Roses and poppies that bloom
profusely in the front yards are "emblems of deeds that are done in
their clime." The very soil, like the flowers that spring therefrom,
suggests gold and the red blood so freely shed for it. Here and there
are eloquent, though silent, reminders of the exciting days of placer
mining and highway robbery, when Wells Fargo and Company brought
treasure out of the mountains guarded by armed men.
At the court-house Nevada County is advertised as the banner gold county
of California, with a total output of $300,000,000; a yellow block on
exhibition represents the bullion taken from the Malakoff Mine in one
month, and valued at $114,289. In a showcase at the Citizens' Bank are
exhibited four of the buckshot which killed T. H. Girard on October 31,
1887. Also, a bit of hemp rope with a tag, on which is written:
"The end of J. C. P. Collins
Feb. 1, 1884
Compliments of Sheriff Carter."
In vain one may search for a similar reminder of the highwayman Darcy,
the actual murderer of Will Cummins. But at the scene of the murder, the
stage-driver of the present generation tells his passengers that Darcy
was paroled several years ago, after spending thirty years in prison.
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