A little farther away from the river the soil was more of a clayey nature and there was considerable live oak growth. Some of the soil was red—a kind of red clay—and seemed to New Hampshire people as being almost worthless for cultivation.
The live oak was small and scrubby, an evergreen almost worthless for timber.
The white oak produces large quantities of acorns which made good, nourishing food for swine. Fremont, I believe, stated that he had seen acorns grown from a single tree to cover the ground under its branches four inches in thickness. This I believe to be an exaggeration in keeping with many others made by that illustrious pathfinder.
Mr. Pinney and myself commenced work for Mr. C. H. Burch on Monday, November 26. A few days later, James M. Butler, one of our party of Pelham boys, came down from the mines in search of employment, and engaged himself to work for Mr. Burch, commencing to work with us at a uniform salary.
Robert Thom, another of our Pelham friends, was at this time working for his board about one mile up the valley from the Burch ranch at a place known as the “Hole in the Ground.” This resort derived its name from the fact that it was a mere hole excavated in the ground and covered with mud, etc., so as to shed the rain. It was owned by a fellow known as “Ned,” and one or two others, all from Sidney. It was conducted as a tavern or a stopping place for travelers.
Mr. Thom was expected to get and prepare wood, cook, and do other work. We went up to visit him one evening and gave him an invitation to go to work with us at $4.50, as Mr. Burch desired to employ one more man, for a few weeks at least.
To this proposition Robert replied, that in all probability Mr. Burch would not have work for a man much more than one month, and in case he should begin work for him, he was afraid he would lose his place with Ned. He said his labor was not very hard and he thought he would remain for the present and make sure of his board.
It seemed to me that if a man was afraid of losing his place when he was at work for his board only in California, he certainly could have very little ambition. I thought he had better have remained at home with his family, and saved the long and tedious journey across the plains; but he was firm and decided and remained there until spring.
Mr. Burch desired to contract a ditch to be dug to enclose a field containing ten acres on the river bank, and Pinney contracted to do the work at the price of two dollars per rod, with the understanding that Mr. Burch should board him, and that the ditch should be four feet deep and four feet wide at the top and twenty inches wide at the bottom, and that it was not to be commenced until we had finished the other job. About 120 rods of ditch were to be dug. After Pinney had made the contract to dig the ditch he thought the price was too low and he wished me to promise to do a part of it. I thought as he did, that the price was low for excavating so large a ditch, but I promised to help him to do it, and also Mr. Butler desired to do a portion of it.
After working for Mr. Burch about three weeks, he asked us to go to Sacramento with his boat after a load of provisions, for which he agreed to pay us five dollars per day each.