But still every scruple must fall before the necessities of science; and I remember exhuming a Malay rajah who had been buried about a week without the slightest compulsion, simply because science required the skeleton of a Malay rajah. I felt it was the duty of every man to aid science, and the only remorse I felt was when I found no jewels in the coffin—not even a ring: it was a shabby burial the rajah had!
The practice of carrying fire-arms in San Francisco was still popular among a large proportion of the citizens; but the arguments by which I have sought to justify this habit in a mountain population are not applicable to the inhabitants of the city, for life and property were safe, and a proper police force had been instituted. Cases of shooting therefore were still very common, and duelling in particular became quite the rage. Taking up the newspaper one day, I observed a conspicuous advertisement, in which one gentleman gave notice to the public that another gentleman “was a scoundrel, liar, villain, and poltroon,â€� and signed his name to the announcement. The next day it was understood that the gentleman with the unenviable titles intended to shoot his traducer “on sight,â€�—that is to say, as soon as he could see him, without any of the preliminary formula of a hostile meeting. When I reached the Plaza, I found a large concourse of people already assembled to see the sport; and it was such a novel and delicious excitement to stand in a circle and see two men inside of you exchange six shots a-piece, that had the matter been more generally known, I do not think there would have been room for them to fight! I declined waiting to stand and be shot at; but it appeared afterwards that the two gentlemen, attended by their friends, soon made their appearance on opposite sides of the square, and that then they commenced walking about the square as if they did not know each other, and when within shot, one said to the other, “Draw and defend yourself!â€� which the latter did by sending a bullet through the assailant’s arm. The fire then became warm; six shots were exchanged in rapid succession, and both combatants were taken wounded from the field—not mortally, however, for they recovered, and arranged a regular meeting, where after exchanging half-a-dozen shots one was seriously wounded; since when, I believe, no more powder has been burnt in the cause.
CHAPTER XX.
RAT-CATCHERS—DRAYS—CRESTED PARTRIDGE—A MARVELLOUS STORY—SAILORS IN THE MINES—A VERDICT—THE QUARTZ HAS THE BEST OF IT—I LEAVE TUTTLE-TOWN.
January, 1852.
Rats are very numerous in San Francisco, as also are ratting-dogs. The roughest Skyes and most ferocious bull-dogs seem to have congregated in that city; and so much interest do the people take in the destruction of the common enemy, that a crowd is instantly collected if by chance a Scotch terrier, arrested by the flavour of a rat, wags his tail over a heap of shavings. You will one day see a crowd in the street, dense and excited; you try in vain to obtain a glimpse of what is going on in the centre; from expressions that reach you, you feel certain that a horrid murder is being perpetrated, and this opinion is confirmed as you hear re-echoed the cry, “He is dead!—all over!â€� As the crowd disperses, there issues from it the rejoicing owner of two young prize-fighting quadrupeds, and in his hand is a large rat, now all tail and teeth, “the balance,â€� as the owner remarks, having been “considerably chawed up.â€�
Great risk and expense attend the shipment of these little dogs to California; and I was so unfortunate as not to land one of four very useful brutes that I shipped from the London Docks for that country. A good horse or dog is a treasure to a Californian; and he will look upon one or the other as his friend, and treat it with great kindness.
An immense quantity of drays are required in the city for the transport of goods, and the stranger will be at once struck with the superiority of breed of the horses, and the high condition in which they are kept. It has not been worth while of late to send anything commonplace to San Francisco; the horses therefore that are driven across the plains are generally strong and showy animals. “Draying� has paid very well here, and many of the proprietors of these vehicles, although they drive for themselves, are well to do. The dray harness is often mounted in German silver; and you may see any day a respectable-looking quiet man in spectacles carting a load of hay or lumber, with a handsome four-in-hand team, well groomed, and ornamented with bear-skin trappings.
The new machinery being completed, I again started for the mines, and arrived at Tuttle-town without accident.
We had tolerable hunting ground in our vicinity, but the game was wild from having been too much shot at. The deer lived in the mountains, and to reach them required much walking, as the reader will understand if he glances at the background of the sketch that forms my frontispiece. The earth on the side of the red-wood hills is generally friable, and as it gives way to the pressure of the foot, the toil of ascending is very great, when the glass is at ninety.