In the afternoon I arrived at the place where the trail leaves the summit of the range, and commences to wind down the steep face of the mountain to Downieville. There was a ranch and a spring of deliciously cold water, which was very acceptable, as the last ten miles of my journey had been uphill nearly all the way, and the heat was intense, but not a drop of water was to be found on the road. I overtook two or three miners on their way to Downieville, and went on in company with them. As we descended, we got an occasional view between the pine trees of the little town far down below us, so completely surrounded by mountains that it seemed to be at the bottom of an immense hole in the ground. I had heard so much of Downieville, that on reaching the foot of the mountain I was rather disappointed at first to find it apparently so small a place, but I very soon discovered that there was a great deal compressed into a small compass. There was only one street in the town, which was three or four hundred yards long; indeed, the mountain at whose base it stood was so steep that there was not room for more than one street between it and the river. This was the depot, however, for the supplies of a very large mining population. All the miners within eight or ten miles depended on Downieville for their provisions, and the street was consequently always a scene of bustle and activity, being crowded with trains of pack-mules and their Mexican drivers. The houses were nearly all of wood, many of them well-finished two-story houses, with columns and verandas in front. The most prominent places in the town were of course the gambling saloons, fitted up in the usual style of showy extravagance, with the exception of the mirrors; for as everything had to be brought seventy or eighty miles over the mountains on the backs of mules, very large mirrors were a luxury hardly attainable; an extra number of smaller ones, however, made up for the deficiency. There were several very good hotels, and two or three French restaurants; the other houses in the town were nearly all stores, the mining population living in tents and cabins, all up and down the river. I put up at a French house, which was kept in very good style by a pretty little Frenchwoman, and had quite the air of being a civilized place. I was accommodated with half of a bedroom, in which there was hardly room to turn round between the two beds; but I was so accustomed to rolling myself in my blankets and sleeping on the ground, or on the rocks, or at best being stowed away on a shelf with twenty or thirty other men in a large room, that it seemed to me most luxurious quarters. The _salle à manger_ was underneath me, and as the floor was very thin, I had the full benefit of all the conversation of those who indulged in late suppers, whilst next door was a ten-pin alley, in which they were banging away at the pins all night long; but such trifles did not much disturb my slumbers.