diggings. We parted, as I was anxious to get to Coloma before dark,
which I did, just as the sun was setting, having made twenty-five miles
in one day on foot. I found a regular tavern here, kept by a man from
Mississippi, with his family. I sat down to a regular table for my
supper, which seemed quite a treat. He informed me that he had no
bed-room for me; that I could sleep on the dining-room floor, or in his
barn. He had just had some new hay put in. I chose the latter. It was a
kind of a shanty building, but the soft bed of new hay was a luxury
after my twenty-five miles walk.

I awoke the next morning refreshed. After my breakfast I took in the
place and went to the raceway where the first piece of gold was
discovered. There were three or four stores in the place to supply the
miners of the surrounding region. I got my direction how to find the
Dutch Bar, eight miles from there. Proceeding on my way, after going
about five miles, I came to a person, his face covered with a long
beard, whom I recognized, by the expression of his eyes, as a person who
I knew in Albany, and who belonged to the party I was seeking. He
informed me that I was within three miles of them, and he gave me plain
directions how to find them. I soon came to their camp and there was a
genial meeting and exchange of news. There were five in the company.
They had a tent and owned a pair of mules. I joined them, as I had not
come to depend on mining, as I never had been accustomed to physical
labor. At first I thought it was awful hard work, and that it was lucky
for me that I had not come to California depending on it, but after a
short time I got used to it and liked it. They took turns in cooking, so
each one had one day in the week that he did the cooking. We lived on
fried pork and flapjacks made from wheat flour fried in the fat of the
pork, tin cups for our tea and coffee, and tin dishes. We each had stone
seats, and a big one in the center for our table. At night we slept