“Dropping my rifle on my shoulder, I hastened to him, and found a shrunken, emaciated form, half naked, and nearly famished. A more pitiable object I never beheld.
“‘My name,’ said he, ‘is Boone Helm. I am the only survivor of a company which, together with the crew and vessel, were lost on the coast ten days ago. We were bound for Portland from San Francisco, and were driven ashore in a storm. I escaped by a miracle, and have wandered in the mountains ever since, feeding on berries, and sleeping under the shelter of rocks and bushes. I came in this direction, hoping to strike the California trail, and fall in with a pack train.’
“He gave me a circumstantial account of his shipwreck and wanderings, which interested me very much. My sympathies were enlisted, and I conducted him to my home, sharing ‘bed and board ’ with him for a month or more. He recruited in strength rapidly. I found him genial and intelligent, though uneducated. He was an agreeable talker, and told a story with an enchanting interest. By shreds and patches he disclosed much of his personal history, occasionally dropping a word or expression which led me to believe he had been a great criminal, and more than once imbrued his hands in the blood of his fellow-man. He remained with me for a month or more, long enough to make the prospect of separation painful, though I felt that I would be better off without than with him. When he left, I gave him a good buckskin suit, a cap, a pair of moccasins, and a gun. He wrung my hand at departure, expressing the warmest gratitude.
“For a while I was very lonely, and found my studies irksome; but, as time flew on, I fell naturally into my old round of employment, and solitude became sweeter than ever. Another year came and went, during which I labored diligently at my books. I was proud of my acquirements. I had mastered arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, and read Latin and Greek with facility. My herds had greatly increased. I could drive them to Yreka and sell them for a small fortune, a measure I had determined upon for the following summer. Except when I went to fish or hunt, or look after my cattle, I never left my home. It was my custom, during the warm days of summer, to spread my blanket, and lie down in the shade of the stockade; and, with guns and pistols in reach, pursue my studies.
“One day while thus extended, reading a thrilling passage in the Æneid, I was startled by the distant clatter of a rapidly approaching horse. Seizing my rifle, I sprang to an opening, to reconnoitre for Indians. I could see nothing,—the noise had ceased, and I resumed reading; but in a moment I heard the hoof-beat more distinctly, and applied myself again to the crevice. Judge of my astonishment, to behold at no great distance a woman well mounted, urging her steed rapidly towards my stockade, along the Indian trail. There was something so unreal in the thought that a woman should traverse this wilderness alone, I could not for a moment believe my senses. But there she was, coming at a rapid rate, and, to all appearance, a very beautiful woman too. She rode along with the air of a queen; her riding-habit fitted closely to a magnificent bust, and fell in graceful folds over the flanks of her horse, which, though jaded with travel, seemed proud of his burden. Assisting her to alight, I invited her to a seat upon a box, spread with my blankets. It was the work of a moment to secure her horse, and hasten to her to learn the import of her wild errand.
“I need not say that my conduct on this occasion bordered somewhat upon the romantic. Indeed, how else than after the fashion of a cavalier or knight of old could I, under the circumstances, approach a strange and beautiful lady, who had voluntarily, and without premonition on my part, placed herself so completely at my disposal? I felt all the delicacy of the situation, for I discovered at a glance that she was high of spirit, refined, and intelligent.
“‘Tell me,’ I inquired, ‘where you came from, and why you are here. It must be a mission of more than ordinary purport that has caused you to brave the perils of a journey through this wild, unfrequented region.’
“Seemingly for the purpose of putting my curiosity to the rack, she evaded my question, and talked about the beauty of the scenery, the desolation of my home, and finally, picking up my books one after the other, she commenced scanning and rendering the liquid hexameters of Virgil with the grace and ease of an accomplished professor. Provoking as this caprice was, there was a charm about it, which led me soon to adopt the same playful humor.
“‘It cannot be,’ I said laughingly, ‘that you have come here to marry me.’
“‘No, indeed,’ she replied, blushing and smiling at the same time. ‘I need not have run so great a risk, if marriage had been my object.’