ught the universal feeling of western
people regarding the matter of "quakes," he chuckled, in contemplation
of his own perspicacity, and calmly resumed his recumbent attitude,
and his nap.

The summit of the Sierras was reached within about two days from the
commencement of the ascent. We met no people in these mountains until
we had proceeded some distance down the westerly slope, and reached a
mining camp, near a small, gushing stream, that poured itself over and
between rocks in a tortuous gorge.

The camp was a small cluster of rough shacks, built of logs, split
boards and shakes. As if dropped there by accident, they were located
without regard for any sort of uniformity. These were the bunk cabins
of the miners; some of the diminutive structures being only of size
sufficient to accommodate a cot, a camp-stool and a wash-basin. A
larger cabin stood at about the center of the group, the joint kitchen
and dining-room.

As we drove into the "town," the only person within view was a
Chinaman, standing at the door. For most of us this was a first
introduction to one of the yellow race. He was evidently the camp
cook.

Major Crewdson approached the Celestial with the salutation: "Hello,
John."

"Belly good," was the reply.

[Illustration: "'Melican man dig gold"]

Having already heard it said that the invariable result of an
untutored Chinaman's effort to pronounce any word containing an "r"
produced the sound of "l" instead, we thought little of that error in
the attempt of this one to say "Very," but believed that his
substitution for the initial letter of that word was inexcusable.

"What is the name of this place?" continued Crewdson.

"'Melican man dig gold."

"Yes, I know that; but, this town, what do you call it?"

"Yu-ba Dam," the Chinaman answered.

This response was intended to be civil. Near by the Yuba River was
spanned by a dam, for mining purposes, known as Yuba Dam, which gave
the mining camp its name.

Further on we came to the first house that we saw in California; and
it was the first real house within our view since the few primitive
structures at Nebraska City, on the west shore of the Missouri River,
faded from our sight, the preceding spring. During a period of about
four months our company had traveled thousands of miles, through
varying wilds, in all of which not one habitation, in form common to
civilization, had been encountered. Seldom has civilized man journeyed
a greater d