In common intercourse of buying and selling, or asking and giving any requisite information, neither party was ever very much at a loss; a few words of broken English, a word or two of French, and a large share of pantomime, carried them through any conference. When any one capable of acting as interpreter happened to be present, the Frenchman, in his impatience, was constantly asking him “_Qu’est ce qu’il dit?_” “_Qu’est ce qu’il dit?_” This caught the ear of the Americans more than anything else, and a “Keskydee” came at last to be a synonym for a “Parleyvoo.” The “Dutchmen” in the mines, under which denomination are included all manner of Germans, showed much greater aptitude to amalgamate with the people around them. Frenchmen were always found in gangs, but “Dutchmen” were usually met with as individuals, and more frequently associated with Americans than with their own countrymen. For the most part they spoke English very well, and there were none who could not make themselves perfectly intelligible. But in making such a comparison between the Germans and the French, it would not be fair to leave unmentioned the fact that the great majority of the former were men who had the advantage of having lived for a greater or less time in the United States, while the Frenchmen had nearly all immigrated in shiploads direct from their native country. About thirty miles above Downieville is one of the highest mountains in the mines. The view from the summit, which is composed of several rocky peaks in line with each other, like the teeth of a saw, was said to be one of the finest in California, and I was desirous of seeing it; but the mountain was on the verge of settlement, and there was no camp or house of accommodation nearer to it than Downieville. However, the Frenchman in whose house I was staying told me that a friend of his, who was mining there, would be down in a day or two, and that he would introduce me to him. He came down the next day for a supply of provisions, and I gladly took the opportunity of returning with him.