THE three succeeding months were filled with many new and novel experiences. I had never taught before, and did not know exactly how to commence.2 The district, moreover, had just been organized, and I was the first teacher. Everything was crude and primeval. There was not even a schoolhouse yet. Down by a little lake in the heart of a wood, an abandoned log cabin had been designated for this purpose, and here I was told to organize my flock. Furniture there was none. We rolled in logs for the children to sit on, and my throne consisted of an empty syrup-keg. Empty, I say, although the thing had a way of rising with me at times -- especially on hot days which induced doubts upon this point. The woodpeckers had bored so many holes in the shake roof that it became necessary to pile brush on top to keep out the sunlight, and my big girls stuffed wild grasses and fern leaves into the glassless and solitary window-sash at one end of the structure. Immediately in front of the door, which was massive and never shut, lay the wreck of an immense steel trap which the former occupant of the place had used for catching grizzlies, and just beyond it, nailed high up against the trunk of an oak, were the spreading antlers of a buck.

 

	T h e   S t u d e n t s

   I soon found out, in fact, that my lot was cast among a race of hunters. The larger boys had a way of sauntering down to school in the morning with shot-guns and rifles on their shoulders, and the grand "stack arms" in the cow-shed would have done credit, on occasions, to an Oakland military company. This kind of business made me a little nervous at first, although I soon became accustomed to it, and even carried a gun myself before the term was finished.
   Fortunately for me, there were no arms in sight on the first morning, else I should have taken to the brush like a quail. Since my adventure with Stumpit, I had largely lost confidence in things terrestrial, and held myself in readiness to shy on the slightest provocation.3 There were three or four boys in my class-wirey, muscular mountaineers, who could have whipped me easily in the event of war. One of them had already killed his man -- an Indian, in a sheep-herder's quarrel -- and was looked up to as a hero by his admiring companions. There were likewise two or three buxom lasses in my flock who took no back seat -- as I afterwards found out -- when it came to a question of muscle and grit. Two of them were very pretty, and I was secretly in love with them during the whole term, but never dared to say so for fear some of the young bucks in the neighborhood would murder me. Besides, I could not decide in my own mind which one I preferred. So I concluded to preserve my dignity, and that silence which, if not always golden, is most frequently discreet.4
   There were, all told, about thirty youngsters in my school, varying in age from six to twenty years.5 Most of them came down on horseback, and it would have done you good to hear them whooping in the canyons and screaming through the woods as they came and went. For a long time their movements were a mystery to me. They seemed to spring up in the morning like wild things from the bushes, and disappear at night in the same marvelous manner. I could not see any houses anywhere, or any signs of human habitation; and but for my limited knowledge of woodcraft I should have believed that they lived in the forest like blue jays.

 

	S c h o o l   &   C o m m u n i t y

   All this mystery, however, was destined to be made clear, for my contract provided that I should "board around."6 How much this means can only be understood by the man of vast and varied experiences. To me it meant that I should learn all the sheep trails and hidden paths through the hills; that I should make the acquaintance of busy housewives, diversified babies, and suspicious dogs; that I should know every body's business, and eat all kinds of food; that I should sleep in strange places and in strange company; and that I should learn to go to bed in the dark, and dress like lightning in the nick of time on the following morning. The acquirement of this latter accomplishment gave more trouble than all the others. The homes of my patrons were simple and rustic. Few of them contained over two rooms, most of them but one. When bed-time came, the men folks would withdraw to the corral or go out a little way into the brush, upon which the women would retire and put out the lights. It then behooved the masculine biped to sneak in and undress himself in the dark. It was a delicate and trying ordeal for a timid man -- one requiring blind faith in providence and an intimate knowledge of the topography of the room. Subdued giggles would occasionally reach his ears as he struggled with a boot or stumbled over a chair; and on one occasion which the writer recalls, there was a wild outburst of fiendish female laughter when the schoolmaster's bed went down with a crash. I am morally certain that those young women manipulated that bed in such a manner that it would fall upon being occupied, but they never had the grace to acknowledge their guilt.
   If going to bed, however, was surrounded with such difficulties and dangers, the act of rising was not less perilous. Woe be to the young man who slept with his face turned from the wall! The women rise first in this mountain land, and early in the dim dawn they cast an eagle eye about to see that the coast is clear. Turn over, young man, and go to sleep, or some one will dextrously toss a horse-blanket or a sheep-skin over your face; and then, when the old woman has gone down to the spring and the girls are out milking the cows, you rustle around and get into your clothes, for you may not have another chance. These rosy lasses have a streak of humor in their composition, and sleepy fellows have been known to stay in bed until noon before they could "clear" -- all because they failed to embrace the early opportunity given.

 

	T h e   S t u d e n t s

   After getting fairly under way with my school, all went well for several weeks. There appeared to be no insubordination or disposition to give me trouble on the part of my pupils, and everywhere I was greeted with cordiality by the bluff mountaineers when I met them in their homes or on the roads. One morning, however, on going down to the school-house a little earlier than usual, I was surprised to find the great oaken door closed and barred. Tethered here and there in the bushes were the horses of most of the pupils, but not a child was in sight, and perfect stillness reigned in the little clearing. This was such an unusual state of affairs that my suspicions were at once aroused that some mischief was on foot. Going closer, I attempted to open the door. A wild shout of laughter immediately went up from the assembled youngsters on the inside.
   "Open the door," I commanded.
   "Hi yi! Whoop la! Open it yourself!" came back the response.
   Peering in through a crack, I could see the larger boys and girls on guard at the window and door, both of which were strongly barricaded, while the younger children were huddled together and frightened in the corners. For some little time I was undecided how to act. Should I attempt to enter by force with these odds against me, or go for assistance?
   Should I consider this matter as a serious breach of discipline, or give the boys a tussle and let the thing go as a joke?7
   Of one thing I was certain: if I did not conquer now I should lose prestige, and probably all control of the school. Upon the outcome of this affair depended not only my future influence, but my ability to remain in the district. To go for help would cause them to despise me. Better make a square fight and get whipped.
   First, however, I would try parley. But parley would not work. They flatly refused to come out or open the door unless I should declare the day a holiday and send a boy down to Lower Lake to purchase a supply of nuts and candies as a peace-offering.
   This I would not do. The latter part of the condition I could not do if I would, be cause of financial stress. So war was determined upon.
   Going back into the woods a little way I procured a stick -- the heaviest I could carry -- and charged the butt end of it with all my force against the window barricades. The splinters flew and there was a whoop of defiance from within. Again and again I charged it, and then there was a crash, and I could see that the old wagon-bed which they had braced up against the window on the inside had gone down. Springing instantly into the opening, I succeeded in getting my body half-way through, when I was met by a dozen arms, and a lively skirmish took place on the sash, nearly breaking me in two. As a result, I was violently expelled, my coat was split up the back to the collar, and my hat remained in the hands of the enemy.
   In the second round I directed my battering-ram against the door. For a while it resisted my best endeavors, and the boys on the inside were laughing in derision, when a luminous idea struck me. Extending out over the school-house was a limb of the oak tree to which reference has already been made in this article. To throw a rope over this branch and suspend my battery was a very simple matter, and I soon had a ram at work which made the old log house tremble. Bang, bang, bang it went; the door began to groan and grumble; the younger children screamed with terror, and the older ones yelled in unison; and then came a grand splintering, and before the dust cleared away, I was standing in the middle of the schoolroom in triumph. Immediately three or four of the large boys seized me, and a desperate struggle took place. There was no disposition to strike blows on either side, but the boys were bent on putting me out of the building, and I was equally determined to stay in. Although overpowered from the start, it was still possible for me to make a very respectable resistance, and the combined enemy did not succeed in evicting me until my clothing was pretty much all torn off, and a number of scratches, bruises, and bloody noses testified to the intensity of the struggle.
   My breath was now exhausted, and I sat down to take a rest. The boys in the mean time had replaced the fallen door and cut down my battering-ram. During the fracas of the smaller children had escaped to the woods, and I could see their scared little faces peeping into the clearing from the surrounding circle of trees and bushes. While thinking the matter over, and wondering if it would not be a good idea to hitch a horse to one corner of the building and pull it down, a little girl approached very timidly from the direction of the school-house, and handed me a scrap of paper.
   "Nancy Clark put this through a crack," she said, "and told me to give it to you."
   I opened and read as follows:

"Git in at the winder; we will help you.
"NANCY."

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