Page:California Historical Society Quarterly vol 22.djvu/81



Tuesday 6th Off early travled some fourteen miles and arrived at Murpheys diggings in the evening camped on Angels creek some ten miles from the Stanislaus river (prospects anything but promising)

Wednesday 7th Out prospecting in the ravines very little success the large flat being too wet to dig as far down as necessary to get at the gold (these mines are at what is called the head of Angels creek

Saturday loth Nothing done in the way of making money Mr Audubon says the Company will die a natural death

Monday 1 2 th The company is fairly broken up and every man is about to go to work on his own hook

Tuesday 1 3th Mr Audubon Capt [Robert L.] Browning — Mr. [Robert] Simpson [Edward A. or John R.] Lambert and [Andrew J.] McGown^^left for San Francisco

22nd & 2 3D Rain and snow

Sunday March loth Mr. Audubon & [David] Hudson^* arrived from San Francisco and Stockton

Monday i ith Commenced to rain continued to rain hail and snow until

Saturday 1 6th Tolerably clear no work for the whole week

Saturday 2 3D Rain part of three days — little work made a little over four ounces — that is for three of us — Lee — Watkinson and myself

Saturday 30th This week scarcely made expenses Tuesday. Watkinson was taken ill. Wednesday, scalded his foot and was not able to work at all

April 6th Made very little this week not enough to pay expenses, out prospecting for summer diggings — Dammed off a place on Cayute creek but not able to work it until the water runs down

Saturday April 1 3th Out prospecting turned Angels creek but it would not pay to work — Weather very cold and rainy

Monday 1 5th Went over to a branch of Calaveries creek a second time tried it thoroughly but could find no gold

Sunday 1 4th Clear and pretty cool in the morning upon taking my bed and blankets out of the tent to give them an airing found lying between them and the curtain a mockasin snake three or four feet long comfortably coiled up ready to strike, killed him without trial by jury

June 8th Up to this time have been working in the Gulches and am now down on the creek about a mile and half below the town Watkinson has left and the most that Lee and myself have made any week is but little over a hundred dollars — poor pay that. Week before last we had a slight shower — and rumors of war at Sonora Camp^^ the foreigners refused to pay twenty dollars for license to dig — but they finally concluded some to leave and the remains to pay up. So ended the war without bloodshed

Saturday June 22nd Last week on Wednesday three men from Maine Mr. Hebard Mr. Hall and Morse joined work with us — We made thirty or forty dollars each. — This week we made fourty six dollars each — The