But there was no mining to be done save by expensive machinery, and we had our labor for our pains.

At last, both of us strapped, we got work as timber cutters, which lasted only until we found it would take us a week to fell a tree.

At last we hired out once more as bull-whackers.

That job we understood, and at it we earned enough money to take us home.
We hired a carpenter to build us a boat, loaded it with grub and supplies, and started gayly down the Platte for home.

But the bad luck of that trip held steadily.