Here I had the pleasure of an interview with Mr. John Neal, a prominent
and respected citizen of Tuolumne County, who as Commissioner
represented his county at the San Francisco Midwinter Fair. Mr. Neal is
over eighty, but still hale and hearty. He was the first person I had
thus far encountered who had known Bret Harte in the flesh. He had also
known and frequently met Mark Twain, "Dan de Quille" and Prentice
Mulford. Of the four, it was evident that Mulford had left by far the
most lasting as well as favorable impression on his mind. Of him he
spoke in terms of real affection. "Prentice Mulford," he said, "was a
brilliant, very handsome and most lovable young man." I asked him how
these young men were regarded by the miners. He said: "In all the camps
they were held to be in a class by themselves, on account of their
education and literary ability. Although they wore the rough costume of
the miners, it was realized that none of them took mining seriously or
made any pretense of real work with pick and shovel." Mr. Neal knew
James Gillis intimately and admitted he was a great story-teller. In
fact, at the bare mention of his name he broke into a hearty laugh. "Oh,
Jim Gillis, he was a great fellow!" he exclaimed. He said unquestionably
Mark Twain got a good deal of material from him, and feels certain that
Bret Harte must have met him at least on several occasions. Mr. Neal
stated that up to the time of the Midwinter Fair, the output of gold
from Tuolumne county reached the astonishing figures of $250,000,000!
What it has amounted to since that time, I had no means of ascertaining.

It is only twelve miles from Sonora to Tuolumne. From the top of the
divide which separates the valleys there is a beautiful view of the
surrounding country, the dim blue peaks of the Sierra Nevada forming the
eastern sky-line. One of the chief charms of an excursion through these
foothill counties is the certainty that directly you reach any