Crusoe's island . tracted period of life on brandy,whisky, gin, Macks Bitters, and glass-ware. Alas forhuman expectation ! One by one the jaded animals pass,groaning and tottering under their heavy burdens—abarrel of rum ; two boxes of bottled ale; six crates ofChampagne; two pipes of California wine; a large crateof bar fixtures; and a dozen boxes of cigars—none ofthem nutritious articles of subsistence. As if to enhance our troubles, the party in charge ofthe train had been nearly starved out in the mountains,and now came in the very lankest and hungriest of thecrowd. If they were thirsty, i
Crusoe's island . tracted period of life on brandy,whisky, gin, Macks Bitters, and glass-ware. Alas forhuman expectation ! One by one the jaded animals pass,groaning and tottering under their heavy burdens—abarrel of rum ; two boxes of bottled ale; six crates ofChampagne; two pipes of California wine; a large crateof bar fixtures; and a dozen boxes of cigars—none ofthem nutritious articles of subsistence. As if to enhance our troubles, the party in charge ofthe train had been nearly starved out in the mountains,and now came in the very lankest and hungriest of thecrowd. If they were thirsty, it was their own fault;but none of them looked as if they had suffered in thatrespect. Before entering into the responsible duties of my agen-cy, I was desirous of seeing as much of the mining re-gion as possible, and with this view took the stage forVirginia City. The most remarkable peculiarity on theroad was the driver, whose likeness I struck in a happymoment of inspiration. At Silver City, eight miles from. Q2 370 A PEEP AT WASHOE. Carson, I dismounted, and proceeded the rest of the wayon foot. The road here becomes rough and hilly, andbut little is to be seen of the city except a-few tents andboard shanties. Haifa mile beyond is a remarkable gapcut by Nature through the mountain, as if for the ex-press purpose of giving the road an opportunity to visitVirginia City. As I passed through the Devils Gate it struck methat there was something ominous in the name. Letall who enter here— But I had already reached theother side. It was too late now for repentance. I wasabout to inquire where the devil— Excuse me, I usethe word in no indecorous sense. I was simply aboutto ask where he lived, when, looking up the road, I sawamid the smoke and din of shivered rocks, where grimyimps were at work blasting for ore, a string of adventur-ers laden with picks, shovels, and crowbars; kegs ofpowder, frying-pans, pitch-forks, and other instrumentsof torture—all wearily toiling in th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade, booksubjectminesandmineralresources
