"I had a good appointment in England, but I wanted to become rich in a hurry, so I threw it up, and came out here," he began.  "You may doubt the wisdom of the proceeding; so do I now.  I had a companion, and with him and the mate of the ship I arrived in, as also her carpenter and a Chinese boy, I arranged to go up the country.  With the implements we had provided, and as much food as we could carry, we got on board a small schooner, bound up the river to Stockton.  We had on board a strange assemblage of people.  Many of them looked quite capable of cutting our throats.  They were mostly armed, and bowie-knives and revolvers were constantly exhibited.  When after two days' voyage we landed, we were glad to get into a wretched hut, where we could obtain food, and rest, and shelter, to prepare ourselves for our tramp to the diggings.  We remained only one day, for the charges were so high at the inn that we should have been ruined had we stayed longer.  Of the forty people who had come up in the schooner, very few accompanied us.  We found a party of about thirty starting, with five or six mules carrying provisions.  We joined ourselves to them.  Each of us had a rifle slung to his back, in addition to a week's provisions and our mining utensils, while our pistols and knives were stuck in our belts.  We went on for two days pretty easily.  I shall never forget the appearance of some people we met, who had come overland from the western states of America,--their haggard eyes, long matted hair, shrunk forms, and tattered clothes, which hung on them like loose rags fluttering in the wind.  They were the remnants of a large party, the greater number of whom with their horses and cattle had died on the way, from the hardships they had to encounter.  The latter part of the road, they said, was strewed with the whitening bones of men and animals, broken-down waggons, and abandoned furniture.  The next day's journey gave us a specimen of what those poor fellows had endured.  The sun came out with intense fury, and struck scorching down on our heads.  Not a drop of water could be got.  There was a pool, we were told, some way on.  We reached the spot: it was dry.  Our thirst grew intolerable. Those who had been accustomed to take spirits suffered more than the rest.  We lay down that night at a place where there was no wood.  We had no fire, therefore, to cook our provisions.  We could not eat the meat we had brought with us raw.  All night long the wolves howled horribly in our ears.  At daybreak we arose and pushed on.  There was a water-hole, we were told, a few miles ahead.  We reached the spot: it was dry.  Many who had hitherto held out gave way to despair.  The muleteers had skins with water, but they guarded them, revolver in hand, to moisten their own and their mules' lips.  Their lives depended on those of their animals.  A few of us had flasks, but we could only venture to take a drop of the precious fluid at a time.  One man had a bottle of brandy.  He boasted at first of his cleverness in having secured it.  Now, he went about offering the whole of it for a drop of water.  Several of the brandy drinkers sank down.  They had agreed to keep together.  They implored us to help them.  A deaf ear was turned to their entreaties.  Our own lives depended on our hastening on.  Three or four others dropped by the way, one by one.  No one waited for them. `On, on, on!' was the cry; `Water, water, water!'  At length, towards evening, the mules pricked up their ears: trees appeared in the distance.  We hurried on.  A glittering stream gladdened our sight.  We rushed into it, greedily lapping up the water.  Our mules drank eagerly. We felt revived and strengthened.  There was abundance of wood: we lighted a fire and dressed our provisions.  Several birds, and two or three animals were shot to increase our feast.