getting oppressively hot; indeed, the further we got from the
Sacramento the hotter did it become. The sea-breeze never penetrates
here to refresh us, and, except when an occasional squall comes
sweeping down from the hills, the air is very oppressive.

We travelled but slowly, still in an hour or so we reached a station,
about fifteen miles as the crow flies, or about twenty by the windings
of the stream, from the point of its junction with the Americanos,
where we determined to try our luck. There was quite a camp here--not
to the same extent as the Mormon diggings, but still the washers were
numerous, and the larger part of them were Indians. Some few worked in
the bed of the river, but the great majority were engaged in the
ravines leading up the mountains. The greatest quantity of gold dust
was found in the former, while the latter yielded the best specimens of
lump and scale gold. We were told that, though the side gullies were
very rich, yet they were more uncertain than the main stream. Lumps of
gold, weighing several ounces, were continually met with, but a morning
was often wasted and nothing found; whereas, if a man stuck to the main
stream, and washed all day long, he was sure of his ounce or couple of
ounces of gold. For these reasons we determined to stand by the river.
Our first business was to see if we could manage to construct a couple
of cradles. At a large store here we met with some pine planks, but the
figure was most exorbitant. Taking a hint from what we had noticed
among the Indians at the saw-mills, we determined to fell a couple of
stout trees, and hollow them out so as to serve our purpose. We
obtained the assistance of a man here, a ship's carpenter, and a most
civil obliging sort of fellow, who gave us a day's help for thirty
dollars. He superintended the felling of the trees, and then put us in
the way of proceeding with the work. We found the toil sufficiently
severe, and began to feel the heat, as I thought, to a far greater