"How far had I got ?" "You were down on the San Joaquin River in the spring of '50, with a chap named Flint," chorused Cousins Jane and Emma promptly.
"Ah! yes," said Uncle Sylvester.

"Well, in those days there was a scarcity of money in the diggings.

Gold dust there was in plenty, but no COIN.

You can fancy it was a bother to weigh out a pinch of dust every time you wanted a drink of whiskey or a pound of flour; but there was no other legal tender.

Pretty soon, however, a lot of gold and silver pieces found their way into circulation in our camp and the camps around us.