be working; on their own account, though most of the Indians work by the day for some employer, who furnishes them with food, and pays a regular per diem—sometimes as much as twenty dollars a day, but more generally at the rate of an ounce and a half of gold, the current rate of which is from ten to twelve dollars per ounce. When we came within sight of this party, they were in a short, deep ravine, very busily employed digging with small machetes, or Spanish knives; and as soon as they perceived us, they looked with some vexation of manner, as though they feared we were coming to interfere with their rights of discovery. I may here remark that a nice regard is almost always had for such rights. A party finding a good bed of gold, is seldom or never interfered with by others—at least the immediate vicinity of their operations is not trespassed upon. As an evidence of this feeling of natural justice, I learned that there was, at the mill of Captain Sutter, a fine bank of deposit which had not been touched, out of respect to the rights of the captain, who, of course, had no real ownership in the matter. The Indians soon became satisfied that we had no intention of trespassing, and began their work again, the old fellow jabbering away in bad Spanish in reply to our inquiries. He had about his person, in an uncouth-looking buckskin pouch, from six to eight ounces of gold, as I should judge, which he exhibited with some exultation. While we were engaged with the old man, the boy, who had progressed some few yards ahead in his work, uttered a sudden, ugh! which is the Indian expression of wonder. We all turned toward him, and saw him holding up, with an expression of irrepressible delight, a large lump of gold incrusted with earth and gravel, which seemed as big as a man's fist. The old fellow rushed toward him with quite an un-Indian-like eagerness, and taking it from his hand, commenced rapidly cleaning it of the dirt and gravel, which he accomplished with peculiar skill, and in less than a minute
