CHAPTER VI.
THE CALIFORNIA COAST.
They were safe at last! The four dropped their feet and found themresting upon smooth packed sand, and wading a few rods they all stoodupon dry earth. Terror, as he shook his shaggy coat and rubbed his noseagainst his young masters seemed not the least joyful of the party.
"Isn't this grand!" exclaimed Elwood. "When did the ground feel betterto your feet? Saved from fire and water!"
"Our first duty is to thank God!" said Mr. Yard reverently. "He haschosen us out of the hundreds that have perished as special objects ofhis mercy. Let us kneel upon the shore and testify our gratitude toHim."
All sunk devoutly upon their knees and joined the merchant, as in a low,impressive tone he returned thanks to his Creator for the signal mercyhe had displayed in bringing them safely through such imminent perils.
"Now, what is to be done next?" inquired Mr. Yard, as they arose totheir feet and looked around them. "The first thing I should like to dois to procure a suit of clothes, and I hope I shall be able to do itwithout stripping any of the dead bodies that will soon wash ashore."
"What is the naad?" asked Tim O'Rooney. "Baing that it's a warrum summernight, and there saams to be few in the neighborhood that is likely totake exsaptions to your costume."
"But day is breaking!" replied the merchant, pointing across the low,rocky country to a range of mountains in the distance, whose high,jagged tops were blackly defined against the sky that was growing lightand rosy behind them.
"Yes, it will soon be light," said Howard. "See! there are persons alongthe shore that have come down to the wreck?"
"They are some of the passengers that have managed to reach land. I willgo among them and see whether any of them have any clothing to sell,"laughed Mr. Yard as he moved away.
As the sun came up over the mountains it lit up a dreary and desolatescene. Away in the distance, until sky and earth mingled into one,stretched the blue Pacific, not ridged into foam and spray like theboisterous Atlantic, but swelling and heaving as if the great deep was abreathing monster. A few fragments of blackened splinters floating hereand there were all that remained to show where a few hours before themagnificent steamer, surcharged with its living freight, so proudly cutthe waters on her swift course toward the Golden Gate.
Several ghastly, blue-lipped survivors in their clinging garments werewandering aimlessly along the shore, the veriest pictures of uttermisery, as they mumbled a few words to each other, or stared absentlyaround. They seemed to be partially bereft of their senses, and wereprobably somewhat dazed from the fearful scenes through which they hadso recently passed.
Several sails were visible, but they were so far away that it was vainto hope to attract their attention. Three large boats could be seen awayto the northwest, skirting along shore and making their way toward SanFrancisco as rapidly as muscle and oars could carry them. What reckedthey whether the passengers were buried with the steamer, sunk in theocean, or left to perish on the desolate coast?
The Coast Range, which descends into California from Oregon, in someplaces comes within twenty-five or thirty miles of the sea, while atother times it recedes to over a hundred. The particular point where ourfriends were suffered to land was rough, barren and rocky, and behindthem, with many peaks reaching the line of perpetual snow, rose thenoble Coast Range, between which and them stretched a smaller range ofmountains.
Around them the country appeared desolate and uninhabited. Howard andElwood were well acquainted with geography, and had a general idea ofCalifornia, although they could not be expected to know much of theminor facts of the State. They were aware that at no great distance--butwhether north or south it was impossible to say--lay the missionary townof San Luis Obispo, and between them and the Coast Range ran the SalinasRiver, formerly known as the San Buenaventura, and a smaller chain ofmountains or highlands.
They knew, too, that after crossing the Coast Range, you descended intothe broad and beautiful Sacramento Valley, where abounded wild animals,Indians, gold, silver, and the most exuberant vegetation. This was aboutall they knew; and this, after all, was considerable. When personsexpect to make a journey to some distant country they are very apt tolearn all that they possibly can about it; and this was the way theycame to understand so much regarding the young State of California.
They had stood some little time conversing together when they saw Mr.Yard approaching, clad in quite a respectable suit of black, albeit, asa matter of course, it was thoroughly soaked with salt water.
"You are fortunate," remarked Howard.
"Yes," he laughed; "what strange beings we are! Do you see that elderlygentleman yonder, with his hands in his pockets walking back and forthas though he expected some arrival from the sea?"
The personage alluded to could be easily distinguished from the others.
"Well, his berth was next to mine. When the alarm of fire was firstheard he sprung from his bed, dressed himself and caught up his valise,which contained an extra suit of clothing, and rushed on deck with theother passengers."
"How was he saved?"
"It is hard to tell. He and several others hung fast to some such sortof a raft as we had, and managed to get ashore. And all the time hegrasped that valise, even when besought by his companions to let it go,find when it endangered his chances of life fully ten-fold."
"He must be very poor."
"Poor! He is worth half a million in gold this minute. That valisecontained all his property that he had entrusted to the steamer, and itwas his fear that he might lose the few dollars that it is worth thatmade him cling so tenaciously to it."
"How was it that he gave them to you?"
"No fear that he gave them. I stated in the presence of two witnessesthat, I would give him a hundred dollars for the suit as soon as wereached San Francisco. He racked his brains to see whether there was notsome means of my giving him my note for the amount; but as that couldn'tbe done under the circumstances, he did the next best thing andestablished my obligation in the mouth of several witnesses."
"Strange man! But, Mr. Yard, what is to be done?"
"I intend to wait here during the day, as I know of nothing better thatwe can do. I think some friends will find us before nightfall."
"We have decided to go inland a short distance, dry our clothes and giveour bodies a good rubbing, to prevent our taking cold."
"A wise precaution, but useless in my case as I have already caught avery severe one."
"Should we become separated, you will tell our parents that we reachedthe land in safety and are in good spirits."
"Of course; but don't wander too far away, as you may lose your chanceof being taken off. You know this isn't the most hospitable country inthe world. There are treacherous and thieving Indians in these parts,and they would have swooped down on us long ago if they had only knownwe were here. As it is, I fear their approach before a friendly sailcomes to us."
"Never fear; we will take good care not to wander too far away."
And the parties separated for a much longer time than any of themimagined.