He had been left to die, and was taken
charge of by the kind hearted John M. White, who was then digging for
gold in the Northern mines. He and his good Christian wife had mercy on
the little Indian boy that looked up at them so pitifully with his
wondering black eyes. At first he had the frightened and bewildered look
of a captured wild creature, but he soon began to be more at ease. He
acquired the English language slowly, and never did lose the peculiar
accent of his tribe. The miners called him Jack White, not knowing any
other name for him.
Moving to the beautiful San Ramon Valley, not far from the Bay of San
Francisco, the Whites took Jack with them. They taught him the leading
doctrines and facts of the Bible, and made him useful in domestic
service. He grew and thrived. Broad-shouldered, muscular, and straight
as an arrow, Jack was admired for his strength and agility by the white
boys with whom he was brought into contact. Though not quarrelsome, he
had a steady courage that, backed by his great strength, inspired
respect and insured good treatment from them. Growing up amid these
influences, his features were softened into a civilized expression, and
his tawny face was not unpleasing.
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