I laughed deeply, but silently, as I witnessed his appearance at these remarks. It was so earnest and feeling, that it was impossible to resist its ludicrousness.
“Nat,” said I, after a moment’s thought, in which my mind had taken an altogether different channel, “I am free to own that I have little faith in our success in California. I left home in a flush of excitement, without considering the consequences of such a rash step, and they are now beginning to present themselves. I propose that we seek our fortune elsewhere. The fact that gold exists in California is now known all over the world, and we know there is not the remotest corner of her territory which is not swarming with hundreds who leave no means untried to amass their fortunes. I have no desire to wrangle and grope with them, and would much rather seek wealth elsewhere.”
“But where else?”
“If gold exists in one spot on the Pacific coast, it is right to suppose it exists in many others, and what is to prevent our finding it?”
“Have you thought of any place?”
“It seems to me that in Oregon, among the spurs of the Rocky Mountains, there must be fabulous quantities of the precious metal.”
“But why hasn’t it been found?”
“Oregon is thinly settled, and no suspicion has led them to search for it.”
“Well, let us dream upon it.”