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Show 40 PERSONAL ADVENTURES and open encampments; and miners busy everywhere. . At the upper crossing of the Stan:slaus River, I met with a large party of Amen~~ns, encamped near an Indian village contalnl.ng about six hundred warriors, of whom an Insh rancltero named l\tiurphy' is the head, he having ~arried the sister of the prin~ipal chief. He keeps a trading-post, and furnishes the Indians \Vith clothing and other necessaries in return for their services in digging ' . o< rold for him. I saw here a very fine speci-men of the ore, weighing about five pounds, and which one of the Indian miners had picked out with a common sheath-knife. I learned that great misunderstandings had arisen, and ~till existed, between the Indians and the white men of the surrounding "diggins," in consequence of the numerous thefts -particularly of horses-which it was alleged the former daily committed; and many savage murders were likewise attributed to thern. It was in due time ascertained that these crimes were perpetrated by the Indians of the snowy IN CALIFORNIA. 41 range, one of whom was taken by a party of Americans and Indians, and \Vho, having been examined before a council hastily assernbled for the purpose of investigating the circumstances under which a suspicion of murder rested upon him, confessed to having assassinated the individual in question-one Talmadge, a volunteer-out of revenge for injuries inflicted upon his people by the white men. Upon his own declaration to this effect, he was shot. I found the Indians I first alluded to extremely punctilious in their dealings. A party of them came to our camp one evening, and one of them, pointing to his mouth and to sorne flour lying in a bag near me, signified his wish to have some. I offered him as much as I could spare, perhaps about a pound, which one of the squaws put into a sort of apron, and tied about her waist. The Indian then handed me a small piece of gold, of the value of from five to six dollars. I might have sold all the flour I posses~ed at the same rate, for this article had been en- |