Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. It was one of those Old river-beds that they had stumbled on, that had enriched the canyon with a portion of its wealth where it had been eroded out by the North Fork; and the canyon was now a treasure-house at whose door they were knock ing. Virgin gold, coarse gold in profusion in the gravel, and theirs for the gathering! The chill winds of autumn betokened the approach of a Sierra winter, a season which at their altitude of four thousand feet meant a blanket of snow over mountain and hollow, an icy breath freezing the tumbling waters Of the canyon, and hurtling storms that would drive every living thing to the shelter Of earth burrow or a migration to the more temperate lower foothills. There was grave consultation among the Six. Should they tem porarily abandon their find and seek the comfort of winter quarters that Downieville Offered?

It was one of those Old river-beds that they had stumbled on, that had enriched the canyon with a portion of its wealth where it had been eroded out by the North Fork; and the canyon was now a treasure-house at whose door they were knock ing. Virgin gold, coarse gold in profusion in the gravel, and theirs for the gathering! The chill winds of autumn betokened the approach of a Sierra winter, a season which at their altitude of four thousand feet meant a blanket of snow over mountain and hollow, an icy breath freezing the tumbling waters Of the canyon, and hurtling storms that would drive every living thing to the shelter Of earth burrow or a migration to the more temperate lower foothills. There was grave consultation among the Six. Should they tem porarily abandon their find and seek the comfort of winter quarters that Downieville Offered?