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89 Saturday January 12th 1850

We sit on rocker high on the bank - the river falls rapidly - the gold grows scarce - the farther you seek it from the river's bed. We made during the day $9.00. Miners came along on considerable numbers with their pans - looking for gold brought down by the freshit. Every rise of the water leaves flakes of gold exposed here and there - in some favourable spots from one to two dollars can be scraped up. Some miners employ themselves in perambulating the bank - and gathering as fast as the water retires. Not much is made however by this way. I do not know whether this new gold is brought down from above - or whether it is merely displacement of what was around here before. It looks curious to walk along and see gold grains shining from the soil or sand beneath your feet. It makes one feel rich in spite of reality. The ferry boat was swept away by the freshit. All communication with the other side is cut off. The miners over there will have to suck their claws of provision fails them before they can come over.

Sunday January 13th 1850

Visited Pagan. Pagan the philosophiser - the man who knows everything "profoundly skilled in analytic". he was sick - with Bilious Frou. We found him deep in the practice of Botanic Medicious. How his favorite theory will extricate him remains to be proven. Men who vomit greatly of their remedial skill when in good health I find timid enough when sick. Better is it to leave medicine to those whose profession binds them to devote their time and minds to it. Mose is dead and buried. I never heard a breath about it Mose was full of drunken wisdom the other day at the funeral of Bosworth. "Men dont die" said he "as long as they can live. If they can't help it why then theyve got to die!" "Thats the way they put our boys under the ground down in Mexico. We couldn't make much cermony over it somethimes either. Well! never mind if I do [?] a little in a graveyard!"