Claims here in the flat were only fifteen feet square. I located
one and my notice told others that I would go to work on it as soon my
partner came from Sacramento. I sent my partner, Mr. Bennett a note
telling him to come up.
While waiting for Mr. Bennett I took my pan and butcher knife and went
into a dry gulch out of sight of the other campers and began work. As
the ground was mostly bare bed rock by scratching around I succeeded in
getting three or four pans of dirt a day. The few days I had to wait for
Bennett I made eight dollars a day until my claim was worked out.
I then went to Georgetown to meet Bennett and family, and soon after my
arrival they came well and safe. All of them, even to the faithful camp
dog, Cuff, were glad to see me. Old Cuff followed me all around town,
but when we got ready to start for camp the dog was gone and could not
be found. Some one had hidden him away knowing he could not be gotten
any other way, for six ounces would not have bought him. We had raised
him in Wisconsin, made him a good deer dog, and with us he had crossed
the dry and sandy deserts. He had been a great protection to Bennett's
children on the plains, and company for us all.
We now located claims on the creek bottom. The channel of the creek was
claimed by Holman of Alabama and the Helms brothers of Missouri. They
had turned the stream into a ditch in order to work the bed of the
stream, believing that their claims had all the gold in them.
Pages:
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459