nineteen dollars in coin. I, of course, let the skins go, and blessed
the hunter who brought the chamois down. The purchaser made bags
of the skins, and the profit to him from their sale amounted to two
ounces on each skin. From this transaction, the story arose that I
had sold porte-monnaies in Marysville before practising law, which is
reported in the interesting book of Messrs. Barry and Patten, entitled
"Men and Memories of San Francisco in the Spring of 1850." The story
has no other foundation.

But I am digressing from the narrative of my first experience in San
Francisco. After taking my breakfast, as already stated, the first
thing I noticed was a small building in the Plaza, near which a crowd
was gathered. Upon inquiry, I was told it was the court-house. I at
once started for the building, and on entering it, found that Judge
Almond, of the San Francisco District, was holding what was known
as the Court of First Instance, and that a case was on trial. To my
astonishment I saw two of my fellow-passengers, who had landed the
night before, sitting on the jury. This seemed so strange that I
waited till the case was over, and then inquired how it happened they
were there. They said that they had been attracted to the building
by the crowd, just as I had been, and that while looking on the
proceedings of the court the sheriff had summoned them. They replied
to the summons, that they had only just arrived in the country. But
he said that fact made no difference; nobody had been in the country
three months. They added that they had received eight dollars each for
their services. At this piece of news I thought of my solitary dollar,
and wondered if similar good fortune might not happen to me. So I
lingered in the court-room, placing myself near the sheriff in the
hope that on another jury he might summon me. But it was not my good
luck. So I left the temple of justice and strolled around the busy