meaning no harm of course, could not keep the secret
of the few hundred dollars worth of gold dust, and
soon the whole affair, wonderfully magnified too, was
blown all over the country.
When we found we were being followed, we led a sorry race indeed, and went in all directions. Klamat entered into the spirit of it, and played some strange forest tricks on the poor prospectors.
We eluded them all at last, and reached the cabin. But we had laid the foundation for many a mountain venture. What extravagant tales were told ! There was a perfect army of us half Indians, half white men. Our horses were shod backward an old story. Then, again, our horses feet were bound up in gunny-bags, so as to leave no track. An impossible thing, for a horse will not take a single step with his feet in muffles.
