they paid a most exorbitant price, they
securely tethered their horses to stakes they had driven in the ground,
and encamped for the night. They did not think it necessary to keep
watch, but when they awoke in the morning they found the baggage-horses
had been driven off, and their packs stolen. The horses they had been
riding on were just as they had left them over night. The trail-marks
around the camp were too numerous to make anything out of them.

On making inquiries at several of the tents, they were treated in a
very cavalier sort of manner. No one, of course, knew anything about
their horses and packs, and one big bony American even threatened to
put a rifle-ball into them unless they left his shanty. This was rather
too much for them to swallow quietly, so they rated the fellow in round
terms; but he very coolly reached his rifle down from a shelf above
him, and told them that he would give them time to consider whether
they would move off or not while he examined his flint, and if they
were not gone by that time, he would make a hole in each of their
skulls, one after the other. Finding that he was coolly preparing to
carry out his threat, they made their exit, and found some ten or
twelve people gathered together outside. From one of them Lacosse
learnt that this man had shot two people since he had fixed himself at
this spot, and that he was a terror to most of the miners in the camp.
It appears to have been no uncommon thing among them for a man to
settle a quarrel by severely disabling his adversary. There were
several people at work down by the river, with their arms in slings,
who had received serious injuries in quarrels with some of their
fellows.

They thought it best to escape from such a state of things with as
little delay as possible, and immediately mounted their horses and
pursued their journey. That night they took good care to encamp far
enough off from any of the gold-finding fraternity.

It was now our turn to explain to Lacosse the reason of our return to
the settlements, and the unfortunate circumstances that had led to it.
Ho was disappointed enough at the intelligence. He said that he should
go on to the fort and collect his baggage together, and would, if
possible, join Don Luis, Bradley, and McPhail at Sutter's, and see
whether any plan could be arranged on for recovering our stolen
treasure. The trapper was to accompany him, and it was agreed that
either Bradley or McPhail should a