton-wood groves of the valley, with such surroundings ? — and Flora adorns the carpet underneath, as brightly as the rainbows paint the spray above. We spent the entire day visiting every interesting point, and searching out the varied beauties of this inexhaustible valley.

            The next morning, we moved about ten miles above the falls, and pitched our camp in a grassy glen, where for several days we hunted with great success, slaying deer, antelopes, and bears. In this camp, the greyhound unexpectedly presented me with a litter of puppies, one of which grew up to be Rambler, the companion of Ben, and, as such companion, a sharer in my affection for that noble animal.

            My next adventure, and the most fortunate of all my career, was the capture of Ben Franklin, the

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flower of his race, my firmest friend, the boon companion of my after-years. Upon reviewing the adventure now, it seems that an inexplicable influence was at work within me, foreshadowing the singular good-fortune in store, and attracting me, with an irresistible impulse, to brave the dangers and fatigues of besieging, day after day, and night after night, the stronghold of his ferocious dam, slaying her in the very portals of her den, and seizing her offspring by fighting my way over her body.

            We had moved to the head waters of the Mariposa River. On the first hunt there, I discovered a grizzly's den, and no sooner had my eyes fallen upon it, than I forgot all other hunting; I thought and dreamed of nothing else than how to take it ; this, at once, became all my ambition. Deer, antelopes, panthers, wolves, and other bears there were, in plenty, about me ; it seemed, too, that they crossed my path more frequently than ever ; but they were unheeded ; all my mind was taken up with the one sole idea of what proved to be the greatest of my achievements. Fired with this single thought, I determined to separate from my companions, leaving them to employ themselves as their inclinations pleased ; as for myself, I had chosen my post, and would station myself at it, to succeed in my undertaking or die in the attempt.

            Having thus resolved, I cleaned my rifle and pistol, sharpened my knives, prepared muzzles and strings, furnished myself with provisions, and, packing my blankets upon a mule, started off for the scene of my

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labors. It was a cañon-like ravine between two hills, densely covered with thickets of chaparral, with here and there a bunch of juniper bushes, a scrubby pine, or a cedar. A heap of fresh dirt in the thicket on one side, indicated the site of the den. It resembled the earth which a miner wheels out and dumps at the opening of a tunnel ; and in size was as much as about fifty cart-loads. The chaparral about it contained some thorn bushes, but could still be penetrated. Like almost all the Californian chaparral, it was thornier than that found in Washington ; but not so much so as that of Mexico, which cannot be safely entered, unless a man be clothed in leather.

            In a short time after arriving, which was late in the afternoon, I climbed a tree, and reconnoitred the entire ravine. From that position, I observed and chose a spot for concealment in a bunch of junipers, on the opposite side of the cañon, and about a hundred yards distant from the den ; and, upon cautiously crawling up, found, as I had anticipated, that it afforded a fair view of its mouth at the same time that it screened me entirely from observation. Though it was impossible to see far into the den, I soon ascertained its character to be similar to that usually dug by the Californian grizzly ; — in form something like an oven, having an entrance three or four feet in diameter and six or ten feet long, with a larger space, or den proper, rounded out at the extremity, intended for the lying-in place of the dam and the bedding of the cubs. A number of such dens I had seen in the Sierra, varying only according to their position and

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the quality of the ground in which they were excavated. The ravine here was rugged and narrow ; and the den penetrated its steep, bushy side, about fifty feet above the bed of the stream, at this time dry, which formed the bottom of the cañon.

            After making these observations, and satisfying myself that my position was the most judicious possible, being convinced that there were cubs in the place, I went back to the mule, built up a little fire for her protection, and then, leaving her to herself, I took my blankets, returned to my post in the juniper bushes, and commenced my watch, which I kept up unremittingly till morning. It was an uncomfortable vigil ; the ground was so steep that there was no level place to lie down, and the night was very cold. I thought several times in the course of it that I could hear the barking of cubs in the direction of the den ; but, with this exception, every thing in the ravine was silent and dreary. Other wild beasts had evidently been driven away from the region by the fear of the savage tenant, who made all a desert in her neighborhood ; so that even the lugubrious howls of the wolf and coyote, which custom had made music to my ears, were inaudible ; and for the very want of melancholy noises, I was more than usually melancholy.

            As the light of dawn began to peep, the thought struck me to discharge my rifle for two reasons : first, to see what effect it would have ; and, again, to put in a fresh charge. Upon doing so, the report echoed off among the hills, as if they were playing with the unaccustomed sound. It had barely died away, when

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there seemed to be a snuffing underground, very faint at first, but growing louder and louder, until there was no mistaking it for the growl of a bear. I climbed a small tree, and looked and listened attentively, in hopes of seeing her ; but the sound died away in a few minutes, and again all was silent. Descending to my place in the bushes, I continued the watch, now peeping into the den, and then looking at the vultures and buzzards sailing high overhead, till the sun rose, which, in that narrow gorge, was not until nearly noon. I then returned to the mule, moved her to a new pasture, and provided myself with a meal of dried venison, which I ate with excessive relish, and washed down with water from a spring at the foot of the ravine. After satisfying myself, feeling much refreshed, I cautiously returned to the juniper bushes, resumed my watch, and sat most of the afternoon with my arms ready for action ; — but there were no signs of bears, and no noises save the chirping of a few birds among the chaparral. Shortly after mid-day I got a short nap, and in the evening went back and built a fire near the mule ; but before dark I was at my post again, and there I remained, shivering, till morning.

            About daybreak there was again a noise in the den, and I thought the old bear might be stirring, and prepared for her reception ; but it was a vain expectation ; for in a short time all was quiet, and it seemed as if she never would show herself. As the morning advanced, however, I discharged my rifle again, and was gratified, not only with a snuff in the

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den, but also with the sight of the occupant's head and paws, as she came to the mouth of her stronghold ; but the most grateful circumstance was the yelping of cubs, which could now be distinctly heard. Being thus convinced, beyond the possibility of a doubt, of the presence of what I sought, I directly made arrangements for an encounter with the dam.

            For an attack, my position, chosen for an outlook, was too far distant ; and, besides, a rugged, deep hollow intervened ; so that, even had a ball wounded the animal, I would not be near enough to improve the advantage. Accordingly, after attending to the wants of my mule and eating my lonely meal, I moved my position across the ravine to a point about forty yards above the den, from which I could easily see the bank of excavated dirt, though not the entrance. To reach this point, I had to move through the bushes very circumspectly, and, therefore, slowly ; in many places it was necessary to use my knife in cutting my way ; and much noise would inevitably have brought the ferocious brute upon me, while unprepared. Upon reaching the position at last, there appeared to be nothing to disturb my view, except several twigs which stuck up a few yards in front ; these I found it necessary to remove ; and, for this purpose, laying aside my rifle for the first time in two days, and crawling forwards under the brush, I rose, cut the twigs with my knife, laid them aside, and, creeping back to my position, as cautiously as if in an Indian ambush, again felt safe in the companionship of my rifle.

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As the third evening approached, I visited the mule as before, but neglected to make a fire ; and, hurriedly returning, took up my post for the night. Up to this time excitement had kept me wakeful, but tired nature now called for rest ; and, as I sat with my blankets drawn closely round me, and my rifle between my knees, I unwittingly fell asleep, and for many hours was totally unconcious of my purposes in that wild and savage glen, and the dangers which surrounded me. It was nearly morning when I was suddenly aroused and dreadfully startled by the screech of a panther on the hill above me. For a moment my very bones quaked with terror ; but I soon reasoned myself calm. What a fool, thought I, to be thus startled by the cry of a panther, a cowardly brute, which dare not stand face to face and fight with a man ; while here I am, inviting a combat with a grizzly bear, the savagest beast that ranges the forest ! With this comfortable reflection, I worked up my courage, and, being greatly refreshed with my sleep, felt bold enough to face almost any odds ; —but the panther did not approach ; and in less than twenty minutes a distant scream notified me that he was already far beyond my reach.

            Daylight came, but the bear still remained housed, and I began to think she would not make her appearance. My watching was now becoming very irksome, and, feeling much like bringing the adventure to an issue, I determined to rouse her. There was some danger in this ; for my plan would probably attract her directly to me, and, as sure as she should see me,

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I knew she would give no time to draw an aim. Before putting my plan in execution, therefore, I stuck my cap full of green twigs, and stationed myself in such a manner in the bushes that it would take a nice eye to discern my form, even though looking directly towards me. Having thus disposed myself, cocking and drawing my rifle, I uttered one of those terrific yells with which I have so often started the grizzly to his feet. It echoed like the roar of a lion up the cañon ; and in a moment afterwards there was a booming in the den like the puffing and snorting of an engine in a tunnel, and the enraged animal rushed out, growling and snuffing, as if she could belch forth the fire of a volcano. She rose upon her hind feet, and exhibited a monster form, — limbs of terrible strength. She looked around in every direction ; but in a few moments, seeing nothing to attack, she sat down upon her haunches, with her back towards me and her face towards the opposite side of the cañon, as if her enemy were there.

            During these few minutes I stood as motionless as a statue, hardly breathing, waiting and watching an opportunity to fire. Had I met such an animal unawares, in an unexpected place, her ferocity would have made me tremble ; but after my long watch I was anxious to commence the attack, and felt as steady as a piece of ordnance upon a battery. As I watched, I saw her turn her head towards the den ; and, fearing she would retire, I gave a low, sharp whistle, which brought her to her feet again, with her breast fronting directly towards me. It was then, having my rifle

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already drawn, that I fired ; and in an instant, dropping the rifle, I drew my pistol in one hand and my knife in the other. The bear, as the ball slapped loudly in the fat of her breast, staggered and fell backwards, and began pawing and biting the ground, — a sure sign of a deadly hurt. Copious streams of crimson blood also gushed from her breast, and I knew that they came from the fountainhead. The work was, indeed, nearly done ; but so anxious was I to complete it at once, that I commenced leaping over the bushes to plunge my knife in her dying heart ; when, gathering her savage strength, she rose, and, with one last, desperate effort, sprang towards me. The distance between us was only thirty feet, but, fortunately, full of brush, and she soon weakened with the prodigious energy requisite to tear her way through it. I discharged the six shots of my revolver, the last of which struck under the left ear, and laid her still for a moment ; when, leaping forwards, I plunged my knife to her vitals. Again she endeavored to rise, but was so choked with blood that she could not. I drew my knife across her throat, and after a few convulsive struggles she expired.

            My feelings, as she thus lay dead at my feet, it would be difficult to describe. I looked at the hills around, to see if any eye had beheld my success ; but all was silence. I looked to the heavens ; but all was quiet, only a vulture was circling like a speck in the distant ether. I was alone in the gorge, and, as I looked upon the dead monster, felt like Alexander sated with victory, and wishing another foe to engage, worthy of my prowess.

 

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CHAPTER III.

BEN FRANKLIN.

Pleasurable Recollections of the Mariposa Adventure. Determination to enter the Den. My Caution. My Preparations. Torches. Construction of the Den. Seizure of the Cubs. Retreat. My Joy. Disappearance of the Mule. " Betz." Traces of the Panther. Return to Camp. Solon's Wonder. Christening of the Cubs. Revisit the Den. Reentry of the Den. Discovery of a Wolf. Adventure with the Wolf. Solon's Fright. Manufacture of Milk. A new Idea. The Hound a Foster-mother of the Cubs. Buckskin Mittens. Thriving of the Cubs. Solon's trading Trips to the Mines. Lady Washington as a Pack-animal. Hunting with the Lady. A gray Wolf. Capture of Wolf Whelps. Deers' Eyes by the Nightfire. Mountain Sheep. Slay a Ram. Solon and I on the Hunt. Solon attacked by a Panther. His Peril. My Attack. Solon's Story. Solon's Forethought. Reflections. Solon's Wounds. The Water-cure. The Philosophy of the Water-cure. Mountain Surgery in Earnest. Search for the Panther. Discovery of the Beast and her Kittens. Our Attack. Slaying of the Dam. Seizure of the Kittens. Solon's Satisfaction. Characteristics of Mountain Sheep. Our Family. Lady Washington with the Kittens on her Back. Return to Camp. Presents to Tuolumne and Stanislaus. Their Devotion.

            IT is with pleasure that I dwell upon this part of my story, and I would fain distinguish it with living words. In all the after-course of my career, I could look back upon it with peculiar satisfaction ; and rarely, in the following years, did I pat the shaggy coat of my noble Ben, but I recurred to my fatiguing and solitary vigils in the Mariposa cañon, my combat with the monster grizzly, my entry in her den, and seizure of her offspring. The whole adventure is impressed

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upon my memory, as if it had occurred but yesterday.

            No sooner was the dam dead, than I turned towards the den, and determined to enter it without delay. Approaching its mouth, accordingly, I knelt, and tried to peer in ; but all was dark, silent, and ominous. What dangers might lurk in that mysterious gloom, it was impossible to tell ; nor was it without a tremor that I prepared to explore its depths. I trembled for a moment at the thought of another old bear in the den ; but on second thought I assured myself of the folly of such an idea ; for an occurrence of this kind would have been against all experience. But in such a situation, a man imagines many things, and fears much at which he afterwards laughs ; and therefore, though there was really no difficulty to anticipate, I carefully loaded my rifle and pistol, and carried my arms as if the next instant, I was to be called upon to fight for life. Being thus prepared, I took from my pocket a. small torch made of pine splinters, lighted it, and, placing my rifle in the mouth of the den, with the torch in my left and the pistol in my right hand, I dropped upon my knees and began to crawl in.

            The entrance consisted of a rough hole, three feet wide and four feet high. It extended inwards nearly horizontally, and almost without a turn, for six feet, where there was a chamber, six or eight feet in diameter and five feet high, giving me room to rise upon my knees, but not to stand up ; — and its entire floor was thickly carpeted with leaves and grass. On the first look, I could see no animals, and felt grievously disap- 

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pointed ; but, as I crawled around, there was a rustling in the leaves ; and, bending down with my torch, I discovered two beautiful little cubs, which could not have been over a week old, as their eyes, which open in eight or ten days, were still closed. I took the little sprawlers, one after the other, by the nape of the neck, lifted them up to the light, and found them very lively. They were both males ; a circumstance which gave me reason to presume there might be a third cub, for it is frequent that a litter consists of three, and I looked carefully ; but no other was to be found. I concluded, therefore, that if there had been a third, the dam had devoured it, — a thing she often, and, if a cub dies, or be deformed, she always, does. Satisfying myself that there were no others, I took the two, and, placing them in my bosom, between my buckskin and woollen shirt, once more emerged into daylight.

            The possession of the prizes delighted me so much that I almost danced my way down through the bushes and over the uneven ground to the spot where my mule had been left ; but, upon arriving there, it gave me great concern to find that she was gone. At first, I thought surely she had been stolen ; but, as my bag of dried venison remained undisturbed upon the tree, and much more as the tracks of a panther were to be seen in the neighborhood, I became convinced that she had been attacked by my disturber of the previous night, and had broken away. Indeed, upon further examination, I found her track, leading off through the chaparral ; and, following it over a hill and through another cañon, at

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length found her grazing in a grassy valley. She seemed much frightened at first upon seeing me, but when I called her " Betz," she stopped, turned around, looked, and then came up, apparently glad to meet me again. Her haunches bore several deep and fresh scratches, which were still more convincing evidences to my mind that the panther had sprung upon her, but that she had broken loose and escaped.

            Mounting the mule, I returned to the dead bear, and, cutting her up, packed a portion of her meat ; the remainder I left in the mouth of the den ; and, turning my face out of the ravine, I proceeded in excellent spirits, bearing the cubs still in my bosom, towards the camp of my companions. Upon reaching there, shortly after dark, I showed Solon what I had accomplished ; and, placing the cubs before him, chose one for my own and presented him with the other. He thought that this was more than his share ; but I insisted upon his receiving it, and he did so with a thankful heart. He asked me the story of the capture, and I told it, from the moment of my leaving camp to my return, He wondered much at my patient watching in the juniper bushes, and said he would not have done it, but still he wished he had been with me ; — and thus we went on talking, till the dying embers admonished us of the lateness of the hour. Before retiring, Solon christened his cub General Jackson ; I remarked that General Jackson was a great man in his way, but I would call my bear Ben Franklin,— a greater name. Such was the man-

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ner that, in one and the same day, I captured and christened my noble Ben.

            The next morning, Solon expressed a desire to see the den, and we hunted in that direction. Upon arriving at the shot, we found that the bear-meat, which I had left at its mouth the previous day, was torn to pieces and almost entirely eaten. What had done this we did not know, and conjectured vultures ; but, as our supply of meat was already ample, the loss gave us no concern, and we thought nothing more of the matter ; and, as we had brought with us several torches, I told Solon to light one if he wished to examine the den, and go in. He, however, seemed backward about venturing, and finally I seized the torch myself, and prepared to lead the way. As I did so, the leaves in the den rustled in a singular manner, and, upon getting in nearly to the chamber, I heard a jump and a growl. This startled me for a moment ; but, having my pistol in my hand, I kept my ground, and, holding the torch over my head and looking keenly before me, soon perceived the dark outlines of a wolf, sitting upon his haunches close up against the further side of the den, and grinning at me with a most ferocious expression.

            The wolf, notwithstanding his cowardly disposition, is an ugly fellow to deal with in close quarters, and many men in this situation would have been very willing to leave him alone ; but I determined to give him fight, and called to Solon to stand ready, provided he should get past me. Then, sticking my torch in the ground, and drawing my knife in my left hand, hav- 

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ing my revolver in my right, I fired at the growling brute, and would directly have fired a second shot, but, without giving me time to do so, the beast bounded past, in the endeavor to escape. As he did so, I seized his tail and struck with my knife ; but this did not stay his progress, and he would have certainly escaped, but, fortunately, Solon was well prepared, and gave a blow which laid him cold, as he emerged.

            Having thus cleared the den a second time, I handed the torch to Solon, and he stooped down and started in. He had crawled but a few feet, however, when, in a spirit of mischief, I cried out to him to beware of the other wolf ; — and he suddenly backed out, so terribly frightened that I was sorry for him. He would have become angry about the matter, but I laughed the humor out of him, and after a while he entered the den. I followed ; and after viewing the place to our complete satisfaction, we came out and returned to camp.

            Having thus caught our cubs, it next became a matter of difficulty, which troubled me several days, how to feed them. In the morning, I had given them a mixture of water, flour, and sugar, which was the nearest approach to milk could think of ; but this substitute would hardly answer for any length of time. While thinking over the matter, however, an idea struck me ; and, on being put in execution, it worked much better than could have been anticipated. This was no less than making the greyhound suckle them. To make room, we destroyed all the grey- 

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hound's litter except one, and foisted the cubs in their places. As was to be expected, the hound was at first a little ugly towards these strange foster-children, and would snap and bite them ; but by degrees she admitted them freely, and would even lap and fondle them, — so that, in fine, they at last shared in her affection with her own offspring. To prevent the scratching of their paws, we made little buckskin mittens ; and these were put on every time they sucked, — which continued for about three or four weeks. They were only a little heavier and clumsier than the puppy at first ; but they grew fast, seeming to thrive well on the milk ; and by degrees we taught them to eat bruised meat, and, finally, entirely weaned them.

            Meanwhile we continued our hunting ; and on several occasions, while in the region, Solon made trips down the mountains to the nearest mines, taking with him the horse and mules, packed with fresh and dried meat, which sold readily to the Miners, and for a good profit. During these trips, Tuolumne and I, upon our excursions, took with us Lady Washington in place of a pack-animal ; for, by this time, she had become so well trained that she answered every purpose. I had made a kind of saddle of green hide, resembling a Mexican aparejo ; and with this we could pack upon her loads of two hundred pounds' weight, which she would cheerfully carry.

            Our success in hunting exceeded our expectations, and various were the adventures we met with. One day I left camp with the Lady, and travelled over a

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large extent of country without meeting anything worthy of notice. In the evening, I came into the midst of a region of large cliffs and shelving rocks, full of holes and caves, and with many large cedar and pine trees. It was too far distant to think of reaching camp that night, and I therefore determined to spend the night there ; and, searching out a safe spot near a spring of water, took up my station, having the Lady lying at my side. I had not been sitting long, when a gray wolf, with two fine pups about a month old, approached ; and as it was not yet dark, I easily killed her.

            The cubs gave me greater difficulty, having run into a cleft in the rocks, from which it was only with smoke that they could be dislodged. As they came out, I seized them ; but, catching the last by the tail instead of the neck, it turned and bit my hand severely ; however, I kept my hold and secured him. I then built up a fire near the spring, and threw myself upon the grass, waiting for whatever might come. In the course of half an hour, a band of deer approached, and it was not long before I saw half a dozen pairs of glistening eyes looking curiously at the fire. They presented a beautiful sight, and it was almost with sorrow that I fired at the foremost one, which fell ; but the rest scampered off. The remainder of the night, having first roasted and eaten a bit of fresh venison, I endeavored to sleep, but was much disturbed by wolves and panthers, which kept up a dreadful howling and shrieking. In the morning very early I mounted the cliffs, and reached a very rough

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and barren region, higher up in the mountains than I usually went. Looking around, I soon discovered a flock of mountain sheep, in every respect similar to Rocky Mountain big-horns. I crept forward among the rocks very cautiously, till within sixty yards of the flock, but could procure aim only at an old ram which had a broken horn. I waited a considerable length of time, in hopes of seeing a better head ; but at last, getting out of patience, fired at what there was. As the ball struck, the ram bounded, like a piece of India-rubber, high into the air, and fell dead, flat upon the rock ; but the remainder of the flock ran up the cliffs, and before I could reload, had entirely disappeared. The ram, which weighed about seventy-five pounds, and the deer killed in the night, I packed upon the Lady, and, taking the wolf pups in a bag, travelled back to camp.

            On another occasion, Solon and I started out very early ; and, coming to a spot where two ravines came together, he started up one and I the other. I had not gone more than a quarter of a mile before I heard Solon cry out for help. I bounded up the ridge which separated us, and, upon reaching the top, saw him lying under a large tree in the other ravine, and a panther on top of him, apparently gnawing into his neck. I shouted to him to lie still, and, drawing my rifle, fired at the beast ; but, in my anxiety to shoot wide of my comrade, I did not strike the panther fair, and he bounded off into the bushes, and escaped.

            In answer to my inquiries in relation to this singu- 

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lar adventure, Solon told me that as he was walking up the ravine, looking only forward, and paying no attention to the trees overhead, the beast suddenly leaped upon his back and struck him to the ground. In the same moment that he fell, he cried out for me, and pulled the cape of his buckskin coat over his neck— and this evidently saved his life. How he came to have such forethought was strange ; some others might have done so, but most men would never have thought of it ; I, for one, would have sooner drawn my knife and fought. I asked why he did not fight ; he replied that he was afraid to move, supposing that it would only infuriate the animal. Such a caution, said I, would have been good in case of a bear ; but the panther is made of different stuff. By nature a coward and a sneak, he has the cruelty of cowardice, daring the combat only when he has a sure advantage, and wreaking a bloodthirsty ferocity most upon an unresisting victim. A determined stroke with a knife, though it might not have killed, would have terrified and put him to flight.

            In the meanwhile, I stripped the coat from Solon's back, and found his shoulders severely scratched by the panther's claws. His neck, also, was badly bitten, but not dangerously ; for the buckskin had fortunately saved it. Still the wounds were serious enough to require the best of my surgical skill, and I at once placed them under treatment. I led the patient directly to a spring which was not far distant ; and, making him bend over it, with a piece of hollowed bark I poured water over his wounds, until

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he complained bitterly of the cold. I then put on his shirt, saturated with water, and over that, his coat ; and, drawing off my own coat, put that, also, upon him. This was an easy matter, as my shoulders were much broader than his, and, besides, my clothing was always worn very loose, so as to give me perfect freedom of action.

            A further article of my prescription was, that he should drink as much water as possible ; but he replied that he was not thirsty, and wished to know why he should do so. I explained the reason, by saying that he would soon become warm; the water would, more readily, induce perspiration, and that would ease his pains. He then followed the direction ; and, as we returned to camp, though he started stiff, in a short time, by warming up and perspiring, he felt well, and travelled as comfortably as ever. My surgery, however, did not end here ; for, upon reaching head-quarters, and examining the wounds closely, I found there were two, more serious than anticipated, in the back of Solon's head, where the marks of the panther's teeth were plainly visible. To reach them, it was necessary to shave the hair ; and, as my bowie-knife was the nearest approach to .a razor in the camp, it was not without wailing and gnashing of teeth that the tonsorial operation was accomplished. Indeed, before it was half done, the patient cried that I was worse than the panther. I excused myself by the wretchedness of my razor, and hacked away again ; when he refused to submit any longer to what he called my horrible butchery. Like an expert

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doctor, however, I had Tuolumne holding his head ; and, though he gritted his teeth and shouted with pain, I went on, with apparently the most unfeeling coolness, with my work, until the hair was as short as the nap of velvet ; after which I bandaged the wounds with wet rags, and put my patient to bed.

            Solon passed a good night, and the next morning, seeing he could get along alone, I determined to hunt up the panther ; and, taking Tuolumne proceeded at once to the ravine where the accident had occurred. We soon found the trail, here and there marked with spots of blood, and followed it for more than a mile over a hill into a deep cañon. We at last came to a very rugged and brushy place, where it was necessary to creep ; and, crawling along, we were suddenly startled by a low growl, and, looking low under the bushes, beheld the beast glaring upon us from a cleft in the rocks. At her side lay five kittens ; but there was blood upon them and upon her, giving evidence that my shot the day previous had not been harmless. Indeed, had it not been for that shot, I doubt whether the panther would have allowed us to approach so near her den, without either attacking or fleeing.

            Our situation, under any circumstances, was not without its danger ; but so used to perils had I become, that not for a moment did my judgment desert me. It had always been my practice, when out with Tuolumne, upon getting into danger like this, to give him the first fire. He was a good

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marksman ; and, if he killed, it would be a great encouragement to him ; if he did not, it would require a degree of coolness, which he did not possess, to fire an effective second shot. Accordingly, at my beck now, he discharged his rifle. He struck her, but not to kill, and the coward brute turned to fly ; but, as she exposed her side, I bored her through the middle with my shot, and she dropped in her tracks. We immediately rushed up and secured the kittens, which were about a week old. We afterwards examined the dead body, and found, besides the wounds in the breast and groin which she had just received, that my ball, the previous day, had struck her shoulder, and buried itself in her neck. We then drew our knives and whipped off her skin, preserving the head and claws, and, taking it and the cubs, set out upon our return. On arriving at camp again, Solon complained of lonesomeness ; but when I presented him with the skin of the panther, he grew cheerful, and enjoyed the story of our adventure with great relish ; but he would have wished, he said, to have been in Tuolumne's place, and have had the first fire at the beast.

            For three or four days after this, we continued our hunting, and, on several occasions, made efforts to kill more mountain sheep. These wary animals inhabit the rockiest and most inaccessible heights of the mountains. Wherever there is a high, rugged, jaggy, treeless waste, with only here and there a stunted bush, a clump of bushes or scanty bunches of grass, there may they be looked for, lurking in the

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clefts and nooks of the cliffs. It requires a good hunter to approach them ; he must keep himself out of sight ; he must allow no breath of wind to carry notice of his vicinity to their keen nostrils ; he must be a sure marksman, for no second shot can be hoped for. In an instant's alarm, the shaggy flock, as if gifted with wings, fly up the precipices, and only the eagle can follow them.

            Upon breaking up camp, to return to our general head-quarters on the Merced River, we had, besides numerous bales of dried meat and hides, quite a family of young animals, consisting of two bear cubs, two wolf pups, five panther kittens and two fawns, which we caught upon one of our excursions. These young animals we packed in boxes or baskets, and placed on top of the bags and bales carried by the horse and mules. Lady Washington also, on the journey homeward, was required to bear her proportion, which she obediently did, till the panthers, which constituted a portion of her burden, began to whine ; and she then became so uneasy that I was compelled to lead her until they were quieted.

            We travelled back over the mountains by slow and easy stages until we arrived at our old camp, and were welcomed by our faithful Stanislaus, who, during our absence, had protected our interests with remarkable ability. It was with satisfaction, therefore, that I presented him, as well as Tuolumne, with a new bowie-knife, a new suit of clothes, and new blankets, which Solon, in one of his trips to the mines, had purchased at my direction. Both lads, upon receiv- 

BEN FRANKLIN.       213

ing their presents, repeated to me their assurances of devotion, and willingness to continue in my service ; to which I replied that the Rocky Mountains was the next mark of my ambition ; and they answered that I should lead on, they were ready to follow.

 

 

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CHAPTER IV.

PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.

Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. Preparations. My Companions. Gray. Contract with Gray. Digger Indians. The Philosophy of Life. Indian Fellow-travellers. Their Improvidence. Our Train. Respective Causes of Pleasure. The first Day's Journey. The Road. Ascent. The Snow. Aid of the Indians. The Heights of the Sierra. A steep Place. Our Labor. Construction of a Road. Progress. A general Treat. Camping in the Snow. Firewood. Tobacco. Night on the Mountain-tops. A festive Camp. Notions about the Diggers. Attack by Wolves. Adventure with a Panther. A narrow Cañon.  Lugging through a Pass. Pulling and Tugging. A Supper of Panther's Meat. A quiet Camp. Blistered Hands. Packing up the last Slope. The Summit.

            IT was, if I mistake not, about the middle of April, 1854, after several busy weeks of preparation, that we started upon our expedition eastward over the Sierra Nevada, towards the Rocky Mountains. From the commencement, I anticipated that this would be a longer and more dangerous tour than the one of the preceding summer ; we would have to pass over deserts, traverse totally unknown mountains, and travel through the countries of Indians who were often hostile to white blood. We were also going into the haunts of animals celebrated for their ferocity ; and it was impossible to foresee the issue of the undertaking. Before starting, therefore, I sold off a number of my animals, and left my affairs in California in such a condition that, should I never more be heard

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of, my representatives would find little difficulty in settling up my worldly accounts and taking into possession all my effects. There was, it is true, quite a fortune of debts owing me ; but I had long given up the hope of ever receiving a copper of them, and considered, in my inventory, only what was tangible, or what was due from honest men.

            A few of my animals, or to give their names, Lady Washington, Ben Franklin and his foster-brother, the greyhound, which I called Rambler, I never for a moment thought of leaving behind; but all the rest were taken down to Howard's Ranch, and left with the collection I already had there. My friend Solon, whom I endeavored in vain to prevail on to accompany me, had taken his cub, and also several other of the captives of the last expedition, and returned to his home ; but, in his stead, I obtained the society of an old acquaintance, named Gray, a miner of Chinese Camp, who had frequently expressed a desire to accompany me upon a great hunt. This gentleman was a Mississippian, young, active and hardy. Like most of the miners of the time, he wore a full beard, mustaches and long hair, which gave him a fine and manly appearance ; and, as he was an excellent hunter and a trustworthy friend, I was fortunate in securing his companionship. In relation to terms, we soon came to an understanding very much the same as that between Solon and myself ; I was to be the leader of the expedition, and direct all its movements ; I to receive two thirds of the profits, and he one third. I was to provide a wagon, two oxen and

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two mules, which were to remain my property ; and he to join in providing our outfit of ammunition and general furniture. He was to have the liberty of separating from me at the Rocky Mountains ; and he candidly gave me notice that he should probably do so, as he desired to return to his native State. So determined was he upon this point, that he carried with him nearly a thousand dollars' worth of gold-dust, which otherwise, doubtless, would have swelled the liabilities of one of those magnificent banking concerns, whose failure, the next winter, consumed the laborious earnings of so many small proprietors, myself among the number.

            While our preparations were progressing, the snow having now entirely disappeared from the lower portions of the mountains, the Indians, as was their annual custom, came up from the plains, and spread themselves along the mountain streams. These miserable people I had been accustomed to encourage in their search for a precarious existence, and frequently would give them a deer, or other large game, which, while it lasted, would afford them a great treat ; and the poor creatures were truly grateful in return, and, whenever an opportunity afforded, would do me any favor in their power. When, in the beginning of my mountain career, driven by a sort of misanthropy, as related in the commencement of my book, I had forsworn my own color and exiled myself to the wilderness; the contemplation of these lowest specimens of the human family, and the pity which their extreme wretchedness drew from me, reawak-

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ened the feelings of humanity in my breast, and prepared my mind for a complete reconciliation with my fellows. Even these people, I convinced myself, Providence had created for a purpose which, I doubted not, they fulfilled ; and I soon could not help reflecting that, whatever of evil or good there was in the world, and whether they did me harm or advantage, it was the part of philosophy and wisdom to take them as they were, and make the best of them. This, indeed, is the great, and, I may say, the fundamental, lesson of life ; and it was thus and there, in the mountains, that I successfully worked out for myself the great problem which other men have to work out, each in his own way, before they can say that they live.

            A number of these Indians, about twenty-five in all, men, women, and children, were at this time on their way across the Sierra to the lakes beyond, where they proposed spending the summer in fishing ; and, learning that we were about setting out in the same direction, they begged to be taken in company. Anticipating a scarcity of provisions, I at first objected, but finally consented to take them ; and, long before the passage of the mountains was completed, I had reason to be gratified with my second thought, for not only did my protection prevent great suffering among them, but they, in return, were of great assistance to me and mine, as will in a short time be seen. Before setting out, it was my care to see that they had provided themselves with blankets, and with such provisions in advance as, with their

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bows and arrows, they could collect from the country about camp.

            Having thus made all our preparations, in the early dawn of the appointed morning I roused the camp ; and, drawing out our old wagon, we placed in it our furniture, yoked in the oxen, and hitched the mules before them. Lady Washington I chained to the hinder axle-tree ; Ben and Rambler, being still too young to travel, I placed beside the goods in the wagon ; and the greyhound and Indian dog ran loose. The Indians took up their position at a respectful distance in the rear. We were all in the best of spirits, and each had his special cause of pleasure : I found myself once more at the head of an adventurous expedition ; Gray felt that his long-cherished hope of a great hunt was on the eve of fulfilment ; Tuolumne and Stanislaus paraded the new revolvers and crimson scarfs which I had just presented them ; and the Indians rejoiced in the prospect of a safe escort and plenty of provisions.

            As the sun rose, we got under way, and, travelling all day, encamped in the evening in a little valley covered thick with pine and fir-trees, near the head waters of the middle fork of the Tuolumne River. We had proceeded with comparative ease the greater part of the day, but in the afternoon reached the more rugged and difficult country, where, notwithstanding what was called the Emigration Road, there could hardly be said to be a track. Our ascent had been rapid ; and, at this first camp, we were already in the midst of snow ; so that it was easy to infer

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that the labors of the passage were about to commence. Anticipating difficulties, I informed the Indians that I would the next day expect their assistance ; and gave them a deer, which Gray had killed on the road, as an earnest of my care for them, provided they would be faithful. They assured me of their obedience ; and we threw ourselves into our blankets by the side of our fire.

            The next morning, after starting ahead, the first obstacle that opposed itself to our progress was a mountain of about three miles steep ascent, which was covered with snow four or five feet deep. The crust of this snow thawed in the daytime but froze again at night ; and, on this account, it was fortunate that we started early, while the crust was still hard ; for as the sun mounted in the heavens, it beat down powerfully, and, had we been but a little later, our wheels would have broken through, and the road been entirely impassable. Even as it was, we did not gain the top of the rise without great difficulty and repeatedly calling into requisition the aid of the Indians, who with ropes assisted in dragging the wagon up the slopes, and pulling it over the many obstructions which lay in various places before us.

            The top of this rise was the highest point I had ever visited upon this road ; and from here, having no guide, we had to choose out our way as we best could. There was much more snow than was to have been expected ; and I knew that, if we should be caught in a storm in the higher parts of the mountains we might perish. In front of us rose

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the broken summits of the Sierra, mountain over mountain, but we pushed on as vigorously as possible, taking the best road we could find, and overcoming difficulties as we were best able. In some places, we were compelled to take a circuitous course around the mountain-sides, which were frequently so steep that it was necessary to hold the wagon to prevent its toppling over ; and at last we came to a place so very steep that I considered it impracticable to support the wagon in this way, and we would certainly have been stopped here, but, fortunately, we had several shovels and pickaxes in the wagon, which had been provided for digging out the holes of animals. The idea that they could ever be of use to make a road in a snow-bank never entered my head before, but they now stood me in good stead.

            Turning to the Indians, I directed them to lay off their blankets and go to work digging a road in the side of the snow so that the upper wheels of the wagon might have a kind of track to run in. It was necessary to dig thus for the distance of nearly a mile, but I encouraged the workers by saying it would be soon finished and that they should have all the provisions they could eat in the evening. With this prospect ahead they all went vigorously to work, men and squaws, with three shovels, two pickaxes, two axes, and a number of pointed stakes which I prepared for the purpose. At the same time I directed two to cut with hatchets a number of small pieces of wood about two feet long, which, as the track was dug out, we placed crosswise over it to sup-

PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.       221

port the wheels and prevent them from sinking too deeply in the snow ; and in this manner, after four or five hours' work, we constructed a passable road, and started ahead. Being myself something of a teamster, I yelled at my animals with great success upon this occasion, and helped them up the hill as effectually as ever the best driver in the world could have done. When we had thus made the pass, feeling very liberal, I went to the chest and drew forth my famous old leather bottle, which contained several quarts of the best brandy of Sonora. This I had taken along as medicine ; but as the Indians had worked so faithfully, I determined to treat. I therefore had the company drawn up in a circle, and, pouring out drink after drink into a tin cup and directing Tuolumne to follow with water and Stanislaus with the sugar bag, I dealt out a fair drink to all, — braves, squaws, pappooses, and all ; not enough to intoxicate, but sufficient to make all feel lively, — the brandy being high-proof, and a pint of it better than half a gallon of the ordinary liquor of the saloons. Having thus completed the circle, finding there was not more than a quart left, I looked up to heaven and made a vow that the remainder should be kept inviolate, except in case of sickness or urgent necessity.

            We then proceeded on our way a mile further over very rough places, with plenty of snow to trouble us, and, as it grew dark, determined to camp under a huge pine-tree. It was so very cold and inhospitable that we resolved to allow the Indians to camp with us; and, accordingly, set them to digging out a large circle

222      PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.

of snow around the tree, and bringing in all the firewood they could gather in the neighborhood. These improvident creatures usually build very small fires, however inclement the weather may be ; for the reason, perhaps, that they do not relish the work of collecting sufficient fuel ; and I soon found that we could not have a good fire without providing more than the sticks and boughs which they brought in. Gray and I, therefore, took our axes, cut several dry pine logs, and thus soon had a large pile of excellent wood and a rousing fire, at which we all sat down and roasted an immense quantity of venison ; none too much, however, for the ravenous crowd around it. After supper, I went to the old chest again and took out half a dozen- plugs of tobacco, which I distributed among the Indians ; and they well knew the use of it, — all understanding how to smoke, and most of those who had been contaminated by contact with the white man, being acquainted with the mysteries of chewing.

            The night was intensely cold, but the moon shone and the stars twinkled with a remarkable brilliancy, and for a long time none of the party felt disposed to sleep. This being the case, we soon got the Indians to singing, dancing, and whooping ; and a jolly good time we had of it till very late, when I ordered them to their blankets, and they rolled themselves up in a promiscuous huddle, men, women and children, — all together. This sort of bundling would not be relished by more advanced people ; but among the Diggers there appears to be no harm ; and it is even said by some that, except at certain periods of the year, just

PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.       223

as among animals, there is no disposition of the sexes towards each other ; — but this wants confirmation. That they do approach the nature of mere animals in some respects cannot be disputed. After they were all fairly rolled together, I ordered them to lie still and not move about during the night ; and then, leaving Gray on guard, I myself tried to sleep ; but my repose was brief, for in a short time the whole mountain resounded with the cries and howls of panthers, wolves and coyotes, attracted by the scent of our cooking, and it required not only Gray, but myself and Tuolumne, to keep them out of our camp.

            Towards morning, a gang of wolves, which seemed more determined than ordinary, approached and came up within a few yards of us. I raised my rifle to fire ; but they fell back at the movement, and sitting down at a little distance howled in a most saucy and insulting manner. In a few minutes, emboldened by their own impudence, five or six of them again approached in a body, when, taking as good aim as we could; Tuolumne and I fired upon them ; and the cowardly thieves turned their tails and fled. Even the panthers and coyotes took the alarm, and in a short time all was quiet again. As daylight approached, we went out towards where they had been, and found one of the wolves with a broken spine. My bowie-knife soon put an end to his earthly career. We then rambled a little further, finding that the dogs were much excited, evidently on some fresh trail ; and, in a few minutes, started up a panther. The dogs pursued ; and, in a short distance, being hardly

224      PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.

pressed and worse scared, he ran up a pine-tree, from which he grinned and growled at us in a very ferocious manner. With the remembrance of our disturbed sleep, we felt just as ferocious as he appeared ; and, after breathing a moment, Gray and I fired, both at the same time and with double effect ; Gray bored the heart and I the head. The panther fell dead, and, taking him, each by a leg, we dragged his body into camp ; and, being in want of fresh provisions, threw him into the wagon for future use.

            In the mean-while, the boys had prepared breakfast ; and, after partaking of it, and watering our animals by melting snow in all the available utensils, we started ahead again. Our road now lay up through a cañon which, in many places, was so narrow that it barely afforded room for the wagon to pass. With pulling and hauling, however, we managed to advance, until we came to a spot where the rocks jutted so far out from the opposite sides that there was absolutely no room to get past. The fact was, that we had missed the road and got out of the way ; but the place was of such a kind that to turn back was impracticable, and nothing remained but to uncouple our wagon and lug the parts through. We accordingly put all the Indians at work, carrying portions of the luggage through the pass ; and in the course of an hour or so the task was accomplished, and we were ready for a new start. All this time the snow had been melting, and our progress grew continually more slow and difficult. Coming to a steep place, we were again compelled to unload and

PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.       225

carry the greater part of our luggage a quarter of a mile up the declivity ; then, again, we progressed, and, by pulling and tugging, worked our way around towards the more northern side of the mountain, where the snow was firmer, and afforded a better road. Those who have never attempted the passage of a snowy mountain will hardly appreciate the difficulties we encountered this day. We felt them in all our bones, and, when we camped at night, were almost worn out with fatigue and exhaustion.

            For supper, this evening, we served up the panther-meat, and found that it tasted well when roasted before the fire. We were now within a few miles of the summit of the Sierra, and, as no game was to be looked for in that freezing region at this time of year, the fear of running out of provisions for our large company gave the unusual meat a relish which, perhaps, it might not have had in the midst of plenty. This night we neither danced nor yelled, as we had done the previous one, but were very glad to sleep.

            The next morning, before dawn, we took our posts again, so as to reach the summit as early as possible ; but some of the Indians complained of blistered hands, and did not feel disposed to do much. Upon examination, I found the complaints to be true, much as it surprised me ; but there was no help for it, and all that could be done was to press the sound ones into service ; and with some encouragement, being told that this would be the last day of hard work, they took hold, and we advanced up the last rise. Before noon, all the Indians had their hands blistered ;

226      PASSAGE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA.

and therefore, though the snow was hard, we were compelled, as a last resource, not being able to pull any more, to unhitch and pack the luggage on the backs of our mules to the summit, and then, returning with them, pull up the empty wagon afterwards. All this took till after dark, nor were we then through with the day's work ; for, as the mountaintop was bare, we had to run down on the eastern slope a mile or two, to reach a spot which afforded firewood, and there we camped. As our labors were now nearly over, we were all this night in excellent spirits again, cheerful and vivacious ; and we promised ourselves a day or two of sport on reaching the base of the mountains, to luxuriate among good game and recruit our strength.

 

DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.      227

 

CHAPTER V.

DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.

Pleasure of Difficulties surmounted. Deeds of great Captains. Magnificent Prospect from the Summit. A Trading-post. Wrecks of the Emigration. The downward Road. The eastern Foot-hills. Hunting in the eastern Foot-hills. Plans for an Antelope Slaughter. Our Success. Indian Arrows and Archery. Tuolumne's Adventure with a Bear. Profusion of Provisions. Arrival of Stanislaus. The Feast of Gladness. My last Shuffle.

            THERE is a pleasure in great difficulties surmounted, so exquisite that generous and ardent souls often undertake great works solely for the gratification of overcoming their obstacles and enjoying the inspiriting after-thought. Great captains have crossed great mountains, as the histories tell us, and gained great applause ; and the meed of praise is doubtless due for their magnanimous plans, for the weighty responsibilities they bore, and the success which attended their efforts ; but little, indeed, could have been their own toil in those great undertakings. It was the engineers, and the hard-fisted, brawny-backed soldiers, the unsung and unremembered many, not the deified one, who sustained the real labor. I claim no great credit for leading my army over the California Alps ; but perhaps my difficulties were, in proportion, as great as ever were those of Hannibal or Napoleon. Had I commanded a larger party, and disdained to

228      DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.

bend my own back to the task, — or better still, had I fallen upon the valleys at the eastern base of the Sierra with carnage and blood, I too might have gained a niche in the temple of fame, and my passage of the snowy mountains might have lived in story. But my mission was a peaceful and an humble one, and what I accomplished was the work of my own hands.

            The next morning dawned upon a scene beautiful and grand beyond description. Having passed the summit in the night, we returned to the highest point, and arrived there in time to behold the sun rise. Not a cloud obscured the sky, and the ridges of the Sierra, far to the north and far to the south, glittered in their snowy mantles, which, as the sun rose, were flushed with crimson. To the west, faint in the distance, lay the plains of California ; to the east, far away stretched hill and dale, lighted up with the russet tints of morning. So enchanting were the views that we remained full an hour enjoying the magnificent prospect, cold as it was ; and then, hitching up our animals and placing lock-chains upon the hinder wheels of our wagon, we ran down the trail till towards evening, when we camped for the night.

            There was, at this stopping-place, a log-house built by traders from Sonora, who, the previous summer, had crossed the mountains with goods to trade with the immigrants ; but, at this time, as the regular trains could not be expected until fall, the place was vacant. On all sides lay old axle-trees and wheels, some broken, some perfect, melancholy evidences of

DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.      229

the last season's disasters. There were also some complete wagons lying abandoned, and Gray proposed that we should pick out a lighter one than our own. At first I thought of following his advice ; but, on second thought, I replied, no, — that the wagons were not mine, and somebody might yet claim them ; ours was good enough, and we would certainly be much more at ease with it than with another, which might be claimed at any time by somebody else. Without disturbing the wrecks, therefore, we merely passed among them, wondering to whom they had belonged, and what difficulties had induced the owners, after crossing so great an extent of country and arriving at the very threshold of the promised land, to cast them aside, and leave them to rot and ruin. They induced much the same kind of reflections as are produced by the sight of a wrecked ship, which, upon entering port from a long voyage, drives against the rocks, and is broken to pieces by the merciless surges.

            From this place we proceeded the next day, not without difficulty at many places, but with vigor and energy, into cañons and out of cañons, over hills and down declivities, until afternoon, when we ran out of the snow entirely. The country was well timbered. We passed on till night, and camped in what may be called the eastern foot-hills, where we found dried grass of the previous year, and, here and there, new grass springing up ; so that, turning our animals out to pasture, we determined to lay over and spend a day hunting. And it was, indeed, full time ; for this evening our stock of provisions ran short, and over

230      DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.

thirty of us were in an unknown country, with only about fifty pounds of dried meat, a bag of flour, half a bag of Indian meal, and a little sugar and coffee.

            Our first day's hunt east of the Sierra gave us no reason to be dissatisfied. Gray prophesied failure ; but I was confident, from the appearance of the country, that game must be abundant, and that we could not be far distant from plenty. At all events, necessity impelled us to do our utmost, — for without relief we would have been in a bad situation indeed. I accordingly mustered all our force, and found that, besides my own party of well-armed reliable hunters, there were twelve Indians provided with good bows and arrows. These I divided ; and sending out six, with Tuolumne at their head and a mule to bear their game, towards the northeast ; and Stanislaus, with four and a mule, towards the southeast ; I took the other two, with Lady Washington, and proceeded eastward down the hills. Gray remained behind to take care of camp, in which were left several old Indians, the squaws, children, oxen, and pets.

            I proceeded with my party several miles, when suddenly, in a region of scrubby oaks, cedars, and juniper bushes, we came upon a band of fifteen or twenty antelopes. Tying the Lady to a tree, I instructed the Indians how to creep around and decoy them, — and they started off to make a surround. Having waited long enough to enable them to accomplish the purpose, I advanced, and, mounting a knoll, beheld one of the Indians lying flat upon the ground and moving his cap gently on a stick, endeavoring to

DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.      231

decoy the animals, which were not far distant ; and so well did he work the plan that, although myself within rifle-shot, I remained quiet, with the determination of giving him the first shot.

            The antelopes stood looking at his cap, and approached by degrees until they got within eight or ten yards, when, drawing his bow, the Indian sent an arrow into the side of one of them. As he remained concealed, the remainder of the band did not offer to fly, and he soon shot a second arrow and a third ; but without looking to see any more, as a fine buck stood before me, I now levelled my rifle and fired. At the discharge, the band wheeled and looked towards me, and, as they did so, I raised a red Mexican sash which I wore about my waist. While they gazed curiously upon it, the Indian continued throwing his arrows thick and fast ; but the band, not knowing whence they came, and attracted solely by the flaming sash, continued to advance, — except the wounded, which pranced around where they were, or tried to get away. As soon as reloaded, I fired a second time, and pierced a fine buck through the heart ; but the fire and smoke alarmed the animals, and they turned and ran. Only one lay dead ; but there were three wounded, and, pursuing, we soon killed two of them ; the third we followed a long distance, but after a long search were compelled to return without him.

            Upon getting back to the antelopes, we ripped them up, and, lifting the skin from the thigh of one, cut out some choice steaks ; and the Indian having meanwhile built a fire, we soon satisfied our hunger.

232      DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.

            Packing the rest upon Lady Washington, we then started back to camp, and on the way overtook the second Indian, who had killed several hares, an eagle, and several crows. These Indians used arrows tipped with flint or obsidian, and could easily kill the smaller kinds of game ; but such weapons were not so effective with larger species, though one of the wounded antelopes had been pierced entirely through with a shaft.

            When we got back to camp, Tuolumne and his party had already come in, and brought with them the body of a brown bear and a number of hares and birds, such as grouse, magpies, crows, and hawks. In giving his account of the bear, Tuolumne said that he had met it early in the day. He had fired and wounded it, when the beast showed fight, and four of the Indians ran. The other two, however, stood by him like men, and pestered the beast with their arrows till he was able to reload ; and with a second shot he finished the business. As for Stanislaus and his party, they had not yet arrived ; but, even without what they might be expected to bring, we now had plenty. Thus it was that, although in the morning we started out almost destitute, and with starvation staring us in the face, by good management and prompt action we had quite a market of game before the sun set ; — indeed plenty smiled around us in those heaps of bear-meat, antelopes, hares, and birds. In thankfulness for our good fortune, and to show an appropriate gratefulness, I ordered a rousing fire to be built and a feast to be spread ; and at the same

DOWN THE EASTERN SLOPE.      233

time directed the Indians to clear two rings, and prepare for the dance of gladness.

            While all this was going on, I discharged my rifle as a signal for Stanislaus, and in a few minutes the report was answered from the hills to the southeast. In a short time afterwards, Stanislaus and his party made their appearance, with their mule loaded with two deer and a third lot of hares and birds ; so that, if we had plenty of provisions before, we now had profusion. In jolly good mood did we then sit down to our feast of roasted dainties. When we had despatched them, the Indians began their dancing ; and such a whooping and shouting and kicking up of heels I rarely ever saw ; and the sport was kept up with various amusing episodes till a late hour. Even Gray took part in the dance ; and it furnished me with the most lively amusement to watch him with his hoedown step in the character of an Indian brave. Once, indeed, they induced me to get up for a few moments, and I showed them how the Yankees used to dance when I was a boy ; but my gray head and long white beard ill-comported with the lightness of my heels, and the Indians, and particularly the squaws, almost burst with laughter at the figure I made, so that I soon resumed my seat and my old pipe, fully satisfied that my dancing days were over.

 

234      WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.

 

CHAPTER VI.

WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.

Our Progress. Hunting on the Way. Camp on the Barrens. Provisions. Over the Barrens. Walker's River. Vultures. The Californian Condor. Preparations for Camp. A strange Sight. A Horse run wild. Night Alarm. A Bear in Camp. Attack upon the Bear. The Bear among the Indians. Slaying of the Bear. Plan to inveigle the Horse. His Capture. Building of a Raft. Ferriage. Parting with the Indians.

            THE next day we travelled on, following the emigration trail, and in the evening camped with good grass and water ; and the succeeding day we proceeded on, in hopes of reaching Walker's River, at which the Indians were to leave us. On starting, this day, I sent Gray, Tuolumne, and a number of the Indians in different directions, with orders to kill all the game they could ; for I wished to leave the Indians well provided, as they had been of valuable service to us. The parties were to go a mile or two on opposite sides of the road and advance parallel to it, while I also undertook to hunt as we proceeded. Having made this disposition of the forces, I drove leisurely on, and, in the course of an hour or two, perceived a band of antelopes crossing the road in advance. Giving the charge of the wagon to Stanislaus, I went forward, but could kill only one. Throwing it in the wagon, I then took up the whip again ;

WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.       235

and we travelled on till the middle of the afternoon, when, coming to a ravine with water and good grass, we determined to camp, though we had not yet reached the river.

            The place of our camp this evening was a hard, dry country, without trees ; and there was no wood, except drift, which had been brought down by torrents from the mountains, and sage bushes, which already began to form a feature in the landscape. As soon as we unhitched, I put the Indians to gathering what sticks were to be picked up for a fire ; and, leaving Stanislaus in charge of camp, I sallied out with Lady Washington for an evening hunt. In a short distance I fell in with a band of antelopes, and killed two ; and soon afterwards met Gray and his party, who had also two antelopes, besides two wolves and a number of hares and squirrels. Upon getting back to camp, Tuolumne and his party had arrived, bringing one antelope, a lot of hares and squirrels, and a number of sage-hens, making in all a fair supply of provisions.

            We were on the way again early the next morning, when, seeing that everything was in proper order, I left Gray to drive, and, taking Tuolumne and the Lady, started on in advance, so as to hunt as far as Walker's River, and wait there for the team. The country, as we proceeded, became more and more sandy and level, and we could see a long distance. There were no bushes, save a little sage and weeds, and no game, save squirrels and prairie-dogs. After travelling seven or eight miles, we came at last in sight of the timber of Walker's River, which was

236      WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.

eight or ten miles ahead. We travelled on, and, upon approaching it, again met antelopes and killed two.

            Walker's River, where we struck it, is usually nearly a hundred yards wide, and deep, though fordable in the summer time. The surface of the water is considerably lower than the surrounding plain. Timber is disposed in belts about half a mile wide along its banks, and consists generally of cotton-wood, button-wood, ash, birch, and black alder. In this timber, at the time of our visit, there were great numbers of vultures and buzzards, which made the trees look almost black, until we killed the antelopes above referred to, when the birds took wing, sailed around us in circles, now and then darted down, and indeed seemed determined to take the meat by storm. Some were very large, — one in particular, which was of the species sometimes called the Californian condor. As he was sailing in grand style, with a majestic swoop, like a king of the vultures, I determined to kill him ; and, seizing the opportunity as he swept towards me, fired and broke his wing, so that he wheeled to the ground. We then approached, but he was so savage that he darted at us with the most ferocious energy ; and, not liking to test the strength of his powerful beak, I directed Tuolumne to put a pistol-ball into his head, which he did. After this, we made preparations for a camp ; but as yet, there was no appearance of our company, although we could see four or five miles over the plain. We waited some time ; but as they still did not come, we took our rifles and went out to meet them.

WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.       237

            It was now approaching evening, and becoming dusky. As we passed along a few miles from the river, our attention was attracted to a large object nearly a mile to our right, which we could not make out. It looked as if it might be a buffalo, but still the shape was singular, and for a long time we were not able to conjecture what it could be. The most familiar things, sometimes, under certain circumstances, assume strange shapes, and when we have found them out, we are astonished that they could ever thus have excited our wonder ; and so it was in this instance ; for upon approaching the animal, which I had almost thought an elephant, it proved to be only a horse, which, doubtless, had been left by some hapless emigrant, or had broken from some passing drove the previous season. We tried to approach him, but he was too wild ; and we therefore left him for the time, and proceeded on to our company, which we soon met ; and, returning with them to the river, made our camp on its bank, and, being all fatigued with the day's labor, turned into our blankets at an early hour.

            We were troubled this night again by the howling of wolves and coyotes ; and about midnight, Gray, who was on watch, woke me up to say that he heard footsteps, and feared an attack of Indians ; and wished to know whether he should not put out the fire, so as to blind the enemy. I answered, by all means not to do so ; for the Indians, if such there were, could certainly see much better than we in the dark. I then arose, and went with him to his post

238      WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.

and heard the footsteps ; but soon perceived that they were made, not by Indians, but by beasts. " Now," said I, " if I am right, a whistle will tell the tale." Preparing my arms, I then gave a sharp, startling whistle ; and it was immediately answered by a snort of a bear, which was but a short distance off, though we could not see him. He had evidently come to procure a supper from our supplies ; and, after a little reflection, I determined to allow him a good square meal, and then give him the dessert.

            Our game lay by a stump near where we stood, but, to give the bear an opportunity to approach, if he dared, we removed, and took up our positions behind trees a little further off. The way being thus left clear, the bear soon approached the meat, and, sitting leisurely down, began enjoying himself, and smacking his chaps over the luscious morsel. He sat with his back towards us, so that we could not procure aim ; nor indeed was there light enough to enable us to do so at any rate. To do the best under the circumstances, however, I again uttered the bear-yell ; and; as he rose and looked towards us, we simultaneously fired, and bored him through the middle.

            During all this time, the Indians, who were camped close by, sat in great trepidation, and it was as much as Tuolumne could do to keep them quiet. But, as soon as the shots were fired, they commenced jabbering like a flock of blackbirds, and got up to come towards us ; when the bear, not yet dead, rushed into their midst, and began pawing right and left. For a moment or two the scene, or as much as could be

WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.       239

seen of it, was altogether indescribable. The bear managed to get an Indian down, and bite him terribly in the thigh, and the poor fellow roared and yelled for pain ; but as Gray and I rushed up on both sides and plied our knives, we soon made the enemy loosen his hold and roll over dead, — though, in the encounter, I received a severe wound in the left arm, and the Indian was grievously hurt.

            The next day, we laid a plan to capture the horse which we had seen on the plain the previous evening ; and, for this purpose, put a number of the Indians to work making a small corral, or brush inclosure, near where, as we could see by the tracks, he was accustomed to come for water. Putting the oxen and a mule in it as a decoy, I sent Tuolumne with the other mule to endeavor to drive the horse in ; but all his efforts were vain, for the animal, whenever disturbed, would run off towards the mountains. As thus this manoeuvre did not succeed, we waited until evening, when, taking a small party, I went out myself ; and, by forming a semicircle and moving gently forwards, we drove the horse before us, and finally he walked into the corral, as we wished. He had barely entered it, when we threw several lariats over his head and secured him. He proved to be a good American horse, six or seven years old, wearing the galls of harness, but high-spirited enough to protect himself from the assaults of wild beasts ; from all which I inferred that he had been abandoned by some emigrant as worn out, but had recuperated and managed to live through the winter.

240      WALKER'S RIVER COUNTRY.

            In the meanwhile, having inspected the river and found it too deep to ford, on account of the floods from the melting snows of the mountains, we made a raft of cotton-wood and prepared to cross the next morning. When morning came, we gave all our game, with the exception of a couple of days' sufficiency for ourselves, to the Indians, with whom we were here to part ; it being their purpose to go down the river to the lake, and spend the season in fishing there, while our course was to cross the stream and strike over to Carson's River. Two of the Indians desired to go with us, and, as they were active young fellows, I consented ; but the rest we left upon the bank, watching our movements as we ferried our wagon and baggage over the stream, and evidently wishing that we had remained, to provide them with venison and bear-meat.

 

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.  241

 

CHAPTER VII.

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.

From Walker's to Carson's River. Two Days upon the Barrens. Carson's River. Down Carson's River to the Bend. Passage of the River. Adrift. Disposition of the Raft. Over the Plains. A sinking Stream. The Mountain Barrier. A Mountain Valley. Review of Travel. The Pets. Character of the Mountains. Tracks of Panthers. A Gorge of Caves. The Valley of Sinbad the Sailor. A Night-watch. Discovery of a Panther's Den. A rough Road. The Den a Golgotha. Our Blockade. Appearance of the Panthers. Our Attack. My loudest Yell. Attempt to seize the Kittens. Preparations to enter the Den. Entry of the Den. Seizure of the Kittens. Astonishment of the Indians. Unity of the Panther Family.

            FROM Walker's to Carson's River, a distance of forty miles, we travelled over an uninviting region without trees, grass or water, nothing but sage bushes and weeds. We had taken the precaution to carry some bags of water with us from Walker's, but before the two days during which we were upon this desert were over, all suffered much from thirst. Towards the end of the second evening, as our sufferings were becoming aggravated, I mounted my horse for the first time, to ride in advance and reconnoitre. I found that long freedom had rendered him impatient of restraint, but in a short time he recollected the bit, and I rode off like a nabob at a rapid gait for more than an hour, in search of the river, and at last reached it. Carson's is a larger

242      THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.

stream than Walker's River, and there is good grass along its banks, but no trees in this place ; so that, being unable to find firewood, we were compelled to take our food uncooked ; and to add to our discomfort, the night was damp and foggy.

            In the morning we hurried off very early, desirous of leaving the place as soon as possible, and proceeded down the river towards the great bend, where it was our intention to cross, and from there, strike for the Humboldt Mountains. Of these mountains I had heard much from emigrants of 1849 ; it was said that there were strange animals there, among them the purple panther and black and white wolves. We travelled about twenty miles this day, and came opposite a little island in the river, covered with cottonwood timber, where we camped. In the evening we caught a fine lot of salmon-trout, using grasshoppers for bait, and in the night killed half a dozen beavers, which were very tame. The next day we continued our journey, and the day after we reached the bend.

            At this place the river divides and forms an island, which was the place I chose to cross. We accordingly went to work making a raft of cottonwood ; and, upon getting it ready, loaded everything upon it, and crossed the first branch of the river, which was comparatively easy, as we could reach bottom with our poles and thus push ourselves over ; but, upon rounding the point of the island and committing ourselves to the second branch, the water became so deep that our poles were of no use, and our raft was carried down the stream. The current

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.  243

was rapid, and I became, for a while, much alarmed, lest we would be swamped in the eddies of the bend ; but it was fortunately not long before we reached shallower water ; and, again finding use for our poles, we finally reached shore, and disembarked. Having no further use for the raft, we left it tied to the bank, for, although there was no probability of our ever seeing it more, others might come along and find use for it ; and this was my invariable rule, not to destroy an article when the .destruction could serve no good end.

            Upon leaving Carson's River we entered a country almost entirely unknown ; but, after travelling some distance, a faint line appeared in the eastern horizon, which we knew could be no other than the Humboldt Chain. It was sixty or eighty miles off, a mere line of blue in the distance ; but the sight invigorated us, and we pushed on with energy. We travelled three days, seeing the mountains plainly in the clear mornings, but losing them in the smokier after-parts of the day ; and, on the third evening, we camped on a small stream, which showed, by its sparkling waters, that it was born in the hills, though it wasted itself in the sands of the plains, — the same as thousands of other streams in the great basin. Along this stream we travelled the next day, gradually making our way through the hills, until we came to the mountains proper, which presented an almost unbroken barrier to our progress. We skirted this barrier for fifteen miles, when we found a rugged cañon with precipitous sides, which served for a pass,

244      THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.

though it was barely wide enough to admit the passage of a wagon. A little brook rushed along the bottom of this cañon, and, in the course of four or five miles, we were compelled to cross it at least a dozen times ; but we finally came into a beautiful little valley, a few miles long and half a mile wide, inclosed with high hills, which were covered with oaks, pines and cedars. The valley was level and grassy, with here and there a few trees, and, on one side under the hills, with a placid sweep, wound the stream. Here we pitched our general camp and determined to hunt for a week or two.

            Throughout the whole distance from the Sierra we had seen no human beings save those of our own party ; it was too early for emigrants, nor did we see Indians. After leaving the emigration road at Carson's River, we passed through an entire wilderness ; not a track or anything to denote that man had ever trod the waste could be found. Until we reached the neighborhood of the mountains, there was also no edible game to be met with ; and when we finally camped, our stock of provisions was very low. But all the way our animals thrived well, and travel seemed to affect them but little. As to the pets, Lady Washington had steadily followed the wagon, tied to the hinder axletree ; but Ben Franklin and his foster-brother, Rambler I kept in the wagon, where they spent most of their time in tussling with each other or sleeping. Sometimes I would take them out, and, when the road was pleasant, let them chase each other over the grass, or while away the time in the chase

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS. 245

of hares, squirrels, and prairie-dogs, in which they found much to amuse and occupy them.

            Upon reconnoitring in the Humboldt Mountains the first day, they did not promise us much. We went in an easterly direction with our mules, passing over a country rough with hills, rocks, gullies and ravines, here barren, and there scantily covered with scrubby timber. We killed several deer, a few grouse, hares and squirrels ; but could find no traces of more ferocious beasts. The next day we took a southerly direction, and coming to a very rough and rugged mountain, left our mules, and climbed over into a deep gorge full of ledges of rocks, holes, clefts, chaparral and brush ; — a place which, if there were savage animals in the region, appeared exactly suited for their dens. Nor were we mistaken ; for we soon found fresh tracks of a panther, which discovery enlivened us much ; and visions of the purple panther, an animal with which we were totally unacquainted, danced before our eyes.

            The two Indians who had come with us gave me to understand that they were expert in following a track, and they soon demonstrated their ability ; for they pursued the panther trail through many winds and turns for several miles down the cañon, till they came to great ledges and shelving cliffs, curious to see, — such as vultures build their nests in. The rocks were large, and left many holes and clefts ; and in various places among them there were white bones of different kinds of animals, which seemed to have been thrown there by the savage tenants of the caves.

246      THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.  

            Upon reaching this place, we built fires, and endeavored to drive the smoke into the caves ; but the wind being unfavorable, the plan did not succeed, and watery eyes were our only recompense. We then lighted pine torches, and entered a number of the caves, but could find nothing. At last we came to the determination of watching the place all night, and in that manner learning where the game lay ; and accordingly, as it grew dark, we selected a ledge of rock where we could defend ourselves, and, wrapping our blankets snugly about us, began our observations. I can never look back to our position there without thinking of the famous valley of diamonds in the story of Sinbad the Sailor, with its high, steep, and inaccessible sides.

            As soon as it grew quite dark, our ears were regaled with a concert of panther-shrieks, quite astounding. We were so situated that every shriek was repeated by a dozen echoes, and the cañon fairly rung with terrific noises. We could also hear the beasts rushing along in the brush, but could not see them. At midnight it became more silent, but towards morning the concert was repeated ; from which it appeared that the beasts had left their dens in the evening, hunted for prey during the night, and returned towards morning. Our watch, therefore, convinced us of the presence of many beasts ; but it was impossible to see where they retired, and we knew not how to proceed to hunt them. As we were thinking this matter over, however, one of the Indians announced that he had discovered a panther's den, where there

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS. 247

were young ones, and described it as being about a mile further down the cañon, in a spot very difficult of access. Upon questioning him, I perceived that he understood the signs and proofs of the brute nearly as well as myself ; and we resolved to proceed at once to the place.

            The road was one of the utmost difficulty, on account of the thick brush, precipices, ledges and rocks, which were piled together in great confusion the whole way. In some places we had to let ourselves down, at the risk of breaking our necks, from one shelf of rock to another ; and the place itself, as we found upon reaching it, was of most gloomy description, but exactly calculated for the dens of ferocious beasts. It seemed a perfect Golgotha of the animal creation ; for the bones of deer, antelopes, wolves, coyotes and birds, together with feathers and hair, lay scattered about in every direction. Some of the bones were yellow with freshness, others perfectly bleached, and many crumbling with age. The place indeed bore the appearance of having been the den of beasts since the days of Methuselah. After viewing the premises attentively, we come to the conclusion that a particular horizontal opening in a ledge of rocks led to an immense den ; and we determined to await the pleasure of the inmates to come forth. We accordingly posted ourselves, Gray and an Indian at one place and I and an Indian at another, within fifty yards of the den, and in such positions as to have fair aim and be able to assist each other if necessary.

            It was about sundown when we took our positions,

248      THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.

and we had not waited long before I had the pleasure of seeing two panthers come out of the cleft of the rocks. They played with each other, wrestled and caressed, and I soon saw that one was a male and the other a female. Never in my life before had I seen two large beasts play so prettily, and I therefore watched them without disturbing their gambols. In a few minutes afterwards three small kittens came out of the cleft and commenced playing also, springing upon their parents' backs, and off again, and growling with pleasure. I could have watched a long time, but the opportunity being too favorable to be neglected, I drew my rifle, and, giving a whistle as the signal agreed upon with Gray, fired at the female and pierced her through the heart. Gray also fired, but, unfortunately, at the same animal, so that the male remained unscathed. He could not see us, however, and, being confounded by the unaccustomed sound, did not fly, but pranced about, jumping over the dead body of his consort, looking in every direction, and screeching every few minutes. I reloaded as quickly as possible and fired a second shot, but without the fatal effect of the former one. The beast was however struck ; and making a tremendous spring, he bounded in the direction of Gray. I thought he was springing for my comrades ; and in an instant, drawing my knife and uttering the loudest yell that ever passed my lips, I rushed forward ; but the panther was only scared, for, passing by them, he bounded over a cliff into the bushes out of sight ; and this was the last we ever saw of him.

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.  249

            After waiting until his screeches had died away in the distance, we approached the den for the purpose of securing the little ones ; but they evaded all our efforts. We used our buckskin coats to throw over them, but they dodged and jumped with such rapidity that our endeavors were useless ; when we thought we had them surely, they were not there ; and finally they ran into the den, and buried themselves in its recesses. There remained but one resource, that of following ; and, making a large fire at the mouth of the place and procuring a number of pine torches, I prepared to enter. Gray was much opposed to this step at first ; but I represented that the old ones were certainly disposed of, and there could be nothing else to fear. He replied like a man, that if I was determined to go in, he would share the danger ; and accordingly he prepared himself to follow. I then took my buckskin coat and wrapped it about my neck, making thus a kind of battery for my face and breast, and placed a little Cayenne pepper in my pocket, which would serve to blind an opponent, if necessary. It was rare indeed that I was not provided either with pepper or dry snuff, though seldom that I ever had occasion to use them. In my left hand I carried my torch and drawn knife, in my right my revolver ; and Gray was provided in much the same style.

            It had now become dark, and the region dreadfully gloomy ; nor was the appearance of the place benefited by the fire, the light of which, flickering upon the angular projections of rock, increased the black-

250      THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.

ness of the recesses. Any but a tried man would have drawn back from the adventure ; but we were both firm of nerve, and, after deciding, would not be stayed. We accordingly entered the cleft, and crept forward eight or ten feet, over skeletons and bones, which rattled as we passed. Coming to a narrow hole, we passed through it into a second cave, five or six feet in extent, and then into a third, larger than either of the others. The most absolute silence reigned, and nothing was to be seen, until, as we approached a few broken rocks in a corner, the little panthers bristled up, and, with flaming eyes, began to spit at us. Seeing that we had no other beasts to encounter, we laid aside our arms, and I untied the coat from my neck ; but, in consideration of the trouble already experienced from the active little brutes, I took a small quantity of pepper in my hand, and, watching an opportunity, dashed it into their faces. We then, in an instant, rushed upon them with our buckskins, and in a few moments had them in our arms ; after which we made our way out of the close and now smoky cave as soon as possible.

            The Indians, in the meanwhile, had remained at the fire at the mouth of the cave ; but they were terribly frightened when they heard us coming out with the young animals screeching in our arms, for the acoustic peculiarities of the place were astonishing, and, hearing so great a noise, they knew not what was coming. When, however, they saw us emerging safely with our trophies, they looked upon our success as heroic, and, with a sort of reverence, cried " Bravo ! bra-

THE HUMBOLDT MOUNTAINS.  251

vo ! " I myself exulted, believing that I had procured the famous " purple panther ; " but, on skinning the dead dam before the fire, I was undeceived. She was as tawny as the sands, and in all respects the same panther, called by naturalists the cougar or con-color, which is common to the whole country.

 

252      AMONG THE DENS.

 

CHAPTER VIII.

AMONG THE DENS.

Discovery of a Wolf's Den. Wolves' Dens in General. A Night-watch. Digging out the Den. Construction of the Den. Lost. Adventure with a Bear. Our Position. Second Visit to the Panther's Den. Explorations. A Panther. Adventure with the Panther in her Den. Its Incompleteness. Conversation with Gray. Reentry of the Den. Seizure of the Kittens. Gray horrified. Gray's manful Aid. The Purple Panther ?

            THE recesses of the Humboldt Mountains afforded us many adventures. The day after we stormed and took the panther's den, one of the Indians reported the discovery of a wolf's den, and said that he had seen whelps playing at its mouth. We determined at once to proceed to the place, and he led us a long distance through a rocky and mountainous country, with much chaparral among the gullies, but otherwise barren and desolate. We arrived at last at a hill-side in which there was a kind of tunnel-like cave ; and this was the den. Wolves sometimes have such dens, but probably dispossess other animals to obtain them. I have known them in different parts of the country to dispossess coyotes, which had previously dispossessed badgers, woodchucks or prairie-dogs. They sometimes, however, dig holes for themselves ; but do not, generally, go very far into the ground, and especially where the earth is in any respect hard. In

AMONG THE DENS.            253

the present case, it seemed, from the general appearance of the place, that the hole had once been a bear's den, and that the wolves had taken possession after the original occupants had vacated it.

            Upon examining the spot, we saw that it would require much labor to dig the whelps out, — a mode of procuring young wolves frequently practised, — and particularly as we had no spades or crow-bars with us. But as the Indian insisted that there were wolves there, we determined to watch the den during the night, and, if necessary, dig into it the next day. For this purpose we accordingly stationed ourselves, and kept a sharp, look-out until morning ; but no wolves appeared, and nothing was heard but the shrieks of panthers and the howls of coyotes in the distance. I concluded that the den had been deserted ; but Gray, pointing to the fresh tracks, which were to be seen in abundance, was anxious to dig ; and finally I acquiesced. The word was given ; and, all going diligently to work with pointed sticks, we dug, and pried, and removed stones, until, after three hours' hard labor, we penetrated the hill five or six feet, and arrived at the inner chamber of the den. This was an apartment three or four feet in diameter and several feet high, nicely lined with leaves and also with some hair. It seems that wolves, when about to whelp, will frequently chop off a portion of their own hair, besides picking up all they can find, to make a soft nest for their offspring. This is a lesson that Nature, mother of us all, teaches them. We examined the den carefully, but there were no wolves of any kind about it,

254      AMONG THE DENS.

though appearances indicated that they had deserted the place but a short time before our visit. The old wolf had doubtless discovered the Indian scout ; and, as it is the nature of the beast to remove her young when disturbed, she had probably taken the first opportunity to do so. Thus we lost four and twenty hours of hard watching and hard labor, and got nothing for our pains.

            The provisions we had brought with us were now nearly exhausted, and we determined to scour the region for game. We started out, and travelled till nearly night, but, to our astonishment, found nothing but a barren, rugged country. As it grew towards evening, we did not know where we were, and began to suffer from thirst and hunger, when suddenly one of the Indians whispered to me : " There's a bear ! " I looked in the direction in which he pointed, and saw a bear crawling slowly up the side of a ravine opposite us. It appeared to be lounging along, searching for roots and squirrels, in a manner customary to the animal after drinking ; and I at once concluded that there must be water in the ravine ; so that here, at once, food and drink were presented to us. We immediately separated, and, while Gray took one direction, I took another. He was most lucky in his path, and reached a suitable point of attack before I could ; for when I had stationed myself in a clump of bushes near the top of the ridge, I saw him below, preparing to fire on the beast. He did not know I was near, nor did I give him notice, but waited until he fired, and then ad- 

AMONG THE DENS.            255

vanced. His ball, although it struck, did not kill ; but this was of little advantage to the bear, for I soon placed mine in its heart, and it fell dead. We drew our knives, and, ripping out a ham, rushed down the declivity to a spring at the bottom, where, building a fire and partially roasting the food, we devoured it like savages, —for we were nearly starved. After satisfying our thirst as well as our hunger, we returned to the body of the bear, and, building a fire near it, spread our blankets and fell into a sound and comfortable sleep.

            The next morning we ascended a hill to ascertain our position, and found that we were but a short distance from the cañon of the panther's den. As we wished to examine that den more at our leisure than we had been able to do on the first visit, I despatched the Indians to camp for Tuolumne and the mules, to remove the bear ; and, after they started off, Gray and I went down to the den. We provided ourselves with torches, as before ; and, having lighted them, crept into the apartment where we had found the kittens. Upon removing a few loose stones, we unexpectedly discovered another crevice, which led in among the rocks, and, passing through it, we entered another apartment, and then another, until it seemed as if we would never be able to find our way out again. Presently, however, Gray remarked that he thought he could see light ahead ; I told him to place his torch behind, and, doing the same with my own, we both saw plainly that there must be a second entrance eight or ten yards in advance. We groped

256      AMONG THE DENS.

along very cautiously now, being satisfied that we were in another den, and having nothing but our bowie-knives and pistols to defend ourselves, our rifles being still at the mouth where we entered ; but we still continued to crawl forward in spite of danger.. It inspires me with more dread to recall the low, narrow, tomb-like place now than when, under the excitement of the hunt, I crept into it. All of a sudden, Gray cried, " A panther ! " which startled me terribly. I had neither seen nor heard anything ; but, upon halting a moment, plainly heard a low growl, and, rising a few inches, I saw cowering in front of me a huge living form, with a pair of flaming eyes.

            My first thought, at this startling discovery, was to turn back, — but this would have been madness ; our only chance was to proceed, and beard the brute. Should we turn, the beast would surely attack us ; but, with a bold front, armed as we were and with fire, that terror of beasts, we were more than a match for the brute, even under the disadvantages of our position. Accordingly, drawing our weapons, we advanced ; I first, and Gray at my heels,— for there was not room to proceed side by side. The panther, meanwhile, continued growling more and more angrily, and did not seem disposed to retreat. For a few minutes we eyed each other, and I began to fear a sudden spring ; when, pointing my pistol as directly at her eyes as possible, I fired. The animal gave a tremendous screech, and we heard a terrible growling and scratching, but, paying little attention

AMONG THE DENS.            257

to these, and wishing to take advantage of our attack, we crept on as quickly as possible, continuing to fire and yell as we advanced. All this terrified the beast, which wheeled, rushed for the opening, cleared it at a bound, and escaped ; but she was no sooner gone than I was sorry I had not seized her by the tail and plied my knife. Frequently have I thought of the matter since, and regretted my want of readiness ; for the adventure lacked this of being complete. I indeed rushed after her, and paid no attention, for the time, to her kittens, which sprawled in her lair ; but when we got out of the place, and looked about us in every direction, no panther was to be seen ; she had vanished

            Our search for the dam being vain, I turned towards Gray and asked him to go in and catch the kittens. He replied that we should both go. I answered that such a plan would never do ; for one must watch outside and keep off the dam, which was much more dangerous than to catch the little ones. I knew very well that there was no probability of the dam returning after the fright we had given her, but I spoke so to try my comrade's courage. All I could say, however, was of no avail ; for, as I soon found, Gray, was afraid of other old beasts in the den, and was as the reason of his refusal. This circumstance afforded me an opportunity, not only of ridiculing his fears, but of testing his faithfulness in the hour of need.

            With torch in one hand and knife in the other, I again crept through the narrow opening, and soon

258      AMONG THE DENS.

reached the panther's bed. Finding five little panther kittens, I placed them on my coat, which I had drawn off for the purpose, and, doubling up the bundle, began crawling out. But upon reaching the narrow entrance, where Gray could see me, I began twisting my face into a look of horror, and cried that he should help me for mercy's sake. In an instant Gray darted towards me, and asked frantically what was the matter. I replied, "The panther ! the panther ! pull me out ! pull me out !" and at the same time worked my body from side to side, threw my face into the most frightful expression, and kicked as if a panther had me by the legs. Gray manfully seized my arms and pulled me out, when, jumping upon my feet, I slapped him on the back, and remarked that, though he had acted the coward before, he had fully redeemed himself by his prompt action now.

            I was in hopes that these at least were the purple panthers, — the animals we were so anxious to procure,— and resolved to lay in wait for the return of the dam, in order to ascertain. We accordingly took up positions near the den, and occasionally pinched the tails of our little captives to attract her ; but in vain, — nothing more could we see or hear. As it began to grow dark, we took up our prizes and arms, and proceeded to camp, from which we had been absent several days.

 

A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.  259

 

CHAPTER IX.

A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.

A beautiful Morning. Review of my Pets. Ben Franklin and his Foster-brother. Coming of the Storm. Our Preparations for the Tempest. The Fury of the Storm. Repetition of the Storm at Night. Preparations for Travel. Adventure with a Bear. The Disadvantages of Hunting In Company. Slaughter of Antelopes. Preparations to cross the Desert. Musings. The Romance of the Desert. Its real Desolation. Ben Franklin in Freedom. The Edge of the Desert. Appearance of the Desert. A Night of Torment. Painful Progress.

            THE next morning was one of the most beautiful that could well be imagined. The sky was clear, not a cloud to be seen ; and a fine haze, like the commencement of Indian summer, gave it a peculiar charm. There was something so soft, and at the same time so fragrant, about the air, that it seemed to ravish the senses. It was not the invigorating atmosphere which incites to labor, but a luxurious one, as if of a perfumed bazaar under a Persian sky. I therefore felt little disposition to go, upon the hunt, and chose to marshal and review my animals in camp. The pets were thereupon all brought out together upon the green sward, and, for an hour or more I had them gambolling and playing together, bears, dogs, wolves and panthers. From an early period in the life of my bear, Ben Franklin, it had been my intention to teach him to be a hunter, and I

260      A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.

had therefore taken every means to cement the friendship which existed between him and the greyhound, Rambler; and so intimate had their relations become that they passed their time together by choice, always keeping in company in their plays. Ben was now growing finely, and had far outstripped his foster-brother in size ; but they were still brothers.. As for the little panthers, they were all doing well, and gambolled with the bear and dog, as if all had been reared in the same family. Taking all in all, the sight was one of great interest, and much did I enjoy it that beautiful morning.

            Such was the forenoon of this remarkable day in the Humboldt Mountains, but in the afternoon clouds rose. At first they seemed like huge banks of snow rising over the mountains ; but the higher they rose the darker they grew. I was not acquainted with the climate of the region, but it soon became evident to me that a storm was brewing ; and I therefore ordered the animals to be placed away, and everything to be prepared for a rough time. Little idea did I have, however, of the tempest which was about to burst upon us. We had, indeed, barely rolled away our rifles in blankets, and piled large chunks of wood upon the fire, when the heavens became black, the wind blew with terrific force, and large hailstones began pouring down. I soon discovered that a tremendous whirlwind was roaring near us, and that our danger was imminent. Some of the party ran towards the wagon, with the intention of finding shelter under it ; but I forbade them, and directed all to

A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.  261

throw themselves flat upon the ground, and draw their blankets over them ; and well it was that they did so, for in a few minutes the whirlwind suddenly took up the wagon, whirled it over, and scattered the luggage in every direction. The stronger it blew, the harder it hailed, and the firmer we had to hold ourselves to the ground to keep from being carried away ; for the violence of the storm was so great that trees but a short distance from us were twisted off or torn up by the roots, and thrown about like straws. The devastation was frightful ; but, as is the case with all violent things, the storm soon spent its fury, and passed over us. We were all bruised by the hail, and drenched by the rain, and rendered a truly sad looking set ; but in the course of an hour or two the extinguished fire was relighted, we gathered up our scattered goods, and soon afterwards the sky cleared, and the sun shone pleasantly forth again.

            I was in hopes, after such an afternoon, that we should have a calm night ; but no, this tornado was but a prelude to a still more dreadful one, which might have been disastrous had we not had warning in time, and prepared for it. Seeing in the evening that it would come, we unpacked the wagon, took off the wheels and turned the bed bottom-upward, placed everything we could under it, and loaded it down with large stones on top. The animals we placed in bushes, and did the same with ourselves ; and in a short time afterwards the storm came, bringing torrents of rain, which drenched us to the skin, and formed a sea of rushing water on every side.

262      A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.

There was thunder and lightning too, frightful, terrific ; never in my life, before or after, have I seen anything so appalling. But fortunately the wind did not lift our wagon-bed ; and when the tornado was over, although it took a long time to dry our clothes, and much of our property was ruined, we at last made ourselves comparatively comfortable, and the next morning rose upon us bright and clear.

            We had now made as long a stay in these mountains as our time would allow, and began to prepare for our journey over the Great Basin to the Rocky Mountains. In view of the desert road before us, we determined to devote ourselves, during the remainder of our stay here, to collecting a store of dried provisions ; and accordingly, on the day after the storm, we started out with the horse and mules, and soon killed four or five deer, which we hung up as usual. Towards evening we came upon a bear, and crept upon him, when Tuolumne, according to arrangement, fired the first shot. No sooner had he done so, however, than the beast made a rush for him. There was a small cedar-tree at a short distance, and Tuolumne was soon in its branches ; but the animal was close at his heels, and would perhaps have caught him, had not Gray and I, after vainly firing our rifles, seized our knives and run to the rescue. Although Tuolumne discharged his pistol in front, our attack in the rear diverted the animal's attention ; and, after a fight in which both Gray and I used our knives too freely, he expired at our feet. He had a beautiful skin, and when I saw how much it was injured by our

A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.  263

slashes, it grieved me that I had not been alone in the fight. But so it generally happens where several persons hunt in company, animals are spoiled by too much killing. I have, therefore, when collecting peltries, always preferred to hunt alone, which is also safer ; for then a hunter has to look out only for himself and the game ; but in a company, the attention is distracted by considerations for the safety of one's companions in addition.

            The next day we again took the field, and, after a short hunt, perceived a large band of antelopes. We crept up on different sides with flags, until an old buck happened to see the decoys at nearly the same time. He looked first on one side and then on the other, and for a while it was uncertain which way he would go ; but, by a waving of my flag, which was of an attractive red color, I drew him towards me, and the band followed. As they came down the knoll, Gray ascended on the opposite side, and, upon reaching the top, fired ; whereupon Tuolumne and I discharged our pieces also. The shots had the effect of killing three, and so amazed the band that they began tramping around in a panic, while we rapidly reloaded and fired four additional times ; and at last the band broke away and escaped, but left nine dead and four wounded ones behind.

            A number of other antelopes and bears, deer, wolves and foxes, we likewise killed, and our camp for several days presented a busy scene of meat-drying and buckskin-making. After procuring as much provision as our journey would require, we packed it in

264      A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.

such a manner as to economize room, having a journey of several hundred miles over a comparative desert before us, and knowing that we would have to carry water as well as provisions. We also greased the wheels of our wagon ; and having thus prepared everything, and made all necessary arrangements for a start early the next morning, we gathered around our last camp fire in the Humboldt Mountains, and speculated upon the character of the desert over which we were to go, and the kinds and numbers of the animals of the Rocky Mountains, towards which we were now to travel.

            There is something attractive in the very name of the desert. It is invested in our minds with the stories learned in childhood, of its wonderful wide stretches of sandy wastes, its mirages, and its caravans, all of which have been so generously adorned with the splendors of diction, and dressed out in the gorgeous robes of imagination. The poets have peopled its fearful solitudes with the creations of fancy, until the desert of the books is far from being the desert of reality. One who sits in the midst of plenty, to indite his experience of a travel over the plains, is apt to forget the desolation he has passed, and to describe inadequately the fearful loneliness he has traversed.

            On the appointed morning, having yoked up at an early hour, we drove down a valley in the mountains, and the same day ran out into the hills which border the plains of the Great Basin. I had come to the conclusion that Ben Franklin was now old and strong

A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.  265

enough to travel on foot, and allowed him to run the whole day in company with the greyhound, — a privilege which he seemed to enjoy as an acknowledgment of his majority ; though a grizzly bear can hardly be said to have come of age until several years old. Lady Washington was chained to the axle-tree, as usual ; but Ben seemed rather to harmonize with the greyhound than with his relative, and I had no disposition to interfere with his inclinations.

            The next day we ran out of the hills, and camped upon what we supposed would be our last watering-place for several days ; so that we considered it prudent to fill all our vessels and bags with water for use upon the wastes. The lower hills had a little timber and a little grass, but as they stretched out before us into the plains, the land became parched and sandy, with only a few weeds and sage bushes, and dreary indeed. As we pushed forward the next day, the country became more and more dreary, assuming a volcanic aspect as if burnt, having small stones scattered about, and in many places coated with a soda-like substance, very disagreeable to the sight.

            We were in hopes this day of reaching a spring of which we had been told, but after a drive of forty miles, were compelled to camp without any signs of it, and during the night we used up all the water we had brought. Besides, there was neither grass nor firewood anywhere to be procured, and our stoppage, therefore, did little towards affording us the necessary refreshment. We passed a night of torment indeed, and, in the morning, were so thirsty that I became

266      A HUMBOLDT TEMPEST.

fearful of the consequences. All that could be done, however, was to ride ahead and search for relief ; and, accordingly, while Gray was to follow leisurely with the team, I mounted the horse, and rode on a long distance ; but nothing was to be seen, save a blank waste, without signs of water or vegetation. I hardly knew in which direction to turn, when at last, far in advance, I perceived several mounds, which we had been told indicated the situation of the springs. They were, however, not less than twenty miles distant from where the poor animals were panting with exhaustion ; and when I bore the good tidings to Gray, he declared that they came too late.

            It was, fortunately, now nearly evening, and the poor cattle seemed to revive as it became cooler, but, had it not been for the hardy mules, it is doubtful whether we could have reached the springs that night, and perhaps not at all. I sent all the party ahead to refresh themselves, and took charge of the team alone ; but it was only with much coaxing and painful slowness that I succeeded in making progress, and managed to reach the springs, such as they were, in the morning. The water was brackish and unpalatable, but still acceptable under the circumstances ; for, after the dreadful drive of the last two days, we considered ourselves very fortunate to procure any drink at all, however bad it might be.

 

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CHAPTER X.

THE GREAT BASIN.

Recruiting. Our Route. Exhaustion. Ben Franklin's sore Feet. His Moccasins. Over the Great Basin. Travellers. Utah Lake. Mired. Around the Head of Utah Lake. Game. A Buffalo Hunt. Blackfoot Visitors. Another Buffalo Hunt. Among the Mountains. Discovery of a Rocky Mountain Grizzly. My Feelings. Slaying of the Bear. Characteristics of the Rocky Mountain Bear. Progress. Game. Camp on Muddy Fork.

            AFTER a stay of two days at the mounds, recruiting our animals upon the scanty herbage which skirted the springs, and refilling our water-bags, we started again over a country similar to that which we had just passed, and camped at night on the desert. The whole of the next day we travelled on, and that night our supply of water failed again, with no prospects of relief. The next day we travelled forward, in the expectation of reaching springs ; but the hope was vain, and the sufferings of the cattle became even greater than before. The route we had taken no emigrant had ever travelled, and all our information in regard to it had been derived solely from an old hunter named Walker, whose account, though perfectly truthful, was difficult to understand. We had endeavored to follow his directions implicitly, but it soon became evident that we were out of the way ; and therefore, when we stopped at night, I rode out

268      THE GREAT BASIN.

to reconnoitre and explore, and, in the course of the night, I found springs very similar to those we had last been at, about ten miles distant. The next day we proceeded towards them ; but so dreadfully exhausted were the animals that they merely staggered along, and it was night again before they could wet their parched lips. To be broken down in the desert is like being dismantled at sea, except that, in many respects, the former is the more dreadful of the two ; but a happy escape in either case seems to be almost a special providence.

            Besides the want of water, which gave me so much uneasiness, my bear Ben Franklin's feet became very sore, by passing over so many sharp stones and so much hot sand. I feared that he would be permanently injured, and for some time could think of no remedy. At first, I put him in the wagon, but he had become so delighted with the privilege of following in freedom that he would not remain there ; and, rather than have him fret and worry himself sick, I determined to allow him his liberty. Before doing so, however, I placed moccasins upon his feet, — consisting of soles of elk-hide and uppers of buckskin, sewed together with thongs. These were bound tightly to the feet, and were intended to remain until entirely worn out. As was to be anticipated, the bear at first endeavored to tear them off ; but they were so tightly bound that he found himself unable to either bite or tear them, and at last made no further attempts. They remained on for a couple of weeks, and served the intended purpose admirably ;

THE GREAT BASIN. 269

for in that time the feet were perfectly healed. The plan thus adopted I made use of on several occasions afterwards, not only with Ben, but also with Lady Washington.

            After several days of recruiting we again advanced, expecting that the next water we would strike would be Utah Lake ; for, since leaving the Humboldt Mountains, we had travelled about two hundred miles or more. During this day, we met six horsemen driving a few packed mules, — the first white men we had seen since leaving California. They had wintered at Salt Lake, they said, and were on their way to the Pacific. After a few moments' conversation, neither of us having time to delay in the desert, we proceeded on, and at night camped as usual. The next evening we came in sight of Utah Lake, a large body of water with tules growing profusely around its edges, and multitudes of birds, such as geese, ducks, tule-hens, and others, flocking about it. The following day we struck to the southeastward, and in the afternoon came to a stream, where we got mired in attempting to cross. The mud was very black and foul, and so thick that we were compelled to uncouple our wagon and pull it out by piecemeal. But however disagreeable in one respect, the mud was not without its benefit ; for it showed us elk-tracks, and gave us to understand that we were again in the country of game.

            The next day, passing towards the east around the head of Utah Lake, we crossed a number of sloughs, and, towards evening, arrived on the bank of

270      THE GREAT BASIN.

a deep and muddy stream, which had a few cottonwood trees growing on its borders. It was necessary to build a raft to ford it, and this detained us for an entire day. During the next several days we travelled on, crossing various streams, some of good size, others small, the country every day becoming more hilly and better stocked with game, until at last we camped in a valley, which I think was as beautiful a one as I ever saw. The undulating hills were covered with scattered trees of large size, such as oak, pine, cedar and fir, and the bottoms thickly swarded with grass ; and on every side there were indications of deer, antelopes, elks, buffaloes and bears.

            We determined, on the morning after camping in the valley, to replenish our diminished stores before proceeding further ; and therefore, taking the horse and mules, we proceeded eastward in search of buffaloes. After going five or six miles, we came upon a small herd, and by surrounding and rushing upon them, managed to kill two. We might, perhaps, have slain more, but our animals were so jaded and worn out with their exertions on the desert that the buffaloes easily outran them. While cutting up the game, a small party of stranger Indians approached us. They seemed to be hunters, and were well armed ; but I gathered from their broken English words that they had been unsuccessful, and wanted something to eat. I of course gave them what they wanted, and they soon after went off, saying that the Blackfoots were brothers of the white men, and ap-

THE GREAT BASIN. 271

parently very well pleased with the acquaintance. Upon returning to camp that evening,- we had a grand buffalo roast, and enjoyed ourselves with our first good meal since leaving the Humboldt Mountains.

            The next day we killed several deer, an elk and six antelopes ; the next, four deer and seven or eight foxes ; and the next, had another buffalo hunt. On this occasion we discovered a large herd in a steep, rocky ravine. As we approached, they raised their heads, snuffed and blew the air, and then, turning their tails, ran up the ravine. We followed, and, upon firing, wounded two, one of which Gray pursued, and Tuolumne the other, while I followed the main herd. The course they had taken rose very rapidly, and this worried them so much that I soon overtook and wounded a third, which Gray and Tuolumne, who had despatched theirs, assisted me in killing, — by which time the main herd had reached another valley and disappeared. Having as many as we wanted, we pursued no further, but set ourselves to work dressing the game thus procured and packing it to camp. On the road back, we killed an elk and a number of foxes, the skins of which, as well as those of the buffaloes, we were careful to preserve.

            After spending a day in preparing our provisions, we proceeded again in a northerly direction, through a rough country. In the course of a few hours, we fell in with several white hunters, who told us that we would have to travel about seventy miles before we could meet the emigration trail running through Salt Lake City. We travelled along in a mountain-

272      THE GREAT BASIN.

ous country that day, and the next morning started forward before sunrise, being anxious to reach the trail. Gray rode ahead to look out the route, but be soon came hastily back to say that, if I wanted to fight a Rocky Mountain grizzly bear, he could take me to one in a few minutes ; but he added that it would be foolish to go after him, as our team was already loaded down. It would be foolish, I replied, to allow the first Rocky Mountain grizzly we had met to escape ; and I at once determined to give him battle.

            Directing Tuolumne to follow, I started off in the direction pointed out, and, upon reaching a bushy ravine, saw the bear busy eating berries in the bushes. We looked with curious eyes on the beast, of whose kind we had heard so much and knew so little. He appeared small in comparison with the grizzly bear of California, but so many stories had been told of his ferocity that it was not without misgivings that we commenced the attack. As there were trees in the neighborhood, I felt pretty safe in any event, and accordingly, creeping up, gave a sharp whistle, such as invariably starts the Californian bear ; but it appeared to have no more effect upon the Rocky Mountain grizzly than the singing of the birds. I then uttered a yell, to see if that would rouse him ; and he looked up and snuffed, but did not seem to be very much disturbed. I at once saw that I had a different animal to deal with from the Californian grizzly, and for a while his imperturbability appeared terrible, — like the consciousness and carelessness of immense power.

THE GREAT BASIN. 273

The reputation of the beast made me feel nervous, and it was some time before I could steady my aim, — indeed before firing I was extraordinarily careful to see that my pistol and knife were ready for a close encounter, and that a tree was near by for refuge. Having thus provided for the worst, I drew up my rifle, and bored the bear through the heart. He bounded up a few times, and fell. I hastily reloaded, and, though I knew from the struggles and character of the groans of the beast that he was dying, planted a second bullet under the butt of the ear, and stilled him forever. Thus was I victorious over the first Rocky Mountain grizzly I ever saw.

            Proceeding, according to my practice, to cut the bear's throat, I noticed that he had light-colored eyes, and coarse, long, shaggy hair, almost white. He would weigh about five hundred pounds, and was as large as any bear I saw in the Rocky Mountains ; for it is seldom that they ever exceed this size. Taking the hide and a portion of his meat, Tuolumne and I proceeded on and soon overtook the team, managing, on the road, to kill a beautiful silver-gray fox, the skin of which we also preserved. We travelled thence till late at night over a rugged but well-timbered country, and camped on a small stream. Throughout the day the signs of game were plenty on every side, but we did not delay ; and for several days longer we continued our route, until finally, in the neighborhood of where the emigration trail crosses Muddy Fork, we made a general camp.

 

274      THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

 

CHAPTER XL.

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

Trading with the Emigrants. Visit to Salt Lake City. The Fourth of July at Salt Lake City. Mormon Sayings and Mormon Doings. Character of the Mormons' social Organization. A Buffalo Hunt. Lady Washington's Tractability. Change of Position of Camp. Adventure with a Bear. Tuolumne up a Tree. The Effect of Pistol-shots. Slaying of the Bear. Another Grizzly. His Fright. Comparison with the California Grizzly. Another Buffalo Hunt. A lost Cub. Our nightly Guard. A Visitor at Night. Return of the Visitor the second Night. Respite to the Buffaloes. A Bear and her Cubs in the Water. A Combat with the Bear. Maternal Tenderness. Passage of Words with Gray. Immunity of the Hero. Catching of the Cubs. The Teeth and Tusks of the Grizzly. Uneasiness of the Cubs. Funny Joe. Moving of the Camp. Adventure with a Bear. Insanity of wild Animals. Diseases in General.

            IT had been my intention, in travelling to the Rocky Mountains, not only to hunt and collect animals, but also to trade with that great stream of migrating humanity, which, in search of the gold-bearing hills or the stock-raising valleys of California, poured over the Rocky Mountains by thousands during the whole summer Before commencing at this business, however, I determined to visit Salt Lake City, which was only fifty or sixty miles distant, and see that noted head-quarters of polygamy and the Mormons. It was now the first day of July ; and, as it is the custom of all true Americans, in whatever place they may be, to make the Fourth of July a holiday, I planned the trip in such a manner

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.            275

as to give us the Fourth in the city. We accordingly packed up our mules and horse with meat and hides, and taking also two young panthers, two young wolves, and two fawns, set out towards the Mormon head-quarters. On the road we overtook many wagons and families, and disposed of our meats to them, long before our arrival in the city. The greater portion brought a fair price, but much we gave away to wayworn and weary sufferers, of whom there were very many in whose behalf our sympathies were called into exercise.

            After travelling two days and a half, we reached the city on the afternoon of July 3rd, and soon sold our hides and young animals, at excellent prices. We then took a view of the city, and spent the rest of the day in passing around and looking at the wide, square lots into which it is divided. On the Fourth, there was a celebration and a speech in the temple, but I paid little attention to the Mormon talk. I thought then, as I think now, that it does no good to listen to what the Mormons have to say, but it may do much to look at what they have done, and what they are doing.

            It has been usual to call these singular people fanatics, and I can see no harm in giving them their proper names ; but when it is considered that all the world is more or less fanatical, and that it is the privilege of only a few to deserve the name of true liberality, I can hardly look upon the Mormons with what is generally considered orthodox contempt. There must be something good, among the much evil,

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to keep them together, and their wonderful labors in their Rocky Mountain city attest the fact that there is at least earnestness and vigor in their counsels. They are equal to the Jews of old in their hatred of the Gentiles ; but it seems to me that their entire organization and polity is much more of a political than of a religious character.

            Upon our return, we spent a day in putting things about camp to rights, and the next day set out upon a buffalo hunt, and managed to drive a large herd up a rocky ravine in the side of a mountain. Gray wounded one, which turned to fight ; but Toulumne laid him low with another ball. At the same time I wounded a second, which we also killed. Pursuing up the ravine, we killed a third, when the drove passed over into another ravine and escaped. After dressing our meat, we watched it through the night, and the next morning Gray and one of the Indians took a portion of it on the mules and horse to the emigration trail, to trade it off, while Tuolumne and I used Lady Washington to pack the remainder to camp. The Lady was almost as tractable with Tuolumne as with myself, and would obey him with nearly as much submission. She was thus, under all circumstances, a very valuable assistant ; and it may truly be said, that on many occasions she was of as much use to us as a mule or a horse would have been.

            For a week or two we continued in this neighborhood hunting buffaloes and other game, and trading ; but the market by degrees became dull, and we moved up past Fort Bridger to a spot on Ham's Fork,

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between the trails to Salt Lake City and the bend of Bear River. Here we made a general camp again, and commenced a system of hunting and trading, which we carried on with more or less success for a week and more, during which time we also had several notable adventures with grizzly bears.

            On the day after arriving there, as Tuolumne and I were hunting, we discovered a grizzly in a ravine. He had been wallowing in a pool, and was covered with mud, which dripped from his long and shaggy hair. As he came leisurely towards us, he would now and then lie down upon the grass and endeavor to rub the mud from his coat ; as he drew near, snuffing the air as if he suspected an ambush, I fired and struck him in the nostrils. Tuolumne immediately stepped from his concealment to shoot ; but the bear seeing his movement made a rush towards him, and with such ferocity that the boy dropped his rifle and sprang up a pine-tree, which happened to stand convenient.

            The bear stopped when he came to the rifle, which he poked and smelled and snuffed for a considerable time, notwithstanding Tuolumne used his pistol, and fired six shots into him. The balls, however, appeared not to penetrate through the fat, and the brute paid little attention to them, merely grunting. After turning the rifle over several times, the beast placed one paw upon the stock and the other under the barrel, as if about to break it, and, in doing so, rose on his haunches. This afforded me a fair aim at his breast ; and being by this time reloaded, I planted a ball in

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his heart, where the first ought to have struck. And yet even this did not kill him, so tenacious of life was he ; on the contrary, he ran at least three hundred yards to the pool in which he had been wallowing. I pursued, but, finding him in his death-struggles, did not fire again. Upon examination we found that my rifle-ball had passed through the apex of the heart, but the pistol-balls were only imbedded in the fat of the sides.

            After cutting up the bear and washing the hide, we made a dinner of bear-meat, and then threw ourselves in the shade of a tree to pass the heat of the day. In the evening, soon after we started up on our return to camp, we discovered another grizzly bear upon a knoll. He saw us as soon as we saw him, and I supposed he would attack us ; but, instead of doing so, he merely rose on his hind legs and curiously looked at us. I directed Tuolumne to fire, which he accordingly did, but at the discharge the beast gave a tremendous growl, and bounded off over the hill out of sight. Had he been a Californian grizzly, he would doubtless have attacked us, at least after the fire ; but the Rocky Mountain beast is not always so ready to fight. He is more dangerous than the Californian grizzly in his disposition to follow up a trail, but in a fight, though terrible enough, is not to be feared like his cousin of the Sierra.

            The next day, Gray having succeeded well in disposing of meat to the emigrants, we made another buffalo hunt. After going a few miles we came upon a herd of about one hundred, which we surrounded.

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.            279

At a concerted signal the whole party advanced, and the buffaloes were so bewildered that for a short time they knew not which way to turn ; so that we were able to rush into their midst and fire at close quarters. The leg of one was broken, but the others fled. Leaving the Indians to finish the wounded one, we pursued the drove, and managed to overtake and kill another. Upon our return to camp, we unexpectedly met a little brown bear cub about four months old, which seemed to be lost. I endeavored to catch it, but not being able, fired ; and that evening we had supper of its flesh.

            During all the time that we were in this country, we continued night after night to keep a guard over our camp ; for though there was not much to lose in the way of property, it was still all that we possessed. The guard usually consisted of two persons, relieved at midnight by two others. The last guard, on one particular night, were Tuolumne and one of the Indians, who reported to me in the morning that a strange bear had entered camp, made the acquaintance of Lady Washington, and, after a tête-à-tête of an hour or so, had retired again, in a very peaceable and orderly manner, to the mountain from which he came. They had not called me because of my fatigue during the day, they said, and because the visitor had been so civil that they did not think it necessary to disturb me. I however directed that if such a case should occur again they should not fail to let me know.

            The next night the visitor returned, and, being in

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formed of it, I got up. It was about midnight, but the moon was shining, so that we could easily see him approaching the Lady, who was chained to a tree as usual at night. I took my rifle with the intention of killing the beast, but, on second thought, concluded that it would be more to our advantage to give him the freedom of the camp, and, accordingly, did not disturb him. He remained until dawn, and then retired. On the occasion of his return the next night, — for, like a loyal lover, he was very attentive, — Gray advised that he should be killed ; but I opposed the proposition, and, for what I know, he still roams in his native haunts.

            By this time we had amassed quite a sum of cash by selling buffalo-meat to the emigrants, and had purchased for ourselves a second horse among other things; but these adventures filled my head with ideas of bear hunting, and I determined to give the buffaloes respite, and turn my attention to the grizzlies exclusively. We accordingly moved on to a deep ravine, covered with chaparral and trees. Soon after reaching it, we found a fresh bear-track, and, hitching our horses, followed it up by crawling among the bushes, and presently came upon an old bear playing with two cubs in a pool. She would poke one in the water with her paw, and then the other, and, as they jumped back towards her, she would poke them off again, — presenting thus an interesting and beautiful sight; for what can be more interesting or beautiful, among animals as well as among human beings, than to see a mother playing with her off-

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.            281

spring ? I looked a considerable time upon the scene, and did not fire till she appeared about ready to withdraw, when, as it happened, I merely broke her shoulder. She rushed at me at once, but I seized my rifle by the barrel and struck her over the head, and then jumped to the bed of the creek and drew my knife, with which I dealt her a stab in the flank. As I struck, she reared upon me and bore me to the ground ; and, while she placed her paw upon my head, bit me severely in the shoulder, the marks of which I still bear. I lay perfectly still, however, and in a few minutes the cubs began bawling, when the old bear, seeing no resistance in me, turned to them. Seizing this opportunity, I sprang to my feet again and drew my pistol ; but, observing at a glance that the stab in the flank was fatal, I did not fire. The poor brute was evidently dying, though she tried to pacify her cubs. Although I stood but a few yards distant, she had not the strength to come at me ; for she had bled, and was still bleeding profusely. As I watched her licking her young and giving them her last attentions, as if conscious of the approach of death, I thought there was something of the human in the bear, and was sorry I had shot so affectionate a mother.

            As she expired, I looked around for my companions, but they were nowhere to be seen. I looked up to heaven and exclaimed to myself, " The cowards leave me ; " then I called as loud as I could, " Gray, Gray ! " He answered, " Halloo ! " " Where are you ? " cried I. He replied at a distance of about

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a hundred yards, " I am here." I asked if he expected to help me there ? and called that he should come and catch these cubs, for I had despatched the bear ; but he asked, " Is she dead ? " This made me angry, and I replied, " She is dead, but it was no coward who killed her." Gray grumbled something in return, and came poking and cracking through the brush, and exclaimed, " Adams, I thought you were gone this time." " It is only cowards," said I, " who are gone in the hour of danger. You have acted in this affair like a miserable coyote." This language, at another time, would have been certainly resented ; but when a man accomplishes any difficult deed, and particularly under such circumstances as these, he enjoys a certain degree of immunity, and can growl as he pleases.

            I now directed Gray and Stanislaus to catch the cubs ; but, seeing that they were not quick enough, I cried out impatiently, " You are more clumsy than cowardly ; see the Old Hunter catch them." I then took off my cap, and, leaping with it upon the head of one of the cubs, seized him with a powerful grip, and, holding him up, cried, " See there ! " Stanislaus answered he could catch the other, and, in a few moments, did so ; and thus we had two additions to our stock of live bears, besides the body of the dam, which we cut up as usual. The cubs were not more than a month or two old, and had no teeth worth mentioning ; and, in this connection, it may be stated that the grizzly bear generally cuts its teeth at about two months. It does not have full teeth till its matu-

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.            283

rity, at about two years of age, though it has a dangerous mouth at six months. Every year a ring is added to its tusks, — the first ring being for the second year ; and as the animal sometimes reaches the age of fifteen or sixteen years, a corresponding number of rings are found.

            We camped this night near the scene of the capture, partly on account of the lateness of the hour, and partly on account of my wound,— which, however, gave my companions more alarm than it did me, or than it merited. During the night our cubs yelped dreadfully ; and, as we had nothing to feed them with, it was impossible to quiet them until we reached the general camp the next day, when we gave them water, flour, and sugar, mixed together, and they thrived well. One of them, which I subsequently named Funny Joe, became a companion for me, next in my esteem to Ben Franklin and Lady Washington.

            In a few days after this adventure, finding the buffaloes growing scarce in the region, we moved on over a rugged, mountainous country to Smith's Fork of Bear River, where we hunted for several days, and had good success. One evening, while here, we came across a grizzly feeding on the carcass of a buffalo. As he was very busily engaged at his meal, I had no difficulty in approaching, and fired at his heart. The ball appeared to strike correctly, but had a singular effect ; for the bear, instead of rushing at me or running off, wheeled around like a dog trying to catch his tail, — different from any bear I ever saw before or since. He seemed, indeed, to be crazy ; probably

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some nerve intimately connected with the brain had been injured. He continued thus to turn around until Gray and Tuolumne rushed up and planted their halls in his body, when he jumped up and rushed towards us ; but, as he did so, I planted a fourth ball in his breast, and he fell dead. I had some curiosity in examining him afterwards, and found that my first ball had struck the spine ; and this, I presume, was the cause of his singular action. It is, doubtless, no impossible thing for a bear to be affected with insanity, even without mechanical injury to the brain ; but this disease is one of the greatest of rarities, except among domesticated animals, — and even among them only in cases where the laws of nature are outrageously violated. Disease of any kind among wild animals is rare ; and I am well satisfied, reasoning by analogy, that the long list of ailments which plague the human family are nearly all of its own making ; in other words, they are adjuncts of the abuses of civilization.

 

285      THE SIERRA NEVADA AGAIN.

 

CHAPTER XII.

THE SIERRA NEVADA AGAIN.

Settling of Accounts with Gray. Departure of Gray. My Bank of Deposit. Travel towards California. Picking up abandoned Animals. Camp at the Foot of the Sierra Nevada. Adventure with a Bear at Night. Passage of the Sierra. Progress of Californian Settlement and Improvements. Fire in the Mountains. Vestiges of my old Camping-ground. Repairs. Departure of the Indians. Letter from my Brother. Bears for South America. Adventure with a Blacksmith at Stockton. I make a Figure in Stockton. Unceremonious Treatment of a Gentleman. Shakspeare. A general Treat. A Californian Crowd. Its Characteristics.

            ABOUT the first of August, Gray came in one evening and stated that he wished to close our engagement. He said that he had met friends, who were on their way to the Atlantic States, and that he desired to accompany them. I did all in my power to dissuade him, but found it of no avail ; and we moved up to the trading-post, where his friends were recruiting, and proceeded to settle our accounts. We sold out everything we could, and divided the proceeds and the remainder of the property in accordance with the provisions of our agreement, — he receiving one third and I two thirds. When all was done, I had left, as my portion of the wild stock, besides the Lady and Ben, two bears, two panthers--which soon afterwards died, — two deer, two wolves, various foxes and skins, and about one thousand dol- 

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lars in coin. After the division, Gray withdrew and took up his camp with his friends ; and this was the last I ever saw of him. He was a good hunter, but like most of them, not over fond of grizzly bears.

            The day after Gray left us, I concluded to make a safe deposit of my money, and sent Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and the Indians on a hunt, for I did not wish to let them know anything about it. When they were well out of sight, I pried up the bed of my wagon, and, going to work with auger and chisel, cut a hole several inches in extent in the heavy white-oak axle-tree. In this I deposited my purse, containing the money, and after plugging it up covered it over with tin, and then replaced the bed. While working, I was asked several times, by persons who happened to pass, what I was cutting the hole for ; and they remarked that it would certainly weaken and injure the axle-tree. I replied that I wanted to have a mortise in which to hoist a pole, and stretch a canvas ; but in every case the questioners seemed to cast a look of compassion on me, possibly thinking I was not very sound in the head, and passed on.

            The next day we set out on our return to California, intending to take the emigration road, and hunt only sufficiently to provide for our own wants. Accordingly we proceeded by the way of Fort Hall and Lewis's Fork, along the regular road, until we again approached the boundaries of California. In the course of the travel, we picked up three horses, six cows, and two oxen, which had been abandoned by the emigrants ; and travelling along slowly, as was neces-

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sary with these worn-out animals, we reached the foot of the Sierra Nevada, (near where I had crossed in the spring,) towards the end of September. There was already considerable snow on the peaks, and before attempting to cross I directed a camp to be made, and determined to spend several days to recruit.

            Since leaving the Rocky Mountains we had not seen a single bear except our pets, but as soon as we camped under the Sierra, the beast was not long in paying his attentions to us. The very first night of our encampment I was waked up with information of beasts among the cattle, and going out to ascertain the difficulty, discovered the long, whitish hairs of a huge grizzly waving in the breeze. He had killed one of my cows, and was lapping the blood as it ran from her neck, into which he had eaten. There was only starlight, but I knew my game intimately, and did not for a moment think of letting him off without full payment for the care and trouble I had had in nursing the cow. Accordingly, posting Tuolumne and Stanislahs in positions behind trees, as a reserve in case of necessity, I crept up to a small clump of bushes near the bear, and, preparing my arms, raised my rifle. The bear was busy tearing the flesh of the dead cow, and did not perceive me ; but as I whistled he jumped upon his hind legs and fronted towards me, and I planted the ball in the right place. He fell over, and, at the same moment, drawing my knife, I leaped upon him and plunged it to his heart ; for I knew that should he have time to get up, my life

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might pay the forfeit of my slowness. Happily the ball and knife together gave him his quietus, and, with the exception of being knocked over by his death-struggle, I escaped unharmed. As I fell, the boys rushed up to assist, but the bear expired in a few moments ; and we cut him up, and fried out of him about fifteen gallons of oil at our leisure.

            On the fifth day after reaching this place we again yoked up, and commenced the passage of the mountains, which we accomplished in a few days. The soft snow which we encountered gave us much difficulty, and kept us diligently at work brushing it from the wheels of our wagon, but by persistently pushing along we succeeded in reaching the summit, and then ran down as fast as possible on the California side, through familiar scenes. All this then wild region has since been taken up by private owners, and an immense reservoir of water, for mining purposes, has been made of the flat which I used to cross daily with my team. And thus, I have no doubt, it would be found that in many of the spots where I fought bears, and saw nothing but a wilderness, there is now improvement and civilization. The varied drama of social life, not the adventures of a lonely hunter, is now being enacted there.

            In the course of a few days I reached my old camping-ground on the head waters of the Merced River ; but, alas for the stability of earthly things ! there had been a fire in the region, and my old habitation and all my traps had been burned to ashes ; with the exception of the tools, which had been con-

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cealed in the old cave, not a vestige of my camping fixtures and apparatus remained. However, we had stout hearts and willing hands, and going to work, put up, in the course of a week, a new cabin and stable, both snug and tight, and laid in a stock of hay for winter consumption, and also built three traps. In a few days after all this work was done, the Indians who had been with me during the summer took their departure ; and, as they went, I gave them enough of an outfit and money to make them nabobs among their people ; but Tuolumne and Stanislaus remained and assisted in the duties of camp.

            In a few weeks after my return, I received letters from my brother William, who was then at San Francisco, informing me of a contract he had made to send two large and one small grizzly bear to Lima, in South America, and requesting to know whether they could be provided at short notice. I replied, by letter, that I had a large and a small bear, — referring to two at Howard's, — and thought that in a few weeks I could provide another ; — and, as fortune willed it, in a few nights afterwards we caught a large bear in one of the traps. I now immediately wrote my brother that I would deliver the three bears at Stockton at a certain time, when he should be present, or have an agent present, to receive them. I then set to work to build a cage for the last bear, and in the meanwhile despatched Tuolumne to Howard's for a team, which he brought up ; and in a few days afterwards, everything being prepared, I set out with the bear in its cage upon the wagon for Howard's. There, I engaged a

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teamster to haul the bears which were at Howard's, and we two set out in company for Stockton.

            Nothing worthy of special note occurred until we approached the city of Stockton, when a blacksmith of the place accosted us, and wanted to know what we had in our wagons. I answered that we had grizzly bears. He replied that we had no business taking bears into the city, and went on to say that a man named Dunbar had been killed by one a few days before ; " and," continued he, " we are not going to have any more fights in this city." Now, as this blacksmith was a citizen, and talked like a citizen, he put me in mind of a certain public-spirited smith, named Demetrius, who once stirred up a sedition in the city of Ephesus, as is related in the Acts of the Apostles. I called the modern smith's attention to the ancient smith's story, cautioned him against the dangers of uproar, and drove on.

            I suppose I must have presented quite a figure with my buckskin costume and unshaven face at Stockton, for I found myself followed by a large crowd ; and when the cages were placed upon the wharf for shipment by steamer to San Francisco, there was a great multitude of people collected. Some of them, more curious than wise, poked sticks at, and otherwise annoyed, the bears, until one individual happening to get too close to one of the cages, suddenly lost a pawful of meat, the want of which probably interferes with his comfort, while sitting, to this day. The consequence at the time, as was to have been anticipated, was an excitement ; and the

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gentleman, so unceremoniously treated, drew his pistol and swore revenge. Now, I have always been an admirer of that passage in Hamlet which runs, " Nay, an thou'lt mouth, I'll rant as well as thou," and snatching out my own pistol, I informed the gentleman that the bear had committed nothing more than a justifiable assault and battery, and I would, therefore, stand by it to the last wag of my eyelids. The gentleman swore not a little at this, and I ranted in return, while the crowd shouted, " Hurrah for the wild Yankee." This interference of the crowd cooled the gentleman's ardor, and he soon afterwards withdrew ; but the crowd remained, and, as soon as the animals were shipped, I could do no more than ask them to drink at my expense ; and they were not backward, as my purse soon experienced.

            A Californian crowd is very different from a crowd in any other part of the world of which I have had any experience. It is usually composed of men who have seen much of life, and learned much of human nature. Though given to excitement, and disposed often to disregard the formulas of society, they almost invariably arrive at the moral right of a subject, and do justice with more unerring certainty than the most nicely-adjusted legal tribunals, which are too much bound up and hampered by antiquated dicta and decisions. A spectator is surprised at the order and temperance of counsel, which actuates the motions of a Californian meeting. Although a thousand technically unlawful assemblies have taken place in the State, there has seldom or never been such a thing as a tumult.