Gold Part 22

There is something really a little awing about pure gold new-born from the soil. Gold is such a stable article, so strictly guarded, so carefully checked and counted, that the actual production of metal that has had no existence savours almost of the alchemical. We had somewhat less than an ounce, to be sure; but that amount in flake gold bulks considerably. We did not think of it in terms of its worth in dollars; we looked on it only as the Gold, and we stared at the substantial little heap of yellow particles with fascinated awe.

CHAPTER XVII

THE DIGGINGS

The following days were replicas of the first. We ate hurriedly at odd times; we worked feverishly; we sank into our tumbled blankets at night too tired to wiggle. But the buckskin sack of gold was swelling and rounding out most satisfactorily. By the end of the week it contained over a pound!

But the long hours, the excitement, and the inadequate food told on our nerves. We snapped at each other impatiently at times; and once or twice came near to open quarrelling. Johnny and I were constantly pecking at each other over the most trivial concerns.

One morning we were halfway to the bar when we remembered that we had neglected to picket out the horses. It was necessary for one of us to go back, and we were all reluctant to do so.

"I'll be d.a.m.ned if I'm going to lug 'way up that hill," I growled to myself. "I tied them up yesterday, anyway."

Johnny caught this.

"Well, it wasn't your turn yesterday," he pointed out, "and it is to-day. I've got nothing to do with what you chose to do yesterday."

"Or any other day," I muttered.

"What's that?" cried Johnny truculently. "I couldn't hear. Speak up!"

We were flushed, and eying each other malevolently.

"That'll do!" said Yank, with an unexpected tone of authority. "n.o.body will go back, and n.o.body will go ahead. We'll just sit down on this log, yere, while we smoke one pipe apiece. I've got something to say."

Johnny and I turned on him with a certain belligerency mingled with surprise. Yank had so habitually acted the part of taciturnity that his decided air of authority confused us. His slouch had straightened, his head was up, his mild eye sparkled. Suddenly I felt like a bad small boy; and I believe Johnny was the same. After a moment's hesitation we sat down on the log.

"Now," said Yank firmly, "it's about time we took stock. We been here now five days; we ain't had a decent meal of vittles in that time; we ain't fixed up our camp a mite; we ain't been to town to see the sights; we don't even know the looks of the man that's camped down below us.

We've been too danged busy to be decent. Now we're goin' to call a halt.

I should jedge we have a pound of gold, or tharabouts. How much is that worth, Johnny? You can figger in yore head."

"Along about two hundred and fifty dollars," said Johnny after a moment.

"Well, keep on figgerin'. How much does that come to apiece?"

"About eighty dollars, of course."

"And dividin' eighty by five?" persisted Yank.

"Sixteen."

"Well," drawled Yank, his steely blue eye softening to a twinkle, "sixteen dollars a day is fair wages, to be sure; but nothin' to get wildly excited over." He surveyed the two of us with some humour.

"Hadn't thought of it that way, had you?" he asked. "Nuther had I until last night. I was so dog tired I couldn't sleep, and I got to figgerin'

a little on my own hook."

"Why, I can do better than that in San Francisco--with half the work!" I cried.

"Maybe for a while," said Yank, "but here we got a chance to make a big strike most any time; and in the meantime to make good wages. But we ain't going to do it any quicker by killin' ourselves. Now to-day is Sunday. I ain't no religious man; but Sunday is a good day to quit. I propose we go back to camp peaceable, make a decent place to stay, cook ourselves up a squar' meal, wash out our clothes, visit the next camp, take a look at town, and enjoy ourselves."

Thus vanished the first and most wonderful romance of the gold. Reduced to wages it was somehow no longer so marvellous. The element of uncertainty was always there, to be sure; and an inexplicable fascination; but no longer had we any desire to dig up the whole place immediately. I suppose we moved nearly as much earth, but the fibres of our minds were relaxed, and we did it more easily and with less nervous wear and tear.

Also, as Yank suggested, we took pains to search out our fellow beings.

The camper below us proved to be Don Gaspar, velvet breeches and all. He received us hospitably, and proffered perfumed cigarettos which we did not like, but which we smoked out of politeness. Our common ground of meeting was at first the natural one of the gold diggings. Don Gaspar and his man, whom he called Vasquez, had produced somewhat less flake gold than ourselves, but exhibited a half-ounce nugget and several smaller lumps. We could not make him out. Neither his appearance nor his personal equipment suggested necessity; and yet he laboured as hard as the rest of us. His gaudy costume was splashed and grimy with the red mud, although evidently he had made some attempt to brush it. The linen was, of course, hopeless. He showed us the blisters on his small aristocratic-looking hands.

"It is the hard work" he stated simply, "but one gets the gold."

From that subject we pa.s.sed on to horses. He confessed that he was uneasy as to the safety of his own magnificent animals; and succeeded in alarming us as to our own.

"Thos' Indian," he told us, "are always out to essteal; and the _paisanos_. It has been tole me that Andreas Amijo and his robbers are near. Some day we loose our horse!"

Our anxiety at this time was given an edge by the fact that the horses, having fed well, and becoming tired of the same place, were inclined to stray. It was impossible to keep them always on picket lines--the nature of the meadow would not permit it--and they soon learned to be very clever with their hobbles. Several mornings we put in an hour or so hunting them up and bringing them in before we could start work for the day. This wasted both time and temper. The result was that we drifted into partnership with Don Gaspar and Vasquez. I do not remember who proposed the arrangement; indeed, I am inclined to think it just came about naturally from our many discussions on the subject. Under the terms of it we appointed Vasquez to cook all the meals, take full care of the horses, chop the wood, draw the water, and keep camp generally.

The rest of us worked in couples at the bar. We divided the gold into five equal parts.

Our production at this time ran from five to seven ounces a day, which was, of course, good wages, but would not make our fortunes. We soon fell into a rut, working cheerfully and interestedly, but without excitement. The nature of our produce kept our attention. We should long since have wearied of any other job requiring an equal amount of work, but there was a never-ending fascination in blowing away the debris from the virgin gold. And one day, not far from us, two Hollanders--"Dutch Charleys," as the miners called that nationality--scooped from a depression in the bedrock mixed coa.r.s.e gold thirty odd pounds in weight--over $5,000! That revived our interest, you may be sure.

Most of the miners seemed content to stick to panning. Their argument was that by this method they could acc.u.mulate a fair amount of dust, and ran just as good chances of a "strike" as the next fellow. Furthermore, they had no tools, no knowledge and no time to make cradles. Those implements had to be very accurately constructed.

We discussed this matter almost every evening. Yank was a great believer in improving the efficiency of our equipment.

"It'll handle four or five times the dirt," said he "and that means four or five times the dust."

"There's no lumber to be had anywhere," I objected.

"I know where there's three good stout boxes made of real lumber that we can get for forty dollars," said Yank.

"You can't cut that stuff up with an axe."

"John Semple has a saw, a plane, and a hammer; he's a carpenter."

"You bet he is!" agreed Johnny. "I was talking to him last night. He won't lend his tools; and he won't hire them. He'll come with them for fifty dollars a day."

"All right," said Yank, "let's hire him. I'm pretty handy, and I'll stay right in camp and help him. Vasquez can go dig instead of me. We can get 'em cut out and fitted in two days, anyway. We've got the money!"

I think none of us was very enthusiastic on this subject except Yank; but he finally carried the day. Vasquez, somewhat to his chagrin, I thought, resumed his shovel. Yank and John Semple tinkered away for the allotted two days, and triumphantly produced two cradles at a cost of a round one hundred and fifty dollars.

Although we had been somewhat doubtful as to the advisability of spending this sum, I am bound to state that Yank's insistence was justified. It certainly made the work easier. We took turns shovelling the earth and pouring in the water, and "rocking the baby." Our production jumped two or three ounces a day.

CHAPTER XVIII

BEGINNINGS OF GOVERNMENT