The circus must not be forgotten, for in any quarter of the globe where an audience can be scraped together will be found the circus. The first to make its appearance in this part of the mining regions was Costello’s. It was, I think, in the Autumn of ’50. He had the usual complement of horses and riders, with the clown as a chief feature, without which the circus would be a very tame affair. The tent was usually crowded of an evening with men and women principally, for the small boy who crawls in under the canvas had not as yet put in an appearance in the mining regions, being a later production, and only coming upon the scene as population increased and society was elevated to higher conditions.
In the first settlement of the mining regions, game of all kinds was very plentiful, but as the country became more thickly populated, the deer and other game remained higher up in the mountains. Quail and jack rabbits are even at this late day very plentiful. Lions, as well as lynx and wild cat, are often encountered by the prospector, but are generally great cowards, and therefore harmless. The grizzly bears, the king of beasts of this region, which were often seen by the miners, have emigrated to new pastures. It was unsafe to encounter one of these animals unless well armed. Good runners and good climbers they were no respecters of persons, and would attack a lawyer, doctor, or even a minister of the gospel as readily as a common miner, and enjoy it just as much. The tarantulas also, were very numerous at this time, and a dangerous insect to frolic with unless there was a mutual understanding at the start. Many were bitten by them, and in a few cases the bites proved fatal. Upon camping out amongst the tall grass, it was found to be a very wise precaution to first turn your boots wrong side out before putting them on in the morning.
The grizzly is of all animals the hardest to kill, and for this reason many hunters were very seriously injured and killed by them. A miner, who was at work near town, came running in one morning with the news that he had just seen a big grizzly in the brush behind his cabin. It took but a short time for the old Kentucky hunting sport, Dan Boone, a descendant of the original Daniel, to collect together other lovers of bear hunting, who, armed with the long barrelled Kentucky rifles, were soon on their way in search of his silver-tipped majesty. They found his trail, and followed it
for some distance down the big cañon, until they finally lost it among the brush and rocks. They then went to the summit of a low hill to await future developments, but they didn’t have long to wait, for the bear in the meantime had struck their trail, and was looking for them. The animal was soon seen near the foot of the hill, forcing its way through the thick underbrush towards them. Boone was in command for the occasion, and arranged his men in line ready for the word of command, and in a few minutes the great animal came into full view out of the brush and distant from them about 50 yards. Then came the order to fire, and the report of nine rifles echoed among the ravines and cañons. The bear stopped, looked up towards the hunters, shook his head with a savage growl, and continued to move upward toward their works. Boone ordered them to load hastily, and at the word every man to fire and then everyone for himself. When the bear had come within twenty yards of the line, the order was given to fire; but running was unnecessary, for the bear rolled over from the weight of lead. When skinned, eleven rifle balls were found in its body. A miner in Shasta County towards the spring of ’50, while out prospecting, was met upon a narrow trail by a fine healthy specimen of a grizzly, and it seemed determined to salute the astonished miner with an affectionate and loving embrace; the latter resisted vigorously the loving advances of the brute, and by a great display of courage and activity did succeed in saving his life, but not without receiving serious injury, his face being badly torn and one of his eyes entirely destroyed. As the country became more thickly settled, the rattlesnake, the scorpion, and the tarantula, as well as all other dangerous and venomous animals, followed in the trail of the coyote, wild cat, deer, and the grizzly, for new pastures far away from the haunts of men, the range of six-shooters, patent breech loaders, long range 42 calibre, whiskey, and the influence of civilization, generally.
