The tradition was that in the early immigration, more than twenty years ago, three young Germans, brothers, who had survived an Indian massacre7 on the Plains, wandered on foot through the deserts, avoiding all trails and roads, and simply holding a westerly direction and hoping to find California before they starved, or died of fatigue8. And in a gorge4 in the mountains they sat down to rest one day, when one of them noticed a curious vein9 of cement running along the ground, shot full of lumps of dull yellow metal. They saw that it was gold, and that here was a fortune to be acquired in a single day. The vein was about as wide as a curbstone, and fully10 two thirds of it was pure gold. Every pound of the wonderful cement was worth well-nigh $200.
Each of the brothers loaded himself with about twenty-five pounds of it, and then they covered up all traces of the vein, made a rude drawing of the locality and the principal landmarks11 in the vicinity, and started westward12 again. But troubles thickened about them. In their wanderings one brother fell and broke his leg, and the others were obliged to go on and leave him to die in the wilderness13. Another, worn out and starving, gave up by and by, and laid down to die, but after two or three weeks of incredible hardships, the third reached the settlements of California exhausted14, sick, and his mind deranged15 by his sufferings. He had thrown away all his cement but a few fragments, but these were sufficient to set everybody wild with excitement. However, he had had enough of the cement country, and nothing could induce him to lead a party thither16. He was entirely17 content to work on a farm for wages. But he gave Whiteman his map, and described the cement region as well as he could and thus transferred the curse to that gentleman—for when I had my one accidental glimpse of Mr. W. in Esmeralda he had been hunting for the lost mine, in hunger and thirst, poverty and sickness, for twelve or thirteen years. Some people believed he had found it, but most people believed he had not. I saw a piece of cement as large as my fist which was said to have been given to Whiteman by the young German, and it was of a seductive nature. Lumps of virgin18 gold were as thick in it as raisins19 in a slice of fruit cake. The privilege of working such a mine one week would be sufficient for a man of reasonable desires.
A new partner of ours, a Mr. Higbie, knew Whiteman well by sight, and a friend of ours, a Mr. Van Dorn, was well acquainted with him, and not only that, but had Whiteman’s promise that he should have a private hint in time to enable him to join the next cement expedition. Van Dorn had promised to extend the hint to us. One evening Higbie came in greatly excited, and said he felt certain he had recognized Whiteman, up town, disguised and in a pretended state of intoxication20. In a little while Van Dorn arrived and confirmed the news; and so we gathered in our cabin and with heads close together arranged our plans in impressive whispers.
We were to leave town quietly, after midnight, in two or three small parties, so as not to attract attention, and meet at dawn on the “divide” overlooking Mono Lake, eight or nine miles distant. We were to make no noise after starting, and not speak above a whisper under any circumstances. It was believed that for once Whiteman’s presence was unknown in the town and his expedition unsuspected. Our conclave21 broke up at nine o’clock, and we set about our preparation diligently22 and with profound secrecy23. At eleven o’clock we saddled our horses, hitched24 them with their long riatas (or lassos), and then brought out a side of bacon, a sack of beans, a small sack of coffee, some sugar, a hundred pounds of flour in sacks, some tin cups and a coffee pot, frying pan and some few other necessary articles. All these things were “packed” on the back of a led horse—and whoever has not been taught, by a Spanish adept26, to pack an animal, let him never hope to do the thing by natural smartness. That is impossible. Higbie had had some experience, but was not perfect. He put on the pack saddle (a thing like a saw-buck), piled the property on it and then wound a rope all over and about it and under it, “every which way,” taking a hitch25 in it every now and then, and occasionally surging back on it till the horse’s sides sunk in and he gasped27 for breath—but every time the lashings grew tight in one place they loosened in another. We never did get the load tight all over, but we got it so that it would do, after a fashion, and then we started, in single file, close order, and without a word. It was a dark night. We kept the middle of the road, and proceeded in a slow walk past the rows of cabins, and whenever a miner came to his door I trembled for fear the light would shine on us an excite curiosity. But nothing happened. We began the long winding28 ascent29 of the canyon30, toward the “divide,” and presently the cabins began to grow infrequent, and the intervals31 between them wider and wider, and then I began to breathe tolerably freely and feel less like a thief and a murderer. I was in the rear, leading the pack horse. As the ascent grew steeper he grew proportionately less satisfied with his cargo32, and began to pull back on his riata occasionally and delay progress. My comrades were passing out of sight in the gloom. I was getting anxious. I coaxed33 and bullied34 the pack horse till I presently got him into a trot35, and then the tin cups and pans strung about his person frightened him and he ran. His riata was wound around the pummel of my saddle, and so, as he went by he dragged me from my horse and the two animals traveled briskly on without me. But I was not alone—the loosened cargo tumbled overboard from the pack horse and fell close to me. It was abreast36 of almost the last cabin.
A miner came out and said:
“Hello!”
I was thirty steps from him, and knew he could not see me, it was so very dark in the shadow of the mountain. So I lay still. Another head appeared in the light of the cabin door, and presently the two men walked toward me. They stopped within ten steps of me, and one said:
“Sh! Listen.”
I could not have been in a more distressed37 state if I had been escaping justice with a price on my head. Then the miners appeared to sit down on a boulder38, though I could not see them distinctly enough to be very sure what they did. One said:
“I heard a noise, as plain as I ever heard anything. It seemed to be about there—”
A stone whizzed by my head. I flattened39 myself out in the dust like a postage stamp, and thought to myself if he mended his aim ever so little he would probably hear another noise. In my heart, now, I execrated40 secret expeditions. I promised myself that this should be my last, though the Sierras were ribbed with cement veins41. Then one of the men said:
“I’ll tell you what! Welch knew what he was talking about when he said he saw Whiteman to-day. I heard horses—that was the noise. I am going down to Welch’s, right away.”
They left and I was glad. I did not care whither they went, so they went. I was willing they should visit Welch, and the sooner the better.
As soon as they closed their cabin door my comrades emerged from the gloom; they had caught the horses and were waiting for a clear coast again. We remounted the cargo on the pack horse and got under way, and as day broke we reached the “divide” and joined Van Dorn. Then we journeyed down into the valley of the Lake, and feeling secure, we halted to cook breakfast, for we were tired and sleepy and hungry. Three hours later the rest of the population filed over the “divide” in a long procession, and drifted off out of sight around the borders of the Lake!
Whether or not my accident had produced this result we never knew, but at least one thing was certain—the secret was out and Whiteman would not enter upon a search for the cement mine this time. We were filled with chagrin42.
We held a council and decided43 to make the best of our misfortune and enjoy a week’s holiday on the borders of the curious Lake. Mono, it is sometimes called, and sometimes the “Dead Sea of California.” It is one of the strangest freaks of Nature to be found in any land, but it is hardly ever mentioned in print and very seldom visited, because it lies away off the usual routes of travel and besides is so difficult to get at that only men content to endure the roughest life will consent to take upon themselves the discomforts44 of such a trip. On the morning of our second day, we traveled around to a remote and particularly wild spot on the borders of the Lake, where a stream of fresh, ice-cold water entered it from the mountain side, and then we went regularly into camp. We hired a large boat and two shot-guns from a lonely ranchman who lived some ten miles further on, and made ready for comfort and recreation. We soon got thoroughly45 acquainted with the Lake and all its peculiarities46.
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1
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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gorges
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| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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5
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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6
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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7
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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8
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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9
vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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10
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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11
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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12
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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13
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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deranged
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| adj.疯狂的 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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18
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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19
raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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20
intoxication
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| n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning | |
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conclave
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| n.秘密会议，红衣主教团 | |
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22
diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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24
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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26
adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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27
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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28
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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29
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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30
canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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31
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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32
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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33
coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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34
bullied
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| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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36
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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37
distressed
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| 痛苦的 | |
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38
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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39
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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40
execrated
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| v.憎恶( execrate的过去式和过去分词 )；厌恶；诅咒；咒骂 | |
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41
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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42
chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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43
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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44
discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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45
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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46
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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