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Show PERSONAL ADVENTURES . before we shall have obtained sufficient gold to purchase ourselves a tent, and pay all current expenses. No, \Ve had better persevere, and trust to Providence to aid us." " Perhaps you are right," replied I I alliday gloornily ; " but, I rnust own, our prospects are anything but cheering." The scene was certainly but ill calculated to sustain one's spirits. We \Vere now in the 1nidst of a large plain, scantily covered with vegetation, and unprotected by any sort of foliage. A cold and piercing wind swept over it from tirne to time, betokening the near approach of winter. We had not proceeded above a mile after the above conversation, when the sore-backed horse fell with the pack, and it wa_s with the greatest difficulty that we could get him on his legs again. " You see," said my companion, fortified in his forebodings by this little incident, " ho,v impossible it is for us to proceed further on this route; neither our horses nor ourselves can stand it. Let us turn back, and proceed to San Francisco." IN CALIFORNIA . 275 ''Be it so," was my reply; " you know that I cannot travel alone, so that I must make up my rnind to take whichever direction 1 ,, p eases you. We accordingly turned back, but had not proceeded many steps, when my vacillating companion, rendered still more doubtful of the prudence of his suggestion by the easiness of his victory over rne, suddenly stopped short g.nd exclaimed- " You must think me very weak-rninded, but, after all, I cannot help corning ronnel to your opinion. Let us go to the mines. It is worth the risk." Towards the n1ines then our horses' heads were again turned. Our pack had been thoroughly arranged, so as to give the poor animal that bore it as little pain as possible. He got along better than we had expected, but we were every now and then obliged to lash him from behind with our whips, to keep hitn alive. As \Ve proceeded, the numbers of dead horses and mules that we found scattered about on the route had quite a depressing |