would soon run out, or become exhausted, as it is called by the miners.
The next morning we found a claim a short distance below on the opposite side of the river that had been worked for a considerable distance into the bank. There was an old rocker in the hole that was made from a tree, it having been dug out. Probably this was left here for the purpose of holding the claim if that should be desirable.
We learned that the men who had been working the claim had gone up the river and were engaged in building a log cabin.
We thought they were not entitled to hold a claim here and one in the mountains at the same time, so we moved the old machine out the hole where it would not trouble us and went to work.
We worked five days before we separated the gold from the black sand and did not know how well we were doing, but on making the separation we found we had averaged very nearly one ounce each per day, with which we were fairly well satisfied as a beginning.
Could we have continued indefinitely to make as good pay, it would have been better than we had dared to hope. The weather continued warm and dry until Tuesday, October 30, when it became cloudy and presented a very strong appearance of rain.
It did not storm, however, before night, when the rain began to descend and it continued to fall nearly all night. This was not very agreeable to us as we were sleeping without shelter on the ground, which soon began to grow damp and cold. Our situation was no worse than that of hundreds of others who were caught in a similar condition.
Very few of the miners had any shelter and the best equipped had nothing but tents. A few days previous we had been warned by an old Californian that when the rainy season should begin the rain would descend in torrents. He said the miners were sure to be caught in a bad and unfortunate situation.
The first shower of the rainy season might be expected to continue for about four weeks. We afterwards learned to our sorrow that his statement was nearly correct.
The rain commenced on the evening of the 30th day of October, and until November 21st it rained more or less 19 days out of the 23. The greater part of the time it was so very wet that it was useless to undertake to work.