Chapter Sixteenth.

THE MORMONS—THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF GOV. BOGGS-CANALLING MORMON BAR-FALSE THEORIES IN REFERENCE TO GOLD DEPOSITS INFLUENCE OF AMASA LYMAN, "THE PROPHET"-EXCITING SCENE-JIM RETURNS-A MONTE BANK "TAPPED "-JIM'S ADVENT “TAPPED”—JIM'S AT SACRAMENTO CITY.

My immediate neighbors were mostly Mormons, headed by Amasa Lyman, one of "the twelve." The person who shot Gov. Boggs, of Missouri, was also here, under an assumed name. It will be remembered that at the time of the Mormon disturb ance in Missouri, it was thought by them that Gov. Boggs connived at their persecution, and several attempts were made upon his life. Scofield, alias, “Orin Porter," a reckless, daring fellow, loaded a pistol and went to his house; it was in the evening; the Governor was sitting by the light reading a paper. Porter went to the back window, and aiming at his head, discharged the pistol, the ball taking effect in the back part of his head. Porter deliberately laid the pistol on the window-sill, and left. The wound did not prove mortal, and at the time of which I am writing, Gov. B., and two sons, were in California. They had heard of Porter's rendezvous, and were supposed to be in search of him. He went armed with a brace of revolvers, and one of duelling pistols; he had a dog that was constantly with him, sleeping with him at night to give the alarm in case of danger. He declared his determination to sell his life dearly if attacked. He was much esteemed by the "faithful" for his heroism in the above act, consequently they kept an eye to his safety, keeping him informed of the whereabouts of the enemy.

The Mormons held no religious meetings here. They believe in the inspiration of Smith, or "Joseph," as they call him, and calculate time from the date of his death, as an era, speaking of an occurrence, as in the first, second, or third year of the death

of "

Joseph." They believe the Book of Mormon to be a history of the western, as the Bible is a history of the eastern continent. Those here were a good set of fellows, somewhat reckless, fine horsemen, fond of sprees, and an occasional fight. Many of them had belonged to the "Mormon battalion," under the late Gen. Kearney, of whom they spoke in the most enthusiastic terms. They had all been at "Salt Lake," and considered that their country, and home, many of them having left their families there. They believe all other religions heresy, and quote Scripture to prove, that the appearance of Smith, and the promulgation of his doctrine, was predicted long before the Christian era, and that that doctrine must prevail universally before the coming of the Millenium. They were all hard workers, and fond of gambling. They had spent ten weeks in canalling the bar, and the first indications were extremely favorable, but it was soon necessary to incur additional expense, in order to drain the deep holes in the bed of the river. The edges of these holes were rich with gold; in spots the granite being quite yellow, so that the gold was scraped up with spoons. It was the natural conclusion that the edges being rich, the bottoms must be more so. The company, that is to say, Amasa Lyman, (for, being one of the prophets, his word was law,) resolved to construct a hose of duck to carry off the water as it was pumped from the holes, consequently sent to town and purchased three hundred yards of duck, which, using three widths, made the hose one hundred yards in length, costing $600-the pump costing $50.

We now commenced draining the deepest and consequently the richest hole, and soon had it in working order; the richness of the margin was, as we thought, infallible evidence that the bottom must yield abundantly; we removed a quantity of dirt and stone, and commenced to wash from the bottom, but, to our surprise, it did not contain a particle of gold; this, like most of the theories in reference to operations in California, was not founded on correct principles. The influence of the stagnant water in the holes seemed to extend to the surface, holding the passing water in check. The current, as it is bearing the gold down stream, comes in contact with this dead water, and parts; receiving a sufficient check to allow the gold to deposit

around the margin. Several experiments were tried without success, and it was soon apparent that the speculation was to prove disastrous. The operations were managed without system or discretion. The "faithful," having a majority, had it all their own way; and they managed as seemed best calculated to victimize the "Gentiles." As the sequel will show, they were drawn into the same vortex. I had hired a man to work my share, but the dividends did not pay his wages, and it was apparent that we must dissolve the company, and each man work or abandon his share as he saw fit. It was proposed to divide the bar into equal shares, to be drawn by numbers representing them; the "faithful," however, opposed this mode of distribution; they were in favor of going on, and each getting all he could; each to be allowed ten feet in width, wherever he might locate his machine. They having canalled and worked the bar, knew every foot of it, and the relative richness of the different parts. The "Gentiles" saw no alternative but to be victimized, as they must submit to the majority, and it being Lyman's motion it was sure to carry. The place of deliberation was at the tents on the side of the mountain, some distance from the bar, and as the work had been suspended for several days, many of the implements had been carried up.

There was an unusual anxiety and excitement on this particular occasion, and as the vote was about to be taken, first the implements, then the bar would be scanned, with marked solicitude; the clenched hand and determined gesture giving token of the fearful struggle that was at hand. The vote was given; each man "broke loose" for the bar as if his life depended upon the exertion of the moment; some with machines on their shoulders, others laden with shovels, tin pans, pickaxes, India rubber boots, and spades, all rushing down, pellmell, some crossing the canal on the log, others, finding the log full, would rush in and wade, or swim across; the implements of some, coming in contact with others, all would tumble in to meet again at the bottom. Any one who has witnessed a charge in battle, can form a faint idea of the confusion and excitement on this occasion. The vanquished, however, instead of being drenched in blood were drenched in water, and instead of broken bones, cries of the wounded, the beating of drums,

and torn uniforms, we had broken shovel-handles, curses of miners, the rattling of tin pans, and torn red flannel shirts. It so happened that the "faithful" all rushed for the same spot, and when their lions were served the lambs found the balance of the best in the hands of or in the possession of the "Gentiles." This occasioned considerable sparring among themselves, and resulted in the "lambs" selling out for from ten to fifteen dollars, being their entire summer's work.

I did not trust my interest at this time, to the supervision of a hired man, but joined in the foot-race, leaving Prince (the cook) in charge of the store. I knew nothing about the best points in the bar, but followed the "Prophet" and his satellites, and when they selected their "leads" I took the one next above; in this lead I had an opportunity of seeing rich deposits, although I kept it from the knowledge of the "faithful." I would go on the bar at 9 A. M. and work until 12; then from 1 P. M. to 4. On one day I got eleven and a half ounces, and on several days as high as six ounces. The bed of my lead was rotten granite, which in some places was entirely covered, being yellow with gold; in some of the crevices of the rock I would take it out with a spoon, almost entirely free from dirt. The person having the lead next above me found a piece in a crevice worth twenty-five dollars, which was thought extremely large for river gold; it was found in a cavity of its own size and form, and seemed to have dropped in in a molten state. The final result was a loss to almost all concerned in the operation; the same result attended all the canalling operations within my knowledge with one or two exceptions; such experiments require such immense expenditures that they must be extremely productive to remunerate.

Some three weeks after Jim's departure, as I was sitting in the store, in the after part of the day, I heard a peculiar whoop, and looking up the side of the mountain I saw a cloud of dust, and a something flying in the air that had the appearance of a sail that had broken loose from its lower yard during a gale; then there were four legs and two other legs, all of them seemed to be running races; whether on the ground or in the air it was difficult to tell. I soon came to the conclusion that it was a trial of speed between Old Gray and Jim; they both

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arrived about the same time; Jim a little ahead; as between hist poncho and old Gray's latter extremity it was about an even race, and they both settled down quietly, as if glad the race had ended. As Jim drew up to the door, he dismounted, and throwing on the counter a large handkerchief filled with gold and silver, said, "Well, by G-d, captain, I've made a raise;" he then untied his handkerchief; there were twenty or thirty dollars in silver, the balance in gold coin; the former he insisted upon my accepting, assuring me that it was of not the least value to him. He had been up the river twenty miles, had fallen in with a Mormon who had some money, and who proposed that Jim should deal "monte" and share the profits; in a few nights they had won $13,000; the half of this was more money than he cared to have by him at any one time, and was on his way to Sacramento City to spend it. He felt in high spirits, and as there were two gamblers along in the evening, who wished to open a "monte bank," he wished me to allow them to do so, which I did; they had a capital of a few hundred dollars, and Jim was to try his luck at betting, which, by-theway, he understood as well as the other branch of the game. He watched the run of the cards for some time, then wished to cut them; soon he made a small bet-it won; he made a larger bet, and won it also; after making a few successful bets, he “tapped the bank," and won it; at about midnight he mounted Old Gray for Sacramento City, with as much money as he could conveniently carry.

The next morning a man came to the store, who saw Jim sleeping under a tree, his money under his head, his horse tied with a lasso, having traveled about five miles on his way to town. On his arrival, he looked upon Sacramento City as his guest, and emptied his handkerchief in drinking its health. He had all the inhabitants drunk who were disposed that way, and many of them much against their will. He was quite successful in getting rid of his money, and one week after his advent, he had invested his last dollar. He had engaged to pilot the mail through to Santa Fé, for the government, and the time arrived while he was entertaining the city. Of course, he could not leave just then, and when the officer in charge ordered him to start, he declared in the strongest language, that he considered himself