Seas of Fortune(155)
“But our sailors are not kirishitan,” said Yoritaki, “and they can speak of our find once we sail back to Sendai. And the shogun has spies in Sendai, of that I can assure you. For that matter, there is probably at least one spy among our sailors, since they have license to return.
“So we need an excuse for leaving the miners and some samurai here. An excuse that will not excite undue curiosity.”
The others fidgeted.
At last, Iwakashu made a proposal. “In Go, it is wise to sacrifice the smaller group to save the greater one. Let us say that we have found copper. It may even be true, as oudoukou is a copper ore. Copper is valuable enough that we would want to mine it, but it is not worth shipping back to Japan, where it is plentiful. And it is not a metal that the shogun would mind us controlling. By the time his spies report otherwise, New Nippon will be able to survive on its own.”
“We hope,” Yoritaki muttered.
Lower American River
Kiyoshi, as foreman, did not suffer the indignity of being roped, and hence could scout ahead. He was walking on a large sand bar on the south bank of the American River, near the site of the modern town of Folsom, when he tripped. He started to lever himself up, and then stopped suddenly—he had caught sight of an intriguing glint from a rock a few yards away. He approached it, half-crouched, and, grunting, turned it to better expose the surface of interest. He saw what appeared to be small gold scales.
He proudly showed his discovery to Lord Matsudaira.
Lord Matsudaira, of course, was overjoyed, and insisted that Kiyoshi accept, as a gift, the Lord’s own smoking pipe. It had a bamboo shaft, and a silver mouthpiece and bowl, the latter engraved with the Matsudaira mon—three hollyhock leaves in a circle, the same as that of the Tokugawa.
It might have been more useful if they still had any tobacco left, but Kiyoshi appreciated the gesture.
He requested permission to have the miners untied so that they could better search for more gold, and Lord Matsudaira agreed, provided they were tied up again each night.
As Kiyoshi assigned his men to work different sections of the sand bar, he gestured with his new pipe, as if it was a scepter.
* * *
After a week of searching, Kiyoshi’s men had found a few more gold flecks and, in a crevice, a small gold nugget. Unfortunately, as lode mining men, they knew nothing of panning for gold. That was something done in Japan, not by honest miners, but by yamashi. Literally, it meant “mountain expert,” but in common usage, a yamashi could be a “prospector” or a “swindler.”
Still, Kiyoshi wished he had some yamashi with him. But at least Lord Matsudaira was in good humor . . . at least for the moment.
* * *
“Hatomoto Shigehisa.”
“My lord, how may I serve you?”
“Walk with me.” They walked out of sight and hearing of the crewmen of the Sado Maru.
“Look at this!” Lord Matsudaira held out his hand, the nugget resting on his outstretched palm.
Shigehisa bowed. “I am overwhelmed, my lord. You have found the gold field.”
Lord Matsudaira lifted his hand in thanks. “Your words are most welcome. But the real gold field must lie further upstream. Above the fork our scouts found previously, the streams run through gorges. The real gold mines must be there, I think, where we can see the very bones of the earth.”
“Will you be taking a boat, milord? The river is at least a foot higher than it was when we first came here.”
“No, I think not. There are two rapids just in the stretch of water we have been working, and I expect that once we enter the gorges, we will find much whitewater. A boat will be too much trouble.”
“Is there room to walk beside the river? Or is the gorge too steep-walled?”
“At least on the lower stretch we have spied out, there is room. Further up, who knows? But I have tired of sitting in camp watching the miners turn over rocks and sift their fingers through the sand and gravel.”
“May I accompany you, my lord?”
“No, I need you to hold this nugget for me. It would not be good if I tumbled into the water, and lost it.”
“It will be my honor and pleasure, Lord Matsudaira.”
* * *
Modern weather forecasters call it a “Pineapple Express.” The Polar jet stream forks, and the southern branch guides a tropical air mass northward and eastward, bringing warm air and torrential rainfall to the western coast of North America.
On the shores of San Francisco Bay, there was a bit of flooding, but this only inconvenienced the passengers and crew of the Ieyasu Maru. The miners sought temporary refuge on board the ship, and the ship took shelter from the wind on the lee side of Angel’s Island.