It
was evident that these quartz mines were paying well, as Alleghany had
every appearance of a live mining town. Keeler stopped at the hotel
there for dinner. It seemed strange that intelligent men should so lose
their heads. Great quantities of liquor were being consumed at the hotel
bar, poker games were in full blast, and there was a cemetery handy.
Keeler was glad to leave Alleghany to climb over the mountain ridge to
Forest City. Now to the eastward the lofty peaks of the Sierras hove
into view, dwarfing the mountain ridges of the gold fields. He paused to
inspect the ancient stream of lava which crossed his path, and
considered once more those convulsions of the earth which had thrown the
ancient river beds to the hill-tops, and of which California earthquakes
are a constant reminder.
Arrived at the summit of the ridge, he looked down upon Forest City, a
straggling village in a barren valley denuded of forests. Church,
school, and cemetery gave the place an air of permanence; but some day
it might disappear, like Chipp's Flat. It lay almost beneath him, so
steep was the road down the mountain. Beyond, up the bare valley of a
mountain stream, lay the trail to Downieville, nine miles away.
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