property." This produced a roar of laughter; but, what was better, it
produced a roar of biddings, and the cradle was knocked down at one
hundred and ninety-five dollars, payable in gold dust, at the standard
rate of fourteen dollars the ounce, or a discount of ten per cent, if
settled in broad silver pieces. The other cradle fetched us one hundred
and eighty dollars.

For these two cradles, therefore, we got three hundred and seventy-five
dollars' worth of dust. The same night we occupied ourselves in
constructing strong bags, made of rough hides, and well strapped round
the person for the conveyance of the gold dust and scales which we had
already amassed.

On Wednesday morning, before sunrise, we had sent the wagon and wagoner
back to Mr. Sinclair's rancho, accompanied by José, who returned on the
evening of Thursday with the horses.

We found, on starting, that our horses could not carry all the
provisions, and at the same time perform a good day's work. We,
therefore, left some of the more bulky articles under the charge of a
man from San Francisco, known to Bradley, and departed. We made good
progress for a mile or two; and, as we crossed the brow of a hill,
halted a moment to observe the busy aspect of the washings, as they
appeared from a distance. The country, as we ascended the stream,
became hourly more hilly and broken. Its general aspect was grassy, and
the soil appeared fertile. Here and there deep gullies crossed our
path, over which we had great difficulty in urging the horses, heavily
loaded as they were. At one of these ravines, the animal which conveyed
the tent-poles lost his footing, and went scrambling down the edge of
the descent, bearing with him a whole avalanche of gravel and shingles.