USA > California > A picture of pioneer times in California, illustrated with anecdotes and stores taken from real life > Part 43
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Jane laughed as she read this last part of the quotation, and said:
" She need not have said that about getting married, for I am
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sure we don't think of such a thing, for all we want, just yet a bit, is to make money to send home to bring out two brothers we have in Ireland."
" Well, girls," said Minnie, " let us all three go to this board- ing-house, and I will leave a note here with the Captain to give to my brother, if he comes, to say where he can find me, and, perhaps, he will come some time to-day or to-morrow."
And so it was arranged. Minnie found the boarding-house a rough place. Donnelly was a rough specimen of good nature. He had a good, kind heart, and was zealous and active in get- ting good places for girls who put up at his house. The wife was very like her husband in every respect; a bustling, active, honest Irish woman. When Mrs. Donnelly's eyes rested on Minnie, she stopped short, and a look of surprise appeared for a moment on her face, and then, turning towards Jane, she said: " Your friend, I suppose ?"
" Yes," said Jane, promptly. " This is Miss Wagner, waiting for her brother; she came with us."
" Oh, that is all right." And, turning to Minnie, she continued: " I am afraid, Miss Wagner, you will find this house a rough place for you ; but you will be safe, anyway, until your brother comes for you, and you know people like us cannot keep a fine house here in California, where everything costs so."
" The house is good enough, Mrs. Donnelly, for me, or any one; and I am perfectly content to be in a safe place, as you say, with my friends, until my brother comes."
There was something about Minnie's voice and manner that attracted every one; so, as Mrs. Donnelly hastened away to get her guests something to eat, she said to herself:
" She is a sweet darling of a girl, surely. What a pity if the poor thing gets a bad husband out here!"
After dinner, Minnie wrote to Mr. Allen, telling him of her arrival, and asking him if he knew anything of her brother's movements. Mrs. Donnelly's little son took the note, and soon returned with this endorsement written on the open note:
Mr. Allen and Mr. Wheeler both being absent, I opened this note, and wish to say that we have heard nothing from Mr. Walter Wagner lately, al- though I find a letter from him to our firm on file, in which he says that he expected soon to be in the city.
E. F. BAKER, Bookkeeper.
Minnie had no acquaintance whatever with any one of the firm of Allen, Wheeler & Co., but Mr. Allen himself; so, of course,
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this ended all further communication with them. She now be- came very anxious. The fact that Walter had written to Allen, Wheeler & Co. that he was soon to come to the city looked as if he must have received her letter; and yet what could have pre- vented his coming ? Mrs. Donnelly had just been giving her de- tails of robberies and murders that were then becoming ter- ribly frequent; " attributed," Mrs. Donnelly said, " mostly to Sydney convicts."
This further excited poor Minnie's imagination, until now she was in a perfect fever of anxiety. To add to her troubles, both Jane and Maria were that day engaged by ladies, who had called at the boarding-house, on hearing of the steamer's arrival, and the girls were to take their places the next day. Minnie made inquiries as to the possibility of her proceeding to Downieville without an escort, for now she was willing to run any risk that was not actually improper to get out of her present position and find Walter safe. Mrs. Donnelly said:
" No, Miss; I think not. There is such a crowd of men on board the steamer every night-a perfect jam-and very few women. If you were once as far as Sacramento, I think you could get on from there, for men in California take a pride in protecting women who take care of themselves; but they couldn't understand a girl like you being alone on the steamer. But from Sacramento up you would be almost sure to fall in with some family going to Downieville."
" Would not the Captain protect-me on the steamer ?" asked Minnie.
" It would not do, Miss, to depend on it. The Captain is rushed to death with all the duties he has to perform, and he would tell you that you had no right to go alone on the steamer."
That night Minnie hardly slept two hours, and when she did sleep, she saw in her dreams Walter lying on a bed of sickness, calling to her to come to him, and at other times she saw a Syd- ney ruffian murdering him. She arose, tired and half-sick with anxiety. The girls were to leave her in the afternoon. What was she to do ? As she walked up and down the little sitting- room, she stopped suddenly, and exclaimed:
" Yes; I will do it, if Mrs. Donnelly and the girls do not say it is wrong."
Calling to Jane and Maria, who were dividing their clothes and getting ready for their places, she said:
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" Girls, I have just thought of a plan to get as far as Sacra- mento, if you and Mrs. Donnelly do not think it out of the way." They called Mrs. Donnelly, and Minnie told them her plan was to disguise herself as a boy, and in that way reach Sacramento unnoticed.
" I dislike it, of course," she said; " but anything is better than remaining here while I believe my brother must be lying dangerously sick, or he would have been here. I am half-sick now from horrid thoughts about it."
Both the girls, without speaking, looked towards Mrs. Don- nelly, and Minnie turned towards her also. Mrs. Donnelly re- mained in thought a moment, then said:
" I do not like it, either. It is, in the first place, running a terrible risk; for, if you were discovered, nothing but a miracle could save you from worse than death; and then we all dislike doing such a thing, we hardly know why. But, at the same time, this is California, and we all run great risks in one way or an- other, and almost always come out right when our intention is good; and we all, too; do things we dislike in California, and when we intend no wrong it is no shame to us; so, taking your difficulty into thought-and I see you are almost crazy about your brother, and it may be that he does want you, sure enough- so I do not see why, if you can fix yourself up pretty well, your plan would not be best for you, if you only have the courage to carry it out without being found out."
So, after some further conversation, all agreed to Minnie's dangerous plan. Mrs. Donnelly and Jane went to a clothing store near at hand and purchased a full suit of boy's clothes, including a slouched hat, a sort of a loose overcoat, and a light pair of boys' boots. The great difficulty to manage was Minnie's immense head of hair; but, after several experiments, they tied it close back, and, doubling it up once, let it fall so as to be concealed by the overcoat and wide-brimmed hat. They then darkened her eyebrows and complexion with flour scorched brown. Thus rigged, all declared the disguise complete, and that by a little caution it would be impossible for her to be dis- covered. Mrs. Donnelly recollected that she knew a girl working at the Eagle Hotel in Sacramento, and, giving her name to Min- nie, advised lier to put up at that hotel, and to mention her name to the girl, and she would find her a friend. Mrs. Don- nelly's son had procured a ticket for the steamer Senator, going
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up the river that day, and he shipped Minnie's trunks addressed to " Miss Minnie Wagner, Eagle Hotel, Sacramento."
So when the hour came, everything being ready, Minnie took a most affectionate leave of her two faithful protectors and Mrs. Donnelly, who all blessed her and prayed for her safety; Mrs. Donnelly's son went with her as far as the wharf, and Minnie, with as bold a step as she could assume, walked on board the boat, and aft on the promenade deck, and seated herself, looking out over the stern of the boat. Not one had seemed to notice her in any way, and she felt perfectly secure in her disguise. The boat shoved off from the wharf, and, as the steamer plunged her way through the bays and straits into, to Minnie, the wondrous Sacramento river, she enjoyed all the new scenery with intense delight. She had dreamed over and over of it all, and yet the reality did not disappoint her. The evening air was bracing and invigorating, and her strength and courage arose as though stimulated by champagne; even her heretofore anxiety about Walter seemed partly to vanish. The noise and bustle of the immense throng of passengers, almost all of whom were rough-looking miners, were somehow pleasing and exciting to her; and she exclaimed:
"So this is California, in reality, that I am now fairly in, I may say. Well, I like it already. It is glorious. Oh ! how happy I shall be when I am away up there in the mountains with Walter. Yes; in my dreams of it all, I never felt so charmed as this. Oh ! dash on, dear Senator, and let me be entirely happy. Yes; I want to get to my dear brother Walter, away up on some high place, such as he has often written to me of, where I can look down on this dear California, so as to admire and love it altogether. Oh ! I am so glad I thought of this plan to get on, for no one can ever suspect who is here in these clothes."
Poor Minnie ! Little did she dream while thus giving away to the natural excited feelings of her young heart, that the night just now closing in and enveloping everything in darkness was to be to her a night of horror never to be forgotten.
CHAPTER VIII.
RICH GOLD DIGGINGS-JOHN WARD.
It was some two months after Walter dispatched his letter to Minnie, giving her such a glorious description of his location, which he made as poetic and attractive as possible, because he knew her tastes well, and he wished that, when thinking of him, her thoughts should be all pleasant. He had also in that letter expressed the greatest wish that she and his darling mother should be with them. This he had done without any ex- pectation that it was possible for the wish to be realized just yet, but to intimate that he looked forward, with hope, to the day when it could be realized. It was, as I have said, about two months after he had dispatched this letter, that one day, on visit- ing Downieville, he observed a crowd collected near the post- office, gathered around a tall miner, who was apparently showing them something. Walter approached, and found it was a man just returned from some newly-discovered diggings, and that he was showing the crowd about four ounces of placer gold. As the cup with the gold passed from hand to hand, there were various comments as to the sort of diggings it must have come from.
" Where that was got there are bushels more, I can tell you, boys," said one.
" I am not so sure," said another.
" Give me the diggings where the gold is fine, as in the Feather River, for instance. The fine-gold diggings are always more permanent, and therefore better in the long run."
" You may be right in that," said a third, " but I tell you many a man will be made rich in the diggings where that was found, or I am fooled mightily."
" Well, gentlemen," said the owner of the gold, " I had been prospecting for nearly a month when I hit on the claim out of which I took this gold. I will make four of you, and only four
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ol you, this proposition: I will go privately and show you my claim, so that each of you can locate a choice claim, if you bind yourselves to pay me five hundred dollars each, out of the first money you make over all expenses. Then all others can sail in for themselves."
This proposition was applauded, and four men soon stepped out of the crowd to accept the offer for choice claims. The miner looked at the men offering to take his proposition, and said :
" I am not acquainted with you, boys, but if Walter Wagner here will go your security, I will accept you."
" Yes, Jake; I know them all, and it is all right. I will go their security," said Walter.
" Well, boys, get some one to write down the understanding for you, and let Wagner put his name on it, and we will make our preparations to leave camp."
Then a tall, fine-looking man, in a gray suit of clothes, who had been examining the gold with all the rest, and who evi- dently was a new-comer to the State, and not a miner, said, in a pleasing, friendly voice :
" If you wish, boys, I will do the writing for you, as I have nothing much to do."
They went with him to Adams & Co.'s Express office, got pen, ink and paper, and in a few minutes the stranger had the agree- ment drawn, beautifully written and well worded. All were well pleased. The principals signed the agreement, and Walter was sent for to sign the guarantee. Walter appeared, and, as he read the agreement, he said:
" Why, this is done in good shape, and beautifully written. Who is your scribe ?"
" I wrote it," said the gentleman in gray clothes. " I am glad it pleases you."
Walter, for the first time looked at the stranger, and was most favorably struck with his whole appearance.
"Excuse me," said Walter, as he bowed to the stranger. "The reason I asked was that I did not know any of our boys who could have put this little agreement in such good shape, in so few words."
Walter signed the paper, and Jake, addressing the stranger, said :
"Come, General, suppose you put your fist to the document as a witness. "
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" With pleasure," said the stranger, as he took the pen, and wrote in a bold hand: " John Ward."
Jake now took out of his buckskin bag a curiously shaped specimen of gold, weighing perhaps an ounce, and reaching it to Ward said : "Here, General; take this. It is not much for your trouble, but it will do to show your friends at the Bay, as a speci- men of our Downieville diggings."
" Oh, as to taking anything for my trouble, I did not intend to do that; but I confess I would like that curious specimen, so I will take it, Jake, and always think of you while I am showing it."
Ward said this in the familiar, pleasant way miners were in the habit of speaking to each other in the very first moment of their acquaintance.
Now one of Jake's new associates called out : " Come, Gen- eral Ward, and Mr. Wagner, and all of you, into the saloon across the way, and have something to drink to close up this business in our miner's fashion. That's what brings luck, you know."
So all laughed in good humor, and crossed the street to the saloon. Some called for "whisky straight;" others for ale; others for a punch, and so on in every sort of variety, until all had chosen their drink. Walter called for a cigar, and Ward followed his example. After some general conversation, in which Ward freely joined, he said: "But, boys, why the mischief do you call me General, for I am no General? I am a Captain, though, for I am master of the English bark Blue Bell, now anchored in the bay of San Francisco, and, having nothing to do, I have just taken a run up here among you with my friend here, Frederick Brown, who is a sort of an old miner, just to see how you do things in the mines."
At this, some one else called for drinks in honor of Captain John Ward, of the bark Blue Bell, and his friend, which were drunk with evident satisfaction. Ward and Walter happened to leave the saloon together, and, while walking back to the ex- press office, smoking their cigars, entered into conversation. Ward had remarked that Walter was evidently one of the most prominent men of the district, and now exerted himself to the utmost to produce on his mind a favorable impression of himself. On reaching the express office, they sat down together and chat- ted for over an hour. Walter was perfectly charmed with his 30
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new acquaintance, and, on leaving for home, gave Ward a press- ing invitation to come to his camp in High Canyon, and make him a visit, saying they had plenty of blankets and enough to eat. Ward accepted the invitation, assuring Walter that he had no idea of finding so pleasing an acquaintance up here in the mountains. So they parted, apparently well pleased with each other, and Walter told him to bring his friend, Mr. Brown, with him, and then cautioned him as to the difficulties of the road to High Canyon. But the Captain, laughing, said :
" Oh ! you know I am a sailor, and climbing is my profession."
In two days after this occurrence, Captain Ward and Mr. Brown made their appearance at Wagner & Hilton's store, in High Canyon. Walter received them both in the most cordial manner, unsaddled their horses, and unpacked a mule they had led with them, freighted with blankets and provisions; then staked the ani- mals out on good feed near a little mountain stream, where the grass was yet green. Then, leading the way to the store, he intro- duced both his friends to his partner, and ordered the Chinaman cook to get up the best supper he could. They had some fine venison on hand; so, in a reasonable time, the Chinaman laid be- fore them a very good supper for hungry men to do justice to, and Mr. Hilton declared that the Chinaman did better in this instance than he had ever known him to do before. After sup- per, each one threw himself into the easiest position possible to converse, or listen, as the case might be. Walter commenced by saying:
" Captain, why did you bring that pack animal ? Did I not tell you that we had blankets and enough to eat, not only for ourselves, but also for friends who should favor us wish a visit ?" " Oh ! I understood all that, dear fellow, perfectly well; but this is the rig Brown purchased for us on leaving Sacramento, and he will have it with us wherever we go, whether we want it or not. I make it a rule not to act Captain on shore. I get enough of that at sea, and am only too glad when I can throw all authority off of my shoulders on to some one else, so I let Brown have his own way; and he would have that cursed mule up the hill to-day for no earthly object that I could see but to bother the life out of us, for I had to go ahead and pull him with a rope around his neck, while Brown walked behind the brute, prodding him with a pointed stick."
Walter laughed heartily, in which Brown and Hilton joined.
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" The truth is," said Brown, "I am the best commander on shoro; for had I gone by the Captain's ideas since we started on this cruise, we would have been sometimes without supper, and oftener yet without blankets at night; though, of course, I did not fear anything of that sort in this case. But I thought it might be that, in leaving here, we would not go back through Downieville; and then I thought it would be safer to have our traps with us, for those Sydney ducks are getting very plenty in every locality in the State."
" Yes," said Walter; "and the authorities in San Francisco seem incapable of curbing them in the least. It is too bad that England does not keep her thieves at home, or out of the way at least; is it not, Captain ? You will agree with me, I know, even if you are an Englishman."
" My dear fellow, I agree with you most heartily; and would do so even if I were an Englishman, which, thank God, I am not; for I am Irish by birth."
" Irish ! Oh ! are you Irish ? I never would have supposed so. Why, I am half Irish myself, for my mother was born in Ireland."
" Oh ! upon my honor ! is it possible ? Give me your hand, dear fellow. I thought I cottoned to you, Wagner, in some un- accountable way," said the Captain, rising and shaking Walter warmly by the hand. Then he added: " But your father. That name Wagner is not exactly an English-American name."
" No; my father said it was a Pennsylvania-Dutch name; but I suppose it is not spelled exactly as it used to be. But, Cap- tain, all this about nationalties I regard as a good deal of a hum- bug. There are good and bad men among all. Don't you say SO ?"
" Yes, my dear fellow. There is a good deal of truth in what you say; but somehow I am glad I am not an Englishman, any- way."
" Oh, so am I; and so is a little sister I have, who is the great- est little woman in the United States, if she is but seventeen years old; and she is as proud as the mischief of her Irish blood. Oh, yes," he continued, laughing heartily; " you say a word to her about the Irish and you have her all on fire, and the chances are that, to regain her favor, you will have to com- mit to memory ' Davis' Battle of Fontenoy,' and Emmet's last speech, and repeat them at some Fourth of July celebration."
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And Walter laughed out loud, exclaiming: " Oh, how absurd! I will tell you what is a fact. Because I said, just in fun one day-to annoy her, you know-that I thought it a good thing that Ireland had not got free of the English, for that I doubted their ability to govern themselves, before I could make my peace I had to commit to memory ' Moore's Curse on Traitors' in his ' Fire Worshipers,' and top off with singing ' I'm Sitting on the Stile, Mary.'"
All laughed, and the Captain said:
" There is nothing I like so much as to see a woman patriotic. How I should like to know your sister!"
" Patriotic!", repeated Walter. " Why, Minnie's patriotism does not stop with Ireland; she is just as fiery about her Ameri- can origin. She could listen to father for hours at a time telling stories of the revolutionary days. Yes; and, to show you how far she goes with it, I will tell you a scrape James De Forest, a friend of mine, got into on one occasion with her. He and I came suddenly on her one day while she was reading in a sunny little corner in our house, and found her shedding tears over the book. Of course we thought it was some love-sick novel, and I was surprised, for I knew Minnie did not go much on that sort of stuff. But, to our surprise, we found the book was 'Irving's Life of Washington,' and that the passage that brought her tears of sympathy was the one in which General Green is de- scribed, while on his southern campaign, as arriving at a tavern in Salisbury, in North Carolina, after a reverse the night before, travel-stained, fatigued, hungry, alone and penniless, as he him- self declared in the hearing of the landlady, Elizabeth Steele; who immediately goes to her hiding place and draws out two bags of money, the savings of a lifetime, and the result of many and many a pleasure and joy resigned, and, handing them to the General, says: 'Take these; you will want them, and I can do without them.' De Forest was always fond of joking and an- noying Minnie; so he began to ridicule Mrs. Steele, saying she was a fool to give up her money, and before he stopped he said something disrespectful of Washington himself. Well, what do you think ? James was never able to make his peace with her afterwards until he committed to memory Washington's farewell address, and then they made up friends."
" Where is this James De Forest now ?" said the Captain, while he laughed and seemed to enjoy all Walter had been saying.
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" Oh! he is in Oregon. He is getting to be one of the first men there. Ever since he came to the State he has been going, as the saying is, ' slow but sure.' He is a first-rate fellow. I wish I had his tact for making money. I make it faster than he does, but somehow I lose it all again. I had a letter from him yesterday, and he talks of making a visit East, but says that if my family come to California, he will not go, because he has no near relations himself, and my family are all he cares much about."
" How many in your family, Wagner ?"
" Only my mother and sister."
" Oh! I see," said the Captain with a musing smile, which Walter did not observe, though Brown and Hilton gave a half laugh.
"Have you your sister's likeness, Wagner ?" continued the Captain.
" Oh, yes; here it is."
As Walter spoke, he arose, went to his drawer, and produced a colored daguerreotype of Minnie. The Captain and Brown arose, took it to the best light, and both declared that, if that was a good likeness, she was beautiful.
" Oh! as she is not here, and, as none of you gentlemen are likely ever to see her, I may as well just tell you that she is, in fact, much handsomer than that picture; because in the picture Minnie's face is in repose; but it is when aroused in conversation you see her real beauty; and I do think it is very uncommon."
"Why don't you send for her, Wagner ? This State is now filling up with women, and she and your mother would be such a comfort to you, I should think. I have only just my mother left of my family, but I am so sick without her, all the time thinking of her, that if I conclude to sell my ship and stay in California, I shall at once send for her to come and live with me."
" Well, I have written to them, intimating that I want them to come; and the fact is, I should have had an answer to my letter by the last steamer ; but I did not get a line. I know Min- nie wrote, for she never forgets to do so since I left home; so I think her letter must have been lost; but I will, without doubt, have a letter by the next steamer, which will be due in a few days. Then I will know exactly what they think of my propo- sition."
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