“These quaint characters would place a ‘Wild West’ comedy upon the boards without much acting. The costumes varied as much as their names. Some wore flannel shirts, some cotton of any and all colors, while others dressed in drilling jumpers. Their pants or overalls were held up by a belt, as suspenders were unknown. One character that was with us for a year or more, was a man called ‘Scotty,’ a native of Scotland, and a sailmaker by trade. He used to mend and patch his clothes and the clothes of the other boys, until it was difficult to tell the original goods. His strong point was ‘foxing’ clothes with canvas which he always carried for that purpose. He would take a new pair of pants and ‘fox’ them with white canvas, putting large patches over the knees, around the knees, around the pockets, in the seat and crotch, until they looked real artistic. He usually ‘pinked’ the edges of his patches or ‘foxing,’ and I have known the boys to pay his as much as $5 for ‘foxing’ a pair of heavy wool pants with duck. “By way of entertainment, every man could play a part. One could tell a good yarn, while another could sing a song, and all could play ‘freeze-out.’ “The songs sang about the campfires were not such as are rendered by opera companies of the present day. In fact, they have gone into disuse since the men who sang them and the occasion that gave them birth, have passed into history. “Among the popular melodies of the time was ‘Betsey from Pike.’ The first verse ran like this: “‘Oh, do you remember sweet Betsey, from Pike, Who traveled the mountains with her lover, Ike; With one yoke of cattle, a large yellow dog, One full shanghai rooster and one spotted hog.’ Chorus-- “‘Sing a Tu-ral Li-ural, Li-ural Li-a, Sing a Tu-ral Li-ural, Li-ural, Li-a, Sing a Tu-ral Li-ural, Li-ural, Li-a, Why don’t you sing Tu-ral, Li-ural Li-a.’ “The chorus, when joined by twenty or more bullwhackers who always carried their lungs with them, was indeed thrilling, as was the last stanza, in fact every stanza from the first to the last. “The last verse ran like this: “‘The wagon broke down and the cattle all died, That morning the last piece of bacon was fried. Ike looked discouraged, and Betsey was mad, The dog dropped his tail and looked wonderfully sad.’ “Another popular air of the day was: “‘My name is Joe Bowers, I had a brother Ike; We came from old Missouri, All the way from Pike, Etc., Etc.’ “A song sang by a California miner who went by the euphonious sobriquet of “Sluice Box,” never failed to elicit encore. It was descriptive of his adversities and trials through the sluice mining country, and the last lines that I remember were: “‘I stole a dog, got whipped like hell, And away I went for Marysville. Then leave, ye miners, leave, Oh, leave, ye miners, leave.’