But they refused to allow me anything for the use of the mule and became
very urgent in their demand for money.
These men were evidently of the tribe of Skinflint, who had no souls, or
they would not have attempted to rob an almost penniless emigrant in
this way of the last few dollars he had, and all the hope he had of
reaching the mines. I did not desire to give up to such narrow
principles as this and hesitated, but they were bound to have the money
or make a quarrel, and talked pretty loud of the way they collected
debts in Sacramento, so that to avoid trouble and get out of the
clutches of such mean scoundrels as these I counted out sixteen dollars,
almost every cent I had, and reluctantly gave them to my enemy. I
immediately mounted my mule, and without stopping to say goodbye rode
off. I may have quoted a part of the speech Capt Hunt made when the
party wanted to leave the trail and take the cut-off, especially that
part where he alluded to their going to h--l. I very much fear the
little piety my mother taught me was badly strained on that occasion,
and I thought of a good many swear words if I did not say them, which I
suppose is about as bad. I could see how cunningly they had managed to
get me to ride their horse that it might serve as the foundation for a
claim on me for about all the money I had in the world.
I hitched my mule in the edge of the town and went in to look at the
place. The houses were situated very much as in other places we had come
through--scattered around over much ground and built low, but had a
different style of roof, a peaked or sloping one, and covered with half
round tile two feet or more long and an inch thick.
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