Digging for Gold | Page 6

guides laughed, and the other ejaculated "humph!" as they
set forward.
There was indeed some ground for the remark of the Englishman, for
the country through which they passed was most beautiful, and the
weather delicious. Their track lay over an undulating region of
park-like land covered with short grass; clumps of bushes were
scattered here and there about the plain, and high above these towered
some magnificent specimens of the oak, sycamore, and Californian
cypress, while in the extreme distance rose the ranges of the "golden"
mountains--the Sierra Nevada-- in the midst of which lay the treasures
of which they were in search.
All the members of the party were on foot, and, being fresh, full of
hope, and eager to reach their destination. They chatted gaily as they
marched over the prairie.
On the way the good-humoured American seemed to take a fancy to
Frank, with whom he had a great deal of animated conversation. After
asking our hero every possible question in regard to himself and

intentions, he told him that he was Yankee,--a piece of superfluous
information, by the way;--that his name was Jeffson, that he was a
store-keeper at one of the farthest off diggings, that the chief part of the
loading of one of the mules belonged to him, and that he was driving a
considerable business in gold-dust without the trouble of digging for it.
Towards evening they came to a very small hole in the plain, which
was dignified with the name of a well. Here they stopped to replenish
their water-casks.
"Take as much as you can carry, men," said the principal guide, "we've
a long march to the next well, over sandy ground, and sometimes there
ain't much water in it."
They all followed this advice with the exception of one man, a coarse
savage-looking fellow, with a huge black beard and matted locks, who
called himself Bradling, though there was ground for doubting whether
that was the name by which he had been at first known in the world.
This man pulled out an enormous brandy-flask, and with a scoffing
laugh said:--
"This is the water for me, mister guide, pure and unmixed, there's
nothin' like it."
He nodded as he spoke, and put the flask to his lips, while the guide,
who made no rejoinder, eyed him with a grave, stern expression of
countenance.
That night they all encamped under the shade of a small clump of trees,
kindled several large fires, and, heartily glad to be relieved of their
back-burdens, sat down to enjoy supper. After it was over pipes were
smoked and stories told, until it was time to retire to rest. Then each
man lay down under his blanket, the sky being his canopy, and the
howling of the wolves his lullaby.
It seemed to each sleeper, when awakened next morning, that he had
only just closed his eyes, so sound had been his repose, and there was a
great deal of violent yawning, stretching, grumbling, and winking

before the whole party was finally aroused and ready to set forth.
However, they got under way at last, and early in the forenoon came to
the edge of a sandy plain, which appeared to be interminable, with
scarcely a blade of grass on it. Here they halted for a few minutes.
"How wide is the plain, guide?" inquired Frank.
"Forty miles," replied the man, "and there's not a drop of water to be
had till the end of the first twenty. We'll get there about sundown, and
replenish our kegs, if it's not all gone dry. Let me warn you, however,
to use the water you have sparingly."
"Do we encamp at the end o' the first twenty?" asked Jeffson.
"Yes, you'll find it a long enough day's march."
No one made any reply, but by their looks they appeared to think
nothing of a twenty-mile walk. They found, however, that such a
distance, traversed over loose sand ankle-deep, and under a burning sun,
was not what any of them had been accustomed to.
On entering the plain they observed that the heat had opened cracks and
fissures in the earth, which omitted a fiery heat. At intervals pyramids
of sand arose, which were borne with great velocity through the air,
sometimes appearing in the shape of columns sixty feet high, which
moved majestically over the plain. Ere long some of these clouds of
sand enveloped them, and they were accompanied by hot winds, which
seemed to shrivel up, not only the skin, but the very vitals of the
travellers. The pores of their skin closed, producing feverish heat in the
blood and terrible thirst, while their eyes became inflamed by the
dazzling glare of the sun on the white sand.
Of course most of the party applied