[LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.]
[CONTENTS.]
[NAMES OF PIONEERS.]
[TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE]

THE ARGONAUTS
OF CALIFORNIA

BEING THE REMINISCENCES
OF SCENES AND INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED IN
CALIFORNIA IN EARLY MINING DAYS
BY
A PIONEER

And believing that it will be of some historical value as well
as of interest generally to know the names of those who
were the first to venture forth in the search of gold, and
by whose energy and labor the foundations of a great state
were laid, and also a general prosperity created throughout
the entire country, I have therefore prefixed to the
work the names of those that I have been able to obtain,
numbering about 35,000, and including among them the
names of several thousand who are now living in the
various States of the Union.

TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN FROM LIFE
BY C. W. HASKINS.
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY
FORDS, HOWARD & HULBERT
NEW YORK
1890
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by
C. W. HASKINS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.
R. Pierce & Co., Printers, 53 Lafayette Place, N. Y.
TO THE
SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE
ADVANCE GUARD
OF GOLD HUNTERS,
THE CALIFORNIA PIONEERS
AND THEIR DESCENDANTS,
WHO ARE NOW LIVING THROUGHOUT THE
UNITED STATES,
THIS BOOK
IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY THE
AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

While residing in the village of Kingston, located upon the Cœur D’Alene River in the silver mining regions of northern Idaho during the winter of ’87-’88, and being compelled to remain within doors during the winter in consequence of the great depth of snow and intense cold, in order to pass away the time I amused myself by writing an account of scenes and incidents that occurred in California in early days in the mining regions, and which came under my observation. These events are written entirely from memory, but I have endeavored to give as near as possible the correct date of the events and incidents mentioned, as well as their location and names with all of which I was familiar. As to the the correct description of scenes and events, I ask the remnant of that band of sturdy Argonauts who laid the foundation of a great State to bear me witness.

C. W. Haskins.

Index to the Names of the Forty-niners.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

• Frontispiece.
  “Hello, Bill!”
  The Start for California.
  Brazilian Music.
  The Swell at Cape Horn.
  An Able Seaman.
  Forty-niners at the Hotel in Lima.
  The Operatic Shark.
  The Prolific Topmast.
  The Calm.
  Neptune’s Orchestra.
  The Bullwhacker.
  “Ye Done it Weel.”
  The Dandy Miners.
  Smoked Out.
  The Frisky Flapjack.
  Hangtown in ’49.
  “None in Mine.”
  The Industrious Prospectors.
  “I Shust Nose It!”
  Bulling the Mine.
  “Ther, Ther, T, other One.”
  The Ducks Take Water.
  Dutch Charley.
  Dan Boone and the Bear.
  The First Rat in Hangtown.
  Rats in Sacramento City.
  The First Young Lady in the Mines.
  The Spartan Mother.
  The Boys Aloft.
  Emigration of ’50.
  The Howly Fragment.
  The Argonaut and His Mule.
  The Steamboat Runners.
  The Miners’ Meeting.
  On His Trail.
  “I’v Shtruck it, Thin.”
  The Sailor Boy.
  The Chap Who Insulted a Lady.
  The Claim Jumper.
  The Art of Self-defense.
  Didn’t Believe in Compromise.
  The Disgusted Speculator.
  “Write Often, Boys.”
  The Jack Tars on the Hill.
  The Geological Lecture.
  Old Nick’s Grand Entrée.
  A California Cyclone.
  Only Two Days in the Mines.
  A Simile.
  Female Influence Illustrated.
  Not Ready to Go.
  The Voice of Old Dick.
  Big George and the Road Agent.
  “There She Comes, Boys!”
  Miners’ Comfort.
  “Dis am a Free Kentry, Massa.”
  Coasting in Idaho.
  Law and Order Triumph’s.
  Charley, the Female Stage Driver.
  Hank Monk in Time for Lunch.
  The Picket Guard.
  The Gambler’s Charity.
  The Road Agent Outwitted.
  From Fry-pan to the Fire.
  A Newcomer.
  Force of Habit.
  The Deserted Camp.
  Syd’s Last Prospect.
  Skunked.
  Ruined Castles.
  Meeting of the Old-timers.
  An Unexpected Festival.
  The Gold-saving Machine.
  Tex Gives Satisfaction.
  Not Raising Mutiny but Sugar.
  It’l Be Our Turn Next.
  Bob the Fiddler.
  The Power of Music.
  Old-timers in the Hall.
  Phantoms of the Old timers.
  Sam Plunket and the Indians.
  The Bear in a Quandary.
  The Power of Beauty.
  The Bean-pot Comet.
  Dick Arnold to the Rescue.
  The Brave Policeman.
  A New Motor.
  The Plum-duff.
  Donkey Instinct.
  Tex and the Alcalde.$1’49 Mosquitoes.
  The Bear and the Prospector.
  Sharpshooters.
  Discovery of the Old River Beds.
  Lost in the Mountains.
  Nature’s Lullaby.
  Discovery of Red Hill Gold.
  Bob Lost a Fortune.
  The Surprise.
  Curiosity Satisfied.
  Mining Ground Transformed.
  “Is it Me Agint?”
  “No More Frontier in Ourn!”
  Not that Kind of Bird.
  The Tarantula in the Boot.
  The Boston Boy and His Bugle.
  Found His Brother.
  Kanakas at Work.
  The Flight of Time.
  The Miller Taking Toll.
  Yank Revisiting Old Scenes.
  Coasting in Idaho.
  Town of Wallace.
  A Flush Hand.
  The Mississippians.
  The Return East.
  “Good Morning, William.”
  

CONTENTS.

The Argonauts of California.

CHAPTER I.

The News—Looking Forward—The Start.

IN the winter of ’48 I resided in New Bedford, Mass. I had a chum. What boy has not? My chum’s name was Bill. He had been absent from New Bedford for a few months, and on meeting him, a few days after his return, I greeted him with:

“Hello, Bill! Have you heard the news?”

“No; what is it?”

“Well; while you were away, the news came that a man in California, named Marshall, has made the discovery that there’s lots of Gold out there. He found a big chunk of it where he was at work.”

“You don’t say so! What’s he going to do with it; did he say?”

“That has nothing to do with the case. There’s the greatest excitement here, you ever heard of. Not only here, but all over the country, on account of the discovery. Thousands of men are getting ready to go out there. A lot of ships down at the wharves are being fitted out for the voyage, and they are going to take passengers cheap. Now what do you say to going along?”

Bill did not seem to enthuse nearly as much as the occasion would warrant, for said he,

“Well, now; I don’t see what reasons you can give for supposing that there’s more gold there, simply because this man found a chunk of it.”

“But, Bill,” said I, with undampened ardor; “don’t you understand the scientific nature of it? Isn’t it likely that there must be lots more of it scattered about? Besides, the volcanic character of the country is very favorable for that kind of a product, you know.”

Bill smiled skeptically, and gave me the benefit of his geological knowledge as follows:

“Oh, yes, I know. The gold is thrown out from the bowels of the earth, where it’s manufactured, by the volcanoes and scattered about on the tops of the mountains. Then along come the earthquakes and shake it down among the grass roots and bushes in the valleys, where you expect to scrape it up by the bushel.”

“Oh, well, it may prove to be, as you say, a wild goose chase, after all; but there’s a ship, now at the wharf, right from San Francisco, and one of the sailors, who seems to be a real honest chap, told me that the country was chock full of gold. He said that after they had hoisted up the anchor to start home he scraped the mud off the anchor and washed more than five pounds out of it—”

“Of what—mud?”

“No, of Gold; Real Gold!”

“Oh, pshaw! Do you believe that yarn?”

“Why, of course I do! Sailors are noted for their veracity.”

“Nothing of the kind. They have the reputation of being the biggest liars on earth; especially when out on the water and the wind blows hard.”

Still true to my colors, I protested, “That’s impossible.”

“No, ’tis not, for if you were sailing a ship out at sea and the wind blew real hard, you’d lie too.”

Bill’s levity fell upon unappreciative soil. I was too much in earnest, and resumed:

“I’m bound to go out there, Bill, if I don’t pick more than a hatful of gold in a day. There’s nothing like trying, you know. But what’s the use of going after gold, you say? Well, now, isn’t that what we are all after, and nearly crazy to get? And, isn’t it easier to go to a country where you can scrape it up from the ground or pick it out from among the grass by the bucketful, than it is to toil and sweat and worry through a long life here?”

I cannot now remember whether Bill was just a little cynical, or simply echoed the opinions of some of the wiseacres of that day when he parried my query with,

“There’s plenty of money in the country now, and more is unnecessary. What are you going to do with it all?”

“That’s a singular idea,” I answered. “Do you suppose it’s possible to have too much money in the country? Such old, puritanical notions about money are ridiculous. You and I haven’t too much and we could use a few millions to good advantage, if we had them. And if it should prove true that lots of gold can be found in California, you’ll live to see this country step to the front among nations in wealth, prosperity and enterprise.”

In my ardor I had risen to unwonted heights of eloquence.

Bill thought that there was enough enterprise in the country, already.

I assured him that when we began to send gold back from California in ton lots, the various enterprises would boom to an extent never before witnessed in the world.

Bill had, however, taken the negative side of the issue and fired another broadside at me:

“Yes, but Jo, aren’t you going it a little too fast in anticipating such big things? For my part, I don’t believe that there’s enough gold in all of California to do all that. ’Twould take bushels of it, you know.”

Upon confirmation of the news of the discovery of gold in California, all was commotion in the various seaports of the Atlantic coast. Vessels of all sizes and descriptions, from the small, 50 ton fishing smack, that would be compelled to crawl along near the shore, up to the noble clipper ship, that was able to contend with the elements in mid-ocean, were fitted up with conveniences for passengers in greatest haste. Many vessels sailed early in the year of ’49 for the Eldorado. It was not, however, until the spring that the grand stampede commenced. By April 1, in ’49, 50,000 good, able-bodied men, and a few women, all desirous of bettering their condition and acquiring wealth in a much easier and quicker method than by the old-fashioned, slow and plodding methods of their ancestors, were upon their way to the other side of the continent, willing to encounter the danger from Indians or starvation, whilst an equal number preferred to risk the dangers of a journey by sea to the land of gold. In company with about one hundred others, we took passage in the clipper ship “America,” Capt. C. P. Seabury, from the port of New Bedford, Mass. On the morning of the 1st of April, the fact was announced that all must be on board at 10 A.M. The anchor was raised from its muddy bed below; the sails were unfurled to the breeze; the bow of our boat swung round a bit and pointed out toward the billows in the big ocean beyond. We bade farewell to friends who accompanied us out to the light-house; and, with hearty wishes from them that we might meet with the greatest success in our venturesome undertaking, sailed out upon the broad ocean in the direction of Cape Horn. We watched the green hills, with which we had been familiar from early childhood, as they vanished from sight below the horizon, and wondered then if ’twas so ordained by the powers above, that we would soon be enabled to return again to these familiar scenes of our boyhood days with our pockets lined with tin (and some of us still continue in the same business, at the old stand, of wondering).

Our passengers, being unaccustomed to the situation, soon felt very peculiar sensations produced by the motions of the vessel. We sought the entrance to the basement, into which we managed to make our way in an oblique kind of a style, and retired to our sleeping apartments, there to remain until we deemed it safe to again climb out upon the roof of the vessel.

We were satisfied in a few days that we were very fortunate in our selection of a vessel for the voyage, for we found that she was a strong, staunch one; a fast goer, with a good crew and commanded by an expert seaman, who understood his business. Fortunately for

us, perhaps, we had as passengers a number of old veteran (retired) sea captains, who were always very ready and willing, without remuneration, to give our captain all necessary advice, at such times when, in their opinion, he needed it. When, in their opinion, there was danger of the ship sailing too fast, they would advise him to take down some of the big sails; or, again, when the wind was too high, they would become aware at once of the danger of the ship running under, front end foremost, and at such times they would advise the captain to stop her. Under such conditions, where there were many men of experience keeping their weather eyes open for emergencies, it is evident that we, the passengers, felt perfectly secure from danger, and could sleep without fear.

During the voyage we amused ourselves, no doubt, in the same manner as passengers of vessels usually do, by various games. There were an assortment of musical instruments, and card playing was an amusement much in vogue; but a few of the younger passengers of a sporting tendency, would bet upon the speed of the ship and the number of miles we would sail upon the succeeding day. Some of the older ones, however, of a more elevated character, who were above such petty amusements, would practice at leap-frog upon deck during pleasant weather. When the weather was otherwise they would pass their time below, in betting with each other upon the number of plums they would be able to find in their respective rations of duff, and many were enabled to enjoy double rations at the table in consequence. In the opinion of many of the older passengers, one very important fact had been overlooked in our great haste to start for the golden shores of California, and that was, the failure to make suitable provision for the storage of gold dust. This was, indeed, an oversight, for nothing had been provided suitable for the purpose. It therefore taxed the ingenuity of the older ones, and many were the devices proposed. One very ingenious and sanguine individual commenced the manufacture of leather pouches from old boot-legs or from pieces of canvas, maintaining that these would be found the most convenient. Another insisted that good, strong, stone ale bottles were far superior for stowing the finer grades of dust, and such was his faith in them that he had actually brought two or three dozen with him. But where is the limit to genius or the faculty of adaptation to conditions, for if no other person had appeared upon the stage with a superior device for the purpose, the inventors of the boot-leg pouch and of the ale bottle devices would have divided the honors between them for their ingenuity. The possession of an older head with greater experience, however, suggested that although leather pouches and beer bottles might answer very well, they would probably be found very inconvenient to handle on account of the great specific gravity of gold. He therefore suggested that the best way to pack the gold dust, and the best means of handling it, would be to put it into empty pork barrels, for these could be rolled with ease and of course would be more convenient for shipping. The greater portion of the passengers saw at once the superior advantages of the pork-barrel idea, and resolved to adopt that method.

One old gentleman spent his time in the construction of a dredging machine for raising the sand from the river beds, and for extracting the big nuggets from among the rocks at the bottom; whilst another one busied himself in making sheet-iron scoops, to which long poles were to be attached. His idea was to take his station under the shade of a tree, upon the river bank, scoop up the rich golden sands and extract the gold from it upon dry land, without the danger of being sun struck or wetting his feet. Many of the more intelligent ones among our passengers kept a daily record of scenes and incidents during our voyage; but so much of this class of literature has been heretofore brought before the public that a report from any of them would not be of much interest at this time.

CHAPTER II.

Arrival at St. Catherina—American Pluck—The Four Brave Tourists.

IT having been decided by the Captain of our vessel, at the request of many of the passengers, that we visit some port upon the coast of Brazil, upon consulting the sailing directions of Lieut. Maury, it was found that in order to do so it was necessary to first visit the coast of Africa, to take advantage of the trade winds. The ship’s course was therefore directed towards the Continent of Africa, at which portion of our planet we arrived in good time; and ’twas not until we found that the dust from that continent was accumulating upon our clothing and other articles on ship board, that our Captain concluded we were near enough to the African coast. Our good ship was, therefore, turned around and the bow pointed towards South America. With a fair wind we crossed the ocean again, and on the 20th of May sailed into the port of St. Catherina and dropped anchor under the guns of the fortification located on the summit of a hill near the town.

We found lying at anchor here the steamer “Senator,” on her way to California, as well as two or three other vessels loaded with passengers from the United States for the same destination. An incident in which the passengers of these vessels took a very prominent part occurred a few days previous to our arrival, and is worth relating, as it illustrates the type of American character which constituted the advance guard of the California pioneers, and proves that the Americans will submit to no indignity from a foreign race, if they possess the power and means of resenting it.

A young man, a passenger of one of the vessels, was assassinated by a native, but for what reason was not known, although supposed to be from jealousy. The Americans demanded the arrest and punishment of the assassin, but no attention was paid to the demand, and no efforts were made for the murderer’s arrest, since he had slain only an “Americano.” It may be of some interest to those of the human family who have adopted the great American Eagle as their emblem, to know that at this period in their history—40 years ago—when iron clads were unthought of and monitors unknown, this nation of people were not held in very high esteem by the various governments and peoples of the South American continent, for the reason that their ports were but very seldom visited by our ships of war, only upon certain isolated occasions, when the American sloop of war “St. Marys,” or some craft of similar dimensions, would put into these Southern ports. For this reason, they seemed to be impressed with the idea that, in comparison with England, with the monster ships of war with which they were all familiar, the United States were of little consequence and small potatoes generally. As a consequence, a demand for the arrest for the murderer of the young American was treated with contempt; but they were dealing now with the passengers of three or four ships who were on their way to California—a crowd of Americans who were determined to have the culprit arrested and punished at all hazards. The Governor of the province, beginning to be alarmed by their demonstrations, for they had threatened to capture the fortress upon the hill and to bombard the town, despatched messengers instantly to the Emperor at Rio Janeiro for assistance, believing, no doubt, that it was the intention of these vile “Americanos” to capture the entire country and annex it to the United States. This idea arose from the fact, as we heard related, that the passengers from one ship did actually enter the fortress and unfolded to the breeze the stars and stripes from the flag-staff, and some one, for fun or accident, had with a piece of charcoal put in an additional star which, of course, represented Brazil. But peace was soon restored; the Governor had the culprit arrested, and after a fair trial he was shot in the presence of those who demanded his execution; and in a few days the ships sailed upon their course for California with passengers satisfied and contented.

We found, a short distance in the interior, a man with his family from the State of Vermont, who had emigrated here to live in ease and comfort upon the spontaneous productions of the soil, which consist of oranges, bananas and other tropical fruits. He stated that he had been induced to make his home in this tropical country by an acquaintance who was a seafaring man, and had often visited this portion of the earth. Through representations of the beauty of the country and the little labor and exertion required to live in ease and comfort, he had been persuaded into coming here.

“The first year was pleasant indeed,” said he; “and often when we were conversing upon the pleasures of such a life free from toil and care, we wondered why the greater portion of those who dwelt in the far northern New England States, amidst the snows and rains of their severe winters, toiling and striving for the necessaries of life, did not come to this earthly paradise. These were our thoughts and feelings during the first year; but, after a residence of three years in this beautiful country, with its warm sunny skies and its luxuriant vegetation, despite these advantages, we have been forced to the conclusion that, although the natives of the country were adapted by nature to such conditions of existence, an American never would be. Why, sir, I can take more solid enjoyment and comfort in one year among the rugged hills and rocks of old Vermont, where the maxim is work or starve, than it would be possible to find here in a lifetime, and I intend returning to that country again just as soon as opportunity offers.”

It was here at St. Catherina, also, that we saw for the first time in our lives diamonds in their rough state when taken from the river beds, and which, to all appearances, are ordinary quartz pebbles, such as are often seen upon the sea-shore. In their original state when first formed in nature’s subterranean laboratory, they are crystallized with proper facets and angles; but being subsequently deposited in the beds of running streams, in process of time are worn to a smooth surface by friction amongst the gravel of the river. These gems possess but little value until much time and considerable labor is expended in again restoring the worn out facets and angles. So far as known they serve but one purpose in their rough state, and that is to illustrate the fact that although a man may be very careless in his style of dress, paying no regard to the latest fashion and even with his top-coat in rags, yet he may be a real nice sort of a man for all that; a gem of the first water beneath a rough coating. Experience illustrates the fact that this is often the case, and for this reason it would be as well before driving the tramp from out the back yard to search beneath his rags for the gem that may possibly be there, or for anything else of value that may be concealed.

We saw, also, a specimen of the diamond miner, a few of them having just arrived from the mines, hundreds of miles away to the West, in the interior, to dispose of the diamonds to the merchants in the town. One of them explained to us the manner of finding the valuable gem: the process being similar, in some respects, to the methods adopted in California in mining for gold in the river-beds. By the use of wing dams, the stream is turned, and, after shovelling the sand and gravel from the bed rock, search is then made for what are termed pot holes in the hard bed rock, in the bottom of which is found the diamond, or at least it should be there, but unfortunately this is not always the case, as all miners can testify to with sorrow.

A few miles inland was the border of the great Brazilian forest that we had often read of in our school-boy days, and which, at this point, approaches to within a few miles of the coast. We were informed that a few miles within this dark forest could be found a small lake about two miles in circumference, and that it was filled with a great variety of creeping ferocious reptiles, such as alligators, crocodiles, huge water snakes and water lizards. Upon its surface, also could be seen water fowl of all kinds, and upon the branches of trees surrounding it a great variety of birds, with the gayest plumage, could be found. Frolicking amidst the tall grass upon its banks would be seen a variety of wild animals, including beautiful specimens of the frolicsome Brazilian tiger. A number of us determined to enter this dense forest and investigate the beauties of this wonderful lake and its surroundings; but we were warned by the natives that it was a dangerous undertaking, unless we procured a suitable guide, as it was very dark and dismal within the forest; and furthermore, that the trails formed by the animals were so tortuous and crooked, that there was danger of getting lost. To our inexperienced minds, an undertaking of this nature offered irresistible fascinations, for we were of a nation that knew no fear, and the national characteristic being to satisfy curiosity, let the consequences be what they may, why should we fear? Were we not armed with the latest discovery that the inventive genius of a Yankee could devise as a protection? Perhaps the animals in the forest had not, as yet, been made aware of the fact; but would they not crouch in abject fear when we entered the dark trails of the vast forest to see each of us carrying in his hand a Smith & Wesson, duplex patent, double back action, revolver, vulgarly styled a “pepper-box”? Well, I should say they would, and so we thought. Armed with this style of weapon, one pleasant morning four of us (the bravest ones) determined to enter the forest and beard the tiger in his lair. A native kindly volunteered to leave his daily toil, and, for a small fee, guide us to the entrance of the forest. We examined our weapons, drew a long breath, and in single file, walked in the narrow trail for a short distance into the dark abyss: then stopped, drew another long breath, and marched out again. Not because we had any fear for our individual selves, but for each other, for each didn’t like to see the other torn into a mass of shoe strings by an enraged tiger.

“What was that awful roaring away in there, do you reckon?” asked one.

“Oh,” says another. “That noise was miles away. I ain’t afraid, so let’s try it again.”

After discharging a few shots at imaginary beasts, as a fair warning to others away in the forest that were not imaginary, we again entered the dark trail and proceeded cautiously onward. The monkeys among the branches over our heads would follow us, and occasionally approach near enough to endeavor to snatch our hats from our heads. We had proceeded in this manner for about a mile, when a Cape Cod chap, who was in the van, suddenly came to a stop, at the same time exclaiming in a very emphatic manner, “Go back! go back, quick!” We all pressed forward, however, anxious to see the cause of the alarm, and we saw it. A few straggling rays of the sun had forced their way through the thick foliage above, and illuminated a small patch of the trail of about two feet in extent, and lying in this sunny spot could be discerned the head of an enormous serpent. The body was there too, of course, but being among the bushes it was not visible. We cared nothing for the body, but it was the ferocious looking head that startled us. Its eyes assumed all the colors of the rainbow. Four pairs of very severe eyes were concentrated upon the eyes of the monster, which seemed to realize the situation, and from a feeling of bashfulness at being gazed upon by strangers, or, perhaps, having caught sight of our weapons, and recognized the brand, from an instinct of coming danger closed its eyes. With optics partially closed, its countenance assumed a very amiable expression; but a slight movement from one of us caused it to again raise its eyes, and made one, at least, of us wish that he hadn’t come.

“Oh pshaw!” remarked a Boston chap, who had attended high school some, “let’s go ahead anyhow. You remember that Plato, or some other fellow, said that courage was one of the virtues, or something of the kind. Now let us prove that we are virtuous young men. We will turn his right flank, and get to his rear easy enough.”

“Oh, git out,” said the Cape Cod chap; “them form of animals hain’t got any right nor left flank at all; nor rear end neither, ’cause their bodies come to a point on the fur end.” Just at this moment, the monster made a forward movement and we retired in a rather hasty manner, leaving the serpent to enjoy its sun bath.

But the reader would ask, since we were so well provided with weapons, why in the name of Cæsar didn’t we massacre the brute at once, and go on. It must have been from fear that we did not, and so it was. We were fearful of shooting each other, for we had practiced so little with our weapons that it had not as yet been positively decided whether or not we should aim right at an animal that we desired to massacre, or in the opposite direction. One of the young men who had practiced considerably during the voyage shooting at the big waves, and was always positive that he hit them, somewhere, volunteered to test his skill upon the serpent, but for fear that the noise might make it angry and cause it to bite some of us, he was prevented.

As we emerged from the forest, our ears were assailed with a most unearthly screeching, that seemed to come from the open country beyond the forest. We concluded, at once, that some ferocious monster had by accident got out of the woods, and was unable to find its way back again. We examined our weapons, determined to sell our lives at the highest price, spot cash, and marched manfully in the direction of our vessel.

The Cape Cod lad remarked, as we hurried onward, that the screeching reminded him of a political caucus in his native town, and “the cheerman was a-tryin’ to call ther meetin’ to order.” Upon reaching a slight elevation, we saw, in the road ahead of us, a cart drawn by a pair of oxen, and it was from this that the noise proceeded. We concluded, at once, that the cart contained wild animals that were perhaps being shipped to New York for Mr. Barnum; but upon nearer approach we found, to our astonishment and disgust, that the terrible Brazilian melody was caused by the wheels upon the axles, which in this country are never greased.

We suggested to the driver, by certain signs, that they ought to be greased, and that it was an evidence of barbarism, and would not be tolerated in any civilized country. “Oh no,” he replied, “Americanos no sabe. Wheels no sing: bullocks no go.”

Well, ’tis no wonder they go; anything would go from such a noise, and never return. An army of Kansas grasshoppers would go into the regions above and never again return to earth. The terrible screeching was heard also on board of the ship, and it even suggested to our Captain that we ought to go too, and that ten days was long enough to remain in any country where they didn’t grease their cart wheels, and we went. After taking on board a good supply of tropical fruits of various kinds, with bananas in greatest abundance, which were suspended to the ship’s rigging in all convenient places until she had the appearance of a banana plantation going on an excursion, we sailed again out upon the broad ocean and laid our course for Cape Horn, where we expected to arrive by the middle of June.

CHAPTER III.

A Gale—The Ocean Swell—Cape Horn—The Magellan Cloud—The Native Tradition.

AS is very often the case in relation to human affairs, fate decreed otherwise, and in plain, unmistakable language we heard whispered by the gale which we encountered as it roared through the ship’s rigging, “Go slow! go slow!” And we did. About three hundred miles from the land off the mouth of the La Platte we encountered what all of the old salts, as well as the young, fresh ones, declared to be the heaviest gale that it was ever our misfortune to encounter. It came from off the coast, and of course was favorable for us; but there was a little too much of it. The sea was smooth, for such was the velocity and force of the gale that when a billow attempted to assert its rights and raised its head above the general sea level, it was instantly blown off, leaving in its place but a mass of white and seething foam. In this manner, with our noble ship lying to with the lee rail under water, we remained for thirteen days. To cook was impossible, for the reason that, at the angle at which our galley stove cut the horizon, nothing would stay in the dinner pot, and we were obliged therefore to eat off-hand and at random whatever we could get. It was now getting monotonous, and to add to our troubles the Captain would not grant us permission to go on shore, and it even seemed to hurt his feelings when we asked him.

On the evening of the thirteenth, the Captain, deprived of his accustomed rations of plum duff and soft tack, determined upon the tactics which he should adopt the following day if the gale did not abate and that was to run before the gale. This course was strongly objected to by the veteran skippers on board, who claimed that it would be a most dangerous proceeding and would never be adopted by anyone but a young and inexperienced commander. They had, as they explained, roamed the seas over from infancy and were well aware of the danger of running before a gale of such huge dimensions as we were then experiencing. They therefore strongly protested against it and assured the Captain that in case he did adopt that plan he must be responsible for all damages if the ship should run under and sink away down to the bottom in the cold sea, which they were most positive would be the case.

The Captain, however, after lying all night on the edge of his bunk determined, notwithstanding their protestations, early the next morning to make a break for liberty. With a firm step and with salt water in his larboard eye, he ascended to the deck and soon the command was heard above the roar of the tempest: “All hands on deck!”

In a few minutes every man of us was at his post as soon as we could find it, and when the order was given to the sailors who were holding fast to the wheel to let her go, they did, and it flew around in a most spiteful manner, as if conscious of its freedom. The bows of the ship swung around with the gale and we went flying amidst the foam upon the rough surface of the sea at a rate of speed nearly equal to a railroad train, and in a few hours were again upon our way with a fair wind and under full sail in the direction of Cape Horn.

“Well, well!” exclaimed one of the veteran skippers, who had predicted all kinds of disasters to the inexperienced Captain, as a consequence of his rash proceeding, and who was now standing near the gangway holding in his hand a well-filled carpet-bag, and with a look of disgust and disappointment in his expectations stamped upon his weather-beaten countenance: “Yer come outer that gale in good seaman style; but if yer had only took my advice yer’d done it more ’n a week ago.”

We arrived at Cape Horn on the 4th of July, and with a fair wind sailed around the dangerous point and entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean. This being our national holiday, we dressed up our vessel in appropriate attire, and with various instruments of music, the firing of guns and pistols, celebrated the day in true Yankee style, to the great astonishment of the seagulls, as well as the immense flock of birds of various kinds that arose into the air from the clefts and caverns of the massive rocks of the coast.

Just previous to our arrival at Cape Horn, much surprise had been expressed by many of us at the unusual heavy swell of the sea or of the huge billows we encountered, but had been invariably reminded by the aged veteran seaman on board:

“Oh, pshaw! these are nothing but ripples compared to what you will see when you reach Cape Horn. You just wait, and blast me eyes, but you will see them down there as high as the main mast.”

The consequence was that we waited. We now turned our attention to the heavy swells for which we had patiently waited, and found them nearly as represented, for they were immense, and to take a view of them from the cabin window at the stern of the ship required considerable nerve, as it really seemed, when the stern was away down in the trough between the great rollers, that nothing short of a miracle could raise the ship quick enough to prevent the hugh billows from rolling over her. We found, however, upon experimenting with a long rope on deck, by shaking it up and down from one end, that in a similar manner the great billows do not move forward upon the surface of the ocean, as they have every appearance of doing, to the utter destruction of every object which they come into contact with, but that they simply rise and fall. It is this continual rise and fall of the water on the surface of the ocean that gives it the appearance of rolling onward in the form of huge billows.

The traditions of the native Patagonians tell us that centuries ago a race of giants existed upon the extreme end of the South American continent; but whether that was their place of residence, or that they were there only upon a picnic excursion, is not definitely known. It unfortunately happened, however, that while there this great convulsion occurred, which separated the extreme end of the continent from the main land; and to their great astonishment, when aroused from their slumbers early one morning, they found themselves situated upon a high commanding eminence, at a distance from the main land, and entirely surrounded by water. To wade through the cold Southern sea to the main land again was out of the question, for they had come totally unprepared for such an emergency, having left their rubber boots at home. They were, however, giants, and knew their strength. Breaking the high mountain upon which they stood into fragments of suitable size they hurled them into the sea beyond, and using them for stepping-stones, regained the said continent without accident, or wetting a single foot. This is said to be the origin of those extreme Southern islands which they named Terra del Fuego.

The end of the continent was by this convulsion broken apart, and through this break the waters of the oceans found their way, forming a very convenient channel for small vessels to avoid the dangers of the Cape in passing from one ocean to the other. This channel was discovered by Magellan.

To the extreme southern point of the solid islands of rocks is given the name Cape Horn, around which it is difficult and dangerous to pass in consequence of the prevailing winds, which blow almost constantly from the west. It is at this point, also, that a good view is had of what is called the Magellan Cloud, not so named because Mr. Magellan first discovered it, but from the fact that the strait which he did discover, whether by accident or otherwise, is located immediately beneath it. At night, this cloud has the appearance of a mass of luminous vapor floating in space above, and such is its immense distance from our planet, that no telescope has as yet been constructed with power sufficient to enable our astronomers to determine its true character; or whether it is, as it appears, a mass of luminous vapor, or a cluster of celestial bodies like our own universe. Now, is it not possible that this is another universe similar to our own, located in distant space, and in company with thousands of other similar collections of celestial bodies which are scattered throughout infinite space, all moving in one general direction, and governed and controlled by the same ruling power? This is possible, and that each universe is separate and distinct from all others there is no doubt, and that to those who are dwelling upon the various planets of which they are composed, our own universe presents a similar appearance is very probable. In viewing these distant collections of celestial bodies in the firmament above, they may be very properly compared to swarms of gnats which we often witness sporting in the sunshine.

With a fair wind, we laid our course for the port of Callao, in Peru. A few days followed of fair wind which seemed to increase in violence as we proceeded, until it had assumed the proportions of a very respectable gale, termed in Nevada a “gentle zephyr.” It was during the continuance of this gale that a little incident occurred which may not be of much interest to seafaring men, and one of ordinary occurrence; but to those who do not go down upon the sea in ships it may be of some interest, since it illustrates the nature and character of the requisites of an able seaman and commander. During the gale, a block or shieve upon the end of the main yard was torn from its lashings, and fell upon the deck. The ship was luffed up into the wind: the great seas broke over the bows, and the mainsail threshed about in a terrible manner in its frantic efforts to free itself from its lashings, and to keep company with the gale. It was absolutely necessary that that block should again be placed and securely lashed upon the end of the yard, of which fact all the officers of the ship were well aware; but where was the sailor who had the courage to go out upon the end of that yard, when, as the ship rolled, the extreme end where the block was to be lashed was out of sight, became buried in the white foam of the huge billows? The Captain ordered no one to perform the dangerous duty, but asked the first mate, who was holding fast upon the rigging near, if any man would volunteer to do it? The mate, who was naturally of a modest and quiet disposition, raised his eyes aloft to the yard, then to the surging billows below, thought of his loved ones at home, and very modestly declined, with thanks. The second mate, a big, burly seaman, turned his port eye toward the chief mate, concluded that he had a level head, and concurred for similar reasons. Our Captain, finding that no one on board of the ship was willing to perform the dangerous duty, remarked that he should then be compelled to do it himself. Taking the huge block, slung to his shoulder, he mounted aloft out upon the yard, where he succeeded in lashing it securely in its place, although not without a great deal of trouble and danger. The ship swung off again before the gale, and all danger was past.

CHAPTER IV.

Arrival in Callao—The Relics of the Earthquake—The Frolic with the English Officers—Target Shooting—The Calm—Water Spouts—The Shark.

THE ship’s course was now directed towards the port of Callao, Peru, where we arrived about the 10th of August. We remained in this port about eight days, visiting in the meantime the beautiful city of Lima located at the foot of the mountains, a few miles inland, and a portion of the earth where a rain-storm is unknown.

We found that the chief and principal amusements here at this time consisted in cock and bull fighting; the grand arena, with its gorgeous trappings, being situated adjacent to and under the shadow of the principal cathedral of the city.

In the town of Callao we saw the ruins of the old city which was partially submerged by an earthquake in 1765, at which time a ship being at anchor in the harbor was carried by the returning tidal wave about five miles inland, where the old hull was deposited and could be plainly seen. At ebb tide, the tiled roofs of many old buildings can yet be seen upon the sandy beach; but the greater portion, however, of the submerged town lies in deep water, above which vessels in the harbor ride at anchor.

A little incident which occurred here in the city of Lima upon the day previous to our arrival, as we heard related is perhaps worth recording. Upon our arrival in the port of Callao, we found lying at anchor there, the U. S. sloop of war “St. Mary,” as well as the English man-of-war “Asia,” and an English sloop of war, the name of which I have forgotten. There was also in port a ship from Norfolk, Va., having on board as passengers about forty young men from Richmond and other Southern cities on their way to California. There was a feeling of jealousy existing among the English officers and these young Southern bloods in the city of Lima, from the fact that the latter seemed to attract more attention

from the ladies of Castilian blood. The English officers were determined to revenge themselves, and they endeavored to do it, and to further show their contempt for Americans generally in a despicable manner. The latter, upon one occasion, concluded to have a regular champagne dinner, and engaged for the purpose the large dining-room of the only American hotel in the city, which they arranged to occupy at 2 P.M. of the day appointed. The English officers, to the number of thirty, having been informed of the intention of the Americans, found now their opportunity for revenge by taking possession of the dining-room at the appointed time, and locking the doors, thus interfering with the arrangements. Unfortunately for them, however, they had never fully understood the real nature of American pluck, as one of the English officers was afterwards ready and willing to admit.

At the appointed time the Americans met at the hotel, but only to find the doors to the dining-room locked and the room occupied by the English officers. After a short consultation, a tall, fine-looking specimen of one of the F. F. V’s knocked upon the door, demanding instant admission, but, of course, was refused. Two minutes was then allowed, and in case of refusal they were informed that the door would be broken in. “Do so, at your peril,” came from the inside; and almost instantly the door went in with a crash, and the tall Virginian, stepping inside to the head of the table, seized a bottle of wine and threw it with full force, striking the center of the table beyond, and bounding to the wall upon the opposite end of the room. At the same time, thirty or forty Americans, well prepared, filed in and took their stations behind the English officers, who leaped to their feet, and with their short swords flourishing above their heads demanded instant satisfaction for the insult. They were informed by the leader of the opposite party that it was the latter who demanded satisfaction, and that the former must instantly leave the room, or the Americans would enforce the demand. After some loud talking and threats from the leaders of both sides had been indulged in, a more quiet and subdued tone was used; mutual explanations followed; suitable apologies were given, and a general hand-shaking followed. Swords were sheathed, and fortunately the danger of a conflict was averted; seats, as well as an additional supply of champagne and other refreshments, were ordered. The Americans were very cordially invited to partake of the festivities, which invitation they accepted, and peace and harmony prevailed.

One effect of this incident, was a greater respect for the American people, or at least that portion of them who were at present in the harbor of Callao; for, upon the day following the incident, the passengers of the American ships were very cordially invited on board of H. M. ship of war the “Asia,” and were received in the most hospitable manner. Furthermore, through the influence of her commander, a few passengers of one of the American ships who were detected in the act of smuggling on shore a quantity of tobacco, were released upon promising to do so no more.

Going on shore one day, we found on the sandy beach three or four English officers who were practicing target-shooting. The target was a board twelve or fourteen inches square, and placed at a distance of one-hundred yards. They were practicing with the English sporting rifles, some of them being fixed up in a beautiful style and ornamented with silver. These rifles were fired from a rest, and with this advantage even, the target was hit but twice out of five shots. One of our boys remarked to them that he had an old U. S. musket on board of the ship, and offered to wager that he could put four balls out of five into the target, off hand. One of the Englishmen asserted that that was a huge joke “ye know”; but requested our passenger to bring it on shore and prove his assertion, which he proceeded to do. There was much merriment among them when he returned, bringing with him an old style Springfield rifle, or Jæger, as they were usually called; but when this youth, off-hand, put four balls out of five into the target, their merriment subsided, and in fact they were astonished. They asked many questions, and when informed that the U. S. army was armed with this sort of thing they marveled greatly, and desired permission to take it on board of H. M. ship of war for inspection, which they did, remarking upon its return that it was an ugly looking thing; but “by Jove, the way it shoots is simply marvelous, ye know!”

One of the officers asked the young man if all the U. S. soldiers were as expert with the use of the gun as he was, and he replied that he had just been expelled from the army for one year, in consequence of being the poorest shot in his regiment, which was Co. Y. of the 287th regiment of light infantry, stationed at Fortress Monroe; but that he was allowed one year for practice, and if at the expiration of that time he could do the regulation shot according to Scott’s Manual of Tactics, he would be re-admitted into the Army. When asked what the regulation shot was, he replied that every soldier was required to be able to put four balls out of five into a four-inch ring, off-hand, at a distance of half a mile when ordered, and no postponement on account of the weather.

“My hies,” was the only answer.

Having laid in a good supply of fruit, etc., we sailed out again upon the broad ocean toward the land of gold. From this port we cannot, however, take a direct course for California, in consequence of the irregularity of the winds along the coast. We are therefore compelled to test the maxim that the longest way around is in some cases the nearest way home, and for such reasons our good ship is headed in the direction of Japan until we reach longitude about 140° W., from which point upon the equator, in consequence of the prevailing winds, the course can be laid direct for the port of San Francisco.

One of the greatest pleasures of a long tedious sea voyage is in speaking with other ships, bound for different ports of the world, and when the condition of the sea and weather permits, it is usual to exchange courtesies by giving the latest news, the destination of your ship, and occasionally visiting each other. Many, of course, were the questions asked by the commanders of other ships upon seeing so many passengers on ship-board, in that portion of the sea, not having heard of the wonderful gold discovery. One commander, in particular, hailing from Valparaiso and bound for Cork, who had passed several ships loaded with passengers, very earnestly inquired if we Yankees were on our way to found a new empire somewhere among the islands of the Pacific ocean, or if we were only the rear guard of Alexander’s army searching for new worlds to conquer. We, however, satisfied his curiosity by informing him that we were neither one nor the other, but simply Pilgrims going in search of the new Jerusalem supposed to be somewhere in California.

We had now a fair wind until near the equator, where it then left us, and there fell a great calm upon the waters.

It is in these latitudes that the conditions are most favorable for the formation of the water-spout, for it is here where the winds are variable, and where dead calms of long duration are the rule, and nature’s forces find the breeding grounds for the marine cyclones—it is here that the germs of the Kansas cyclones are found, in their original purity, free from dust, old fence-rails, hay, or ox-carts; the upright columns being filled only with pure sea water, drawn up from the surface of the ocean. We saw many of them in all stages of growth, from the newly-formed, which was just able to move along in an upright position, staggering and swaying from side to side like a child just learning to walk, up to the monster columns which possessed the power to elevate into the regions above anything with which it came in contact, from a clam-shell to a man-of-war. Five were seen in one day, and one of the largest of them seemed inclined to pay us a visit; but being aware of the fact, we made all necessary preparations to give it a warm reception. It changed its course, from an instinct of danger no doubt, which was the general opinion, from the fact that an old seaman declared positively that if you discharge a cannon-ball into this column of water, it will instantly burst, as the proper circulation is destroyed. For the same reasons also, as the veteran salt and able seaman declared, it was even possible sometimes to frighten one of them to death by running out of the port-hole a Quaker gun, and he said that he had seen several burst in that way. It was the most economical way, as it saved a lot of powder; but of course the rest of us old salts didn’t believe all he said about it.

We found that upon the occurrence of any event during the voyage, this old salt could refer to a similar event within his experience that would discount anything we had seen. For instance, during the calm he remarked that,

“This calm was nothing to what he experienced at a certain time on the coast of Chili.”

“Why,” said he, “the calm lasted nearly two months, the surface of the ocean became stagnant, turned green, and smelled like bilge water, and you could see dead fish of all kinds, and even dead whales floating about.”

During the gale which occurred upon the Atlantic also, he remarked:

“Oh, pshaw! this is nothing to what I have seen. Why, I was bound once up the Mediterranean Sea, when we encountered a gale that threw our ship upon her beam ends, and we laid in that position for nearly six weeks. It blew away our main-topmast, and the last we saw of it, ’twas going away south toward Africa; and maybe you won’t believe it, my lads, but five years afterwards ’twas found in the great desert partly buried in the sand, where it fell. The cross trees had sprouted, and a fine cluster of white oak trees had grown up from it, more than sixty feet high, and they made a beautiful shade for the camels to rest under when they were cruising around the desert.”

I have stated at this time that the conditions are favorable for water-spouts, as will be further explained. The formation of a water-spout is only possible when there exists a calm upon the waters, and in consequence of the heat of the sun being reflected from the smooth surface of the ocean, the atmosphere becomes greatly rarefied, and ascends to higher regions. The result is that at this point a partial vacuum is produced, and the atmosphere from all points rushes in to equalize the unbalanced condition. A hollow cylinder is formed of atmospheric currents, which revolves with great velocity. A partial vacuum within this is the result, and up within which the water from the surface of the ocean rises, falling again in great showers of rain. But one great mystery attending not only the water-spout upon the ocean, but also the cyclone upon land, is the fact of their motion forward in any direction, for since they are only produced under conditions of a calm, it is difficult to determine by what force they are caused to move in any direction, with such velocity as is often witnessed. I observed that in a few cases, the smaller water-spouts did not move in any particular direction, but seemed to wander about as though undecided what course to take; while again another, but a few miles distant to the east, would be going in a northerly direction, and another one at the same time to the westward was taking a southerly course at the rate of three or four miles an hour.

That a water-spout should be able to move at all in any direction, during a dead calm upon the ocean, when at the same time our ship was as it were, stationary is not only a mystery, but also very aggravating to those who are from necessity compelled to remain on board of her and suffer the intense heat, and at the same time be at the mercy of these wandering, revolving tramps that are liable at any time to make you a visit without any special invitation, and without any power whatever on your part to avoid them.

The mystery of their forward movements lies in the fact that, at some point the atmosphere is more highly rarified than at others, and the water-spout will therefore move in the direction of the least resistance, being impelled forward towards that point by the atmosphere, the tendency of which is to restore the equilibrium. They will, consequently, move with a velocity corresponding to such unbalanced conditions to any given point.

Oh, the annoyance of a calm at sea, especially under such circumstances as when a crowd of anxious gold seekers are cooped up unable to do as, or go where they please, and all anxious to be filling their bottles and pouches from Uncle Sam’s golden fountains. Fretting and worrying could, however, avail nothing. We must gracefully submit to the inevitable, and pray for a strong breeze from the Southwest (the praying for which didn’t amount to much, for reasons not necessary to explain here). There was one amusement which we were inabled to enjoy to our heart’s content,

in consequence of the calm and passive condition of Nature’s forces, and this was bathing in Neptune’s immense bath-tub, the Pacific Ocean. At all hours of the day, many would be seen enjoying the luxury of a bath in the warm and placid waters. The sensation of plunging headlong, or diving from the ship’s rail into the fathomless depths is, for the first time, anything but pleasant, for upon the shady side of our ship we could see below the surface a great distance. We found, upon throwing overboard an old tin plate, or any bright object, that we could keep it in sight for several minutes, until it had descended for the distance of one-eighth of a mile at least, or even much further. With this idea in mind, when standing upon the rail, all ready for a dive into this dark and bottomless abyss, one can readily imagine the peculiar sensations produced and the thoughts that flit across the mind at the moment. What if some miraculous event should occur upon diving into the deep sea, or some wonderful changes in Nature’s laws take place reversing perhaps the laws of gravitation, which should make the waters lighter and organic substances heavier! Then just imagine one’s self sinking down, down into the unfathomable waters and continuing upon the downward course, among the huge monsters who make their habitations amid the rocks and cliffs at the bottom! But after a few trials this sensation wears away, for we find that it is impossible to descend but a short distance below the surface, and that whether we will or not, we must ascend again without delay.

For two or three days, a number of our passengers indulged in this luxury of bathing, and would have continued doing so during the calm; but all things have an ending, and sea-bathing is no exception to the rule. The diversion was brought to an end by an incident which is worth mentioning. We had a passenger on board who, but a few years before, when on a voyage in the Indian Ocean, lost one of his legs in appeasing the appetite of a shark, while enjoying the luxury of a sea-bath. This young man, whose name was Measury, from Salem, Mass., acted in the capacity of sergeant at arms for us, and would allow no one to dive from the ship until well satisfied that there were no sharks in the immediate vicinity. This fact he would ascertain by throwing overboard any bright object, such as a tin cup or plate, for if there were any sharks within a reasonable distance, say one or two miles, they would be attracted towards the vessel, and could be plainly seen swimming back and forth under the ship’s keel—waiting, not like Micawber, for something to turn up, but for some unfortunate sailor to tumble overboard. If no sharks made their appearance below the ship in the space of half an hour, it was presumed that the coast was clear, and by the gate-keeper’s consent, over we would go.

We had been in bathing one day, and nearly all of us had climbed aboard, when our sergeant at arms, who was seated as usual upon the ship’s rail upon the shady side, where he could obtain a good view of the ship’s keel, was heard to cry out to those who were yet in the water, but who were, however, near the ship, and just upon the point of climbing on board.

“Quick! quick boys, for God’s sake! A shark! A shark!”

Upon looking over the side, we saw an enormous shark beneath the keel. He spied the last man who was in the water, and darted towards him. The man, however, had reached the ladder, and was soon out of danger. The shark, turning upon its back with open mouth, darted towards him, but was too late, for just at this time its career was ended. The captain who was in the cabin, heard the cry of shark, and having been a short time before sailing engaged in whale-fishing, was prepared for such an emergency. Seizing his favorite weapon, which was a harpoon all ready for use, and to which was attached a long wooden pole, suspended from ropes over head in a convenient place, he jumped upon the rail, and as the shark’s head with open mouth projected above the water with a true aim darted the harpoon into its body. The huge fish was hoisted on board, and found upon measurement to be about fifteen feet in length. What a mouth, when opened! I was reminded of it years afterwards, in passing a Mendicino Co. saw-mill, with its gang of saws all in a row, ready for business. This incident ended our pleasures of sea-bathing.

But now was the old salt’s opportunity to spin a yarn that would discount anything in the shark line, and he made the most of it. Seated upon the fore hatch, toward evening, and after taking a fresh quid he sailed in:

“Well, well! me lads, that’s a big shark; but I can tell about one that discounts him. ’Twas when I was sailing on an English packet ship in the Indian Ocean, bound for the East Indies. We had an opera company on board, bound for Calcutta.

“We were running along one day with a stiff breeze, and the

passengers were all enjoying themselves up on deck, when all at once there was a cry of man overboard. An old gentleman, one of the musicians, was seated on the lee rail a readin’, when the ship give a lurch, and away he went over the side. His son was standing near at hand, and hauling off his coat, over the side he went, to rescue his father. The ship was brought up into the wind; a boat was lowered, and blast my eyes if we didn’t cruise about in our ship’s wake for more than four hours to get a sight of the old gentleman and his son. But we searched in vain, for they had gone; only, we couldn’t tell how, just then. We did though, pretty soon; for a few days after we saw a big shark following in our wake. He was a regular man-eater, and we knew from the antics he was cutting up, that he had swallowed the old musician and his son sure enough, and was huntin’ for the balance of the opera company. Why, shipmates, the shark would jest promenade around ship, standing upon his tail; then he would balance fore and aft on his head, and go through the figures of a quadrille in good style. One of the opera boys said that the old musician was a tough customer, and maybe the shark had the colic. Another one thought that maybe he had been chasin’ a French ship, and had swallowed a French dancin’ master who had fell overboard. But we soon found out all about it, for it happened that the shark came nearer to the ship than he intended to, and one of the crew threw a harpoon into him, and we histed him on deck to have a look at him. Jest as we were gettin’ ready to throw him overboard again, one of the opera boys says ‘hush! what’s that strange noise comin’ from inside of him?’ Well, we all heard it, and to satisfy our curiosity we cut him open, and maybe, shipmates, you won’t believe me when I tell you what we seen. But right in there was the old musician, sittin’ at a pianner and playin’ the Fisher’s Hornpipe, and laying in a hammock overhead was his son, beatin’ time on a base drum.”

There is consolation in the thought that, under whatever circumstances we may be placed that are of an unpleasant nature, all things, states and conditions have an ending. In the operations of Nature’s forces, man, by his ingenuity, can direct them for his use, but cannot control. During a gale of wind, for instance, the ship, by means of the sails and rudder, can be changed or altered in her course, and at such a time how insignificant man appears in comparison with the force and power of the elements, which are far beyond his absolute control! Yet, even when the elements are in active motion, they can be made serviceable by using the proper means; but when Nature’s forces are entirely passive and the elements are at rest, it is then that man is made conscious of his utter insignificance, especially if he is on board of a sailing vessel which is floating about at random upon the ocean in a dead calm. At such a time he has no control whatever over the elements above, or of the waters below, and the vessel drifts at random in whatever direction the currents are flowing. She rises and falls with the swell of the ocean, and her sails are continually flapping against the mast as an encouragement to her patience, or as a means of quieting her anxiety. The bows, also, exhibit their intense anxiety by swinging around the circle like a chained bear, in the vain endeavor to break away from the influence of such unpleasant conditions; but the only object on board which does not conform to the random motions of the vessel, and remained, fortunately for us, constant to the forces which gave it value, was the needle in the binnacle.

The end was near, however, for upon the morning of the 14th day, away off in the distance, toward the west, was discovered a cat’s paw, a ripple upon the water, crawling silently but surely towards us upon the surface of the waters. It crawled carefully up the side of the ship, up into the rigging; and the great sails, which had been idly flapping for many days against the mast, now feel the effects of its magic influence, and, swelling with pride, endeavor to move the ship forward upon her course. The wheel, also, which for several days had been neglected and alone, lazily swinging from one side to the other, nodding and blinking beneath the scorching rays of the sun, was now aroused from its slumbers by the strong arm of a sailor, and, responding to his efforts, the bows of the ship swing gracefully around upon our course for the entrance to the Golden Gate with a fair wind, which increased with such force in a few hours that it was evident we had not only received the benefit of a cat’s paw, but that the whole animal had crawled on board, tail and all.

Late in the afternoon of September 19th, we arrived at the entrance to the Golden Gate, but only to find the sea enveloped in a dense fog, and the entrance through which we were in hope of passing at once, hidden from our view. The only resource was, in seaman’s phraseology, “to lay off” and on until morning, which we did in safety, although not without escaping in an almost miraculous manner from the greatest danger. The incident is worth relating, as it shows how it is possible, after having sailed so many thousands of miles in safety, upon arriving at your destination to meet with disaster through the ignorance of an incompetent seaman. It was the second mate’s watch on deck, the burly-headed seaman previously mentioned. About 11 P.M., as the Captain was about turning in for the night, the second mate called down the gang-way for the Captain. When asked what was wanted, he replied that right ahead, seen through the fog, was a square-rigged vessel. The Captain answered:

“Well, you know your business, of course.”

Almost instantly afterwards he again shouted:

“Captain, come quick! we are close aboard of her!”

The latter leaped from his bunk, and was upon deck in an instant, and saw at once the nationality and character of the square-rigged craft, looming up in a dense fog, immediately over our bow. He ordered the wheel hard a port, and the old ship swung readily around in the foam and swash, and within less than half a ship’s length of one of the great rocks of the Faralone Islands. In less than one minute more we would have crashed into, run afoul of, and knocked from its foundation into the deep sea beyond, one of the grandest structures of the whole group, but the presence of mind of our Captain saved it from utter destruction, as well as a few score of badly scared gold hunters. Upon the morning of the 20th, we sailed in through the Golden Gate, coming at anchor in front of the tented city of San Francisco, having made the passage from our native city to this place in the space of five months and seventeen days.

CHAPTER V.

The Arrival in San Francisco—Gold Machines—Going to the Mines—The Bullwhacker—Arrival in Hangtown—The View from the Hill.

THE city presented the appearance of a vast army encampment, and it was evident that the advance guard of Alexander’s army had arrived sure enough, and had conquered what they sought. In the contemplation of the scene as we saw it from the roof of the cook’s galley, we found deep consolation in the thought that in case the future would prove that we had travelled so many thousands of miles in search for gold, only to find upon our arrival that we had been badly sold, we were not alone at any rate. There was a grim satisfaction, therefore, in viewing the great number of vessels at anchor in the harbor from the various ports of the world, that had brought to the coast thousands of others for the same purpose.

Our voyage being ended upon our arrival in California, it is now, after upwards of forty years have passed since we sailed in through the Golden Gate, of some interest to know what has become of the passengers and crew of the old ship, and in fact of the ship also. The ship, after returning again to New Bedford, was fitted out for a whaling voyage and lost, I think in an ice pack in the Arctic Ocean. Captain Seabury, after serving for several years as master of a China steamer in the employ of the Pacific Mail Co., and also upon the Atlantic coast from New York to Aspinwall, a few years since retired from active service, and now lives in ease and comfort at his home in New Bedford. Of the passengers, there are but three of us at present remaining upon the Pacific Coast. Many of them died here. The greater portion of them returned to their Eastern homes; but a few of them are now left, and of all that number of gold hunters, not one of them succeeded in his anticipations of filling a pork barrel with the precious metal and but a small portion of them in filling an old boot-leg, or a beer-bottle, with the same.

It is necessary to explain here, that the ingenuity of many mechanics in the far-off Atlantic States had been exercised in the construction of various devices for the extraction of gold from the sand and soil which were, unfortunately, mixed with it. Our passengers, having full faith in their great value and efficacy, had brought quite a number of such machines with them. They were of all varieties and patterns; made of copper, iron, zinc and brass. Some of them were to be worked by a crank; others, more pretentious, having two cranks; whilst another patent gold washer, more economical and efficient, worked with a treadle. One variety was upright, requiring the miner to stand while using it. Still another, the inventor of which being of a more benevolent and humane temperament, was arranged in such a manner that the poor tired miner could sit in his arm-chair and take his comfort as he worked it.

One machine requires special mention. It was in the shape of a huge fanning mill, with sieves properly arranged for assorting the gold ready for bottling. All chunks too large for the bottle would be consigned to the pork barrel. This immense machine which, during our passage, excited the envy and jealously of all who had not the means and opportunity of securing a similar one, required of course the services of a hired man to turn the crank, whilst the proprietor would be busily engaged in shovelling in the pay dirt and pumping water; the greater portion of the time, however, being required, as was firmly believed in the corking of the bottles and fitting heads to the pork barrels. This machine was owned by a Mr. Allen, from Cambridge, Mass., who brought with him from that renowned head-center of learning, a colored servant who was to manage and control the crank portion of the invaluable institution; and so sanguine were all passengers in regard to the nature and value of the various machines for the purposes of saving, or for the extraction of gold, that apparently nothing but actual trial could convince them to the contrary.

Their faith in all kinds of mining machinery was put to the test sooner than expected; for upon landing, we found lying upon the sand and half buried in the mud, hundreds of similar machines, bearing silent witness at once to the value of our gold-saving machinery, without the necessity of a trial. Of course ours were also deposited carefully and tenderly upon the sandy beach, from where, in a short time, they were washed into deep water, making amusement for the shrimps, clams, and crabs, which were no doubt under the impression that some unfortunate Italian vessel, with a cargo of hand-organs, had foundered in the locality. It was reported soon after, that the crew of a Dutch vessel that passed near Rincon Rock close by one dark and foggy night, saw distinctly a group of sea nymphs seated upon it, and that each one of them was engaged in turning the crank of what appeared to be some kind of a musical instrument. Old Neptune was seen standing in their midst as leader of the orchestra, keeping time with his sluice fork.

We saw scattered around among the bushes near the shore, also, a great number of trunks, chests, and valises of all sizes, and the most of them containing clothing of all descriptions, in many cases of value. These had all been thrown aside as useless encumbrances by their owners, who had started for the mines, being unable to pay the extra freight charged upon them.

We found that no wharves had yet been constructed, and the tide being out, it was somewhat difficult to land without wallowing through a short distance of very dark mud.

One of the sights which attracted our attention was a newly-constructed sidewalk, commencing at the building at that time occupied by Simmons, Hutchinson & Co., and extending in the direction of Adams & Co’s. express office, for a distance of about seventy-five yards, I think. In any other portion of the earth except California, this sidewalk would have been considered a very extravagant piece of work, hardly excelled by the golden pavements in the new Jerusalem. The first portion of the walk was constructed of Chilean flour, in one hundred pound sacks, and which in one place had been pressed down nearly out of sight in the soft mud. Then followed a long row of large cooking stoves, over which it was necessary to carefully pick your way, as some of the covers had been accidentally thrown off. Beyond these again, and which completed the walk, was a double row of boxes of tobacco, of large size. Although this style of walk may seem very extravagant, even to an old pioneer, yet at that time sacks of Chilean flour, cooking stoves, tobacco, and pianos were the cheapest materials to be found, for lumber was in the greatest demand, selling in some instances at $600 per M., whilst the former articles, in consequence of the great supply, were of little value.

The town presented a strange scene. There were but few buildings; but the surrounding hills were covered with tents scattered promiscuously about, without regard to method or order.

Business of all kinds was lively, and although coin was scarce, yet gold dust answered every purpose.

Gambling houses and bar-rooms were numerous for the accommodation of citizens; but the former, for the accomodation, more especially, of the miners, who were daily arriving from the mines, and who could be seen coming from the landing place toward Adams & Co.’s express office with their sacks of gold dust, to be sold or forwarded to their friends in the East. Many, however, were forced to return again to the mines in a few days, after having struck bedrock in one of the gambling houses, in their curiosity to discover upon which end of the tiger its tail was hung; and they generally made the discovery.

We found the cost of living in the city very high, although certain articles, as flour, for instance, were plentiful and cheap. Meals at the restaurants were from one to two dollars. One of our passengers had about 80 pounds of sweet potatoes, which he sold readily for one dollar per pound, and also a few orangers which he sold for one dollar each.

The following bill of fare gives an idea of the cost of living:

BILL OF FARE.—WARD HOUSE.

An observation of the crowds of persons continually arriving in great numbers and crowding into the new city proved them to be men of an active and energetic character, who had come for a certain specific purpose, and were determined to accomplish it by all possible legitimate means; but varied, of course, as to the manner, or methods of accomplishment. We found that a portion only of those who entered the Golden Gate had any desire to extract their share of gold from the mines, but were content to remain in San Francisco, believing that the flow of gold to the City would enable them to gather in a fair pro rata of it in some business enterprise.

The monotony of a long and tedious sea voyage being now at an end, the real business, or the object contemplated in making such a voyage now commenced. We have entered upon new scenes, and a change of condition, with all of its strange events and varying incidents.

A company of us—twenty-three in number—came for the special purpose of mining, and all preparations for the proper working of such an enterprise had been made previous to sailing. We had purchased all necessary tools and instruments for the purpose in view. For these reasons, we did not linger in San Francisco longer than was necessary; but began immediately the work of putting together the materials of a large scow, or barge, which we had brought with us.

Upon this, when complete, we placed our effects, and with a fair wind and tide in our favor, started on our journey towards Sacramento City, at which place we arrived upon the fourth day out from San Francisco. At this place, after making a proper division of our provisions, tools, and instruments, we dissolved co-partnership as a company, each and every one going to such a mining district as best suited his inclination, or at which place, in his opinion, were to be found the richest mines. We learned here that rich gold mines had been discovered in several places besides Coloma, the point of original discovery by Marshall. Among them were Hangtown, Greenwood, Kelsey, Georgetown, and Mormon Island. The latter mining camp, located upon the American River about twenty miles east of Sacramento City, was the spot where our ex-Senator, John Connors, first engaged in the mining industry in August, ’49. Further north were Auburn and numerous bars upon the South and Middle forks of the American River, as well as other good mining localities in a southern direction. Sacramento City being the point of departure for all mining localities so far discovered, presented a very lively scene, and almost daily could be seen long strings of men on their way to the mines, carrying upon their backs their roll of blankets, on the top of which would be fastened certain cooking utensils and other conveniences. After selling off all stock, utensils, scow, tent and other things belonging to the company which could not be divided, we made a division of proceeds, and then every man was for himself.

Two others and myself formed a company, and after deciding upon the mining camp which we should visit, we employed a Pike county bullwhacker who agreed to deliver us and our effects in Hangtown for a certain consideration, payment invariably in advance. We accepted the offer, and in a few hours were on our way to Hangtown.

Captain Pike, as we christened him, had full control of his craft, being captain, cook, and all hands; running into port and camping when and wherever he pleased. He was a tall, powerful man, and carried an ox gad, which was about twelve feet in length, and large in proportion, to which was attached a lash made of raw-hide, long and large enough for a ship’s back-stay. With this he would urge

his cattle forward by whacking it over their backs occasionally when they were very tired; but, in general, this was unnecessary, for the crack of it, which made a report like a gun, was a sufficient inducement for them to hurry up. This rare breed of bullwhackers has now become almost entirely extinct in California. More gentle, as well as more humane, means of driving cattle have been introduced from the far east, and it may not be out of place here to illustrate this by an incident which occurred only a few months later.

A bullwhacker, with his four yoke of cattle, was driving up over the hill from Hangtown, on his way to Sacramento City. The hill was long and in some places quite steep, and the road was very crooked, winding among and around the trees. On the side of the hill was a log cabin in which were living a company of miners from the State of Vermont. The ox driver stopped in front of the cabin for a rest, and the Vermonters laughed at and ridiculed his method of driving cattle with such a monster whip, used in such a cruel manner; but Pike said that:

“Them air cattle couldn’t be driv any other way.”

One of the boys, however, made a bet with him that he would, by the use of a little switch only, sit in the empty wagon and drive his team to the top of the hill, without accident or running against the trees. Pike accepted the bet, and with the rest of them got into the wagon.

The Yank, as Pike called him, cut a light switch, and after getting the oxen well started under way, took his seat upon the front of the wagon, and in that manner drove them to the top of the hill without any trouble whatever, to the great astonishment of the bullwhacker, as well as to the cattle too, no doubt.

“Well,” says Pike, “if that don’t beat anything I ever heerd tell on. I hev seen um drive a heap of cattle in old Missouri, but never seen it done with a little baby gad like that before. Blamed if I don’t try it myself; you Yanks beat thunder.”

I have neglected to mention that, before leaving Sacramento for the mines, many who had been up there were now returning on their way home again, if they could get there, being disappointed in their expectations, and declaring that it was all a fraud, but little gold being found anyhow, and then only, as one of them told me confidentially, after you had to dig away down in the hard ground three or four feet to find it. This, of course, was not very encouraging news for men who had sailed around Cape Horn, and then to find that it was all a fraud; but we started on, however, as before stated, for the mines.

We passed many on their way down who had become discouraged and homesick. Among them were two or three acquaintances of mine who had been into the mines about two weeks, and were now returning to the East. They explained the state of affairs, saying that there was but little gold to be found, and that it required very hard and laborious work in the hot sun to get it, and very dirty work, too, as it was away down out of sight in the mud. They, therefore, advised all acquaintances whom they met to return with them.

We concluded, however, to continue on and see with our own eyes what the chances were, and if these men who were on the way home had really spoken the truth. It required many years to find this out; and if the great majority of miners who are now mining, and others who mined many long years, were asked their opinion in relation to it, they would be unanimous in their conclusion that these men did come near telling the truth, although unconscious of the fact at the time.

It seems to have been the opinion of many who came into California soon after the discovery of gold, that the rich metal was to be found upon the surface of the ground, and that it could be very easily scraped up and cleaned from the dirt. Consequently, there was much disappointment upon finding that it was necessary to dig in the mud and water for it. When engaged in mining, soon after, near the road many emigrants who had crossed the plains with their ox teams would stop alongside of the road and watch the process of mining. Upon one occasion an emigrant inquired:

“Wall, now, and is thet the way you fellers hes to do to get the derned stuff?”

When informed that such was the method necessary to get it, he remarked:

“Yas; well, then, I don’t keer for none in mine. Gee haw, buck, jest go lang thar!”

And for this reason hundreds passed through the mining region to the valleys below.

About noon of the fourth day from Sacramento we crossed over the hill, from the summit of which the town, with its log cabins and tents, was visible below. We descended to near the foot of the hill, where we unloaded our effects among a cluster of pines. From this point we had a full view of the creek and portions of the various ravines, where we saw hundreds of busy men hard at work with pick and shovel. From the busy scene a spectator, who was unaware of the object of this laborious work, would imagine that an army had encamped in the locality and were at work in the trenches.

My native town was well represented, there being at this time about three hundred there from New Bedford who had sailed around

the Horn. I found many acquaintances among them, and all appeared to be cheerful and confident of success in their new business. I should judge, after looking about and among the various flats, creeks, ravines and gulches for a few days, that at this time there were about four thousand persons altogether in town and in the immediate vicinity, but only about half of them, however, were engaged in mining. The latter class was composed, at this early day, almost entirely of citizens of the United States, although there were a few from other countries, and all kinds of trades and professions were represented.

Here at work in the mud and water, with his gold spectacles and kid gloves, was a lawyer. Near him was a physician with his pants in his boots, sporting a plug hat. Here could be found clerks, bankers, storekeepers, barbers, hotel waiters, sea captains and mates, hotel-keepers and congressmen, nearly all from the New England States, who had come around Cape Horn to seek their fortunes.

Upon a slight elevation two well-dressed men were hard at work; they were lawyers from the city of New York, and were styled the dandy miners; they continued mining for several months and succeeded in making a very respectable fortune.

Upon the arrival of the first gold seekers in the summer and fall of ’49 houses were, of course, unnecessary. Those who were fortunate enough to be the owners of tents occupied them, but the greater portion made their camps in the shade of the trees. As winter drew near, however, it was evident that other means of shelter would be necessary, consequently log cabins were constructed around among the ravines and gulches in all suitable localities convenient to a spring of water. Wood for fuel was, of course, plenty. Lumber for building purposes was scarce and very dear. All household furniture, such as chairs, tables, etc., was constructed in the most primitive style, often from old barrels and boxes when convenient.

Much ingenuity was displayed by various ones in the construction of these household necessities, but more especially in the case of chairs. The miner’s easy chair, which he loved to take his comfort in after the work of the day was over, was usually made from an empty flour barrel, being cut out in the proper manner and made with rockers. Some, who possessed more aristocratic tendencies, would have these chairs lined and stuffed in good style, and they were pronounced very comfortable and equal to anything that could be bought in New York or Boston.

One remarkable fact was noticed at this early day in relation to the habits of the forty-niners, when we take into consideration their isolated condition, away from the influences of civilized society, and that was in the observance of the Sabbath, for, as a general rule, all Eastern men especially were true to their early training, and rested from their labor, or rather from their mining labors. It was upon this day that all mending and washing was done, and other little necessary household duties attended to, for it must be remembered that the washwoman had not put in an appearance yet, but she was, however, on the way.

On Sunday afternoons the clothes lines would be seen filled with a great assortment of woolen goods, socks, etc., the one thing needful to give all the appearance of a more advanced condition of civilization, however, was wanting, viz.: the “biled shirt,” which came later, and was contemporaneous with woman.

As before mentioned, the chief amusement upon Sunday afternoons with the great majority was in lounging around the various saloons and gambling-houses; but to many, however, this part of the day was devoted to visiting the cabins of each other. There were many good singers to be found among the ravines and gulches, and upon pleasant moonlight evenings could be heard the notes of “Ben Bolt” from the boys who occupied the cabin on the hill above, while from another cabin in the ravine could be heard the refrain of “Do They Miss Me at Home,” or “Sweet Home.” Some, also, could be heard singing the songs we used to hear of, “Life on the Ocean Wave,” “The Last Rose of Summer,” or, perhaps, “Old Dan Tucker,” all to be concluded by the singing of “Old Hundred,” “Siloam,” and “Coronation,” and other tunes of a similar character.

There were also many good musicians to be found among the miners. Many of them had brought their instruments with them, and often at night could be heard echoing from the ravines and cañons the sounds of the fiddle, flute, accordeon and clarionet. One young man from Boston had brought with him his favorite instrument, the bugle, and when perched above upon the summit of a hill overlooking the town upon pleasant moonlight evenings, the strains of “Oft in the Stilly Night,” “The Emigrant’s Lament,” or the martial strains of “The Red, White and Blue,” or “The Star Spangled Banner,” from his bugle, would be heard echoing far and near, among the ravines and gulches, and hailed by all with the greatest delight.

CHAPTER VI.

Business in the Mines—The Various Mining Camps—Physicians in Camp—Dr. Rankin—Coloma—Process of Mining—The ’49 Emigration—Sauerkraut—Female Influence Illustrated.

WE found on arriving in Hangtown quite a number of business houses, stocked with a very good assortment of provisions and nearly all other articles for miner’s use. The merchants, as well as I can remember, were Thomas & Young; W. T. Coleman; Sayward & Thorndike; Judge Russel; Mr. Job; Judge Daniells; C. Williams, while a short distance above upon the bank of the creek were the stores of Frost, Brewster & Price, and just below town was the store of the Governor.

There were three hotels in town: one large log-cabin, used for a hotel, was called the Eldorado, and owned by Mr. Eltsner; another one was kept by J. Adams, and the third by Col. Backus. The most numerous business houses in town were, however, the saloons and gambling houses.

At Cold Springs, a few miles below Hangtown, was located a mining camp, at this time consisting of a cluster of tents used for saloons and for gambling houses, and one provision store, owned by Burgess & Hill.

On the road towards Coloma, at the mining camp called Kelsy, named after the man who discovered the placer mines here, were also two stores with the usual complement of saloons. At Coloma, which is situated upon the South Fork of the American River, we found a number of stores and saloons, whilst just below this camp were the old saw mill and tail race, where Marshall found the nugget of gold which has been the means of revolutionizing society and changing social conditions among us, as well as settling up the whole Pacific coast in so short a space of time.

Across the river could also be seen at this time, the name of John T. Little in large letters, on the side of an extensive warehouse. This, with other various signs, informed the mining community that here could be found all kinds of mining supplies, and that the highest price was paid for gold dust. Following the road past Mr. Little’s store, up over the mountain towards the middle fork of the American River, we found several camps where rich mines had been discovered. At Coloma down towards the old mill was the store of Shannon & Cady, and near to this were the stores of Perkins & Co., Tailor & Co., and also the gun and ammunition store of F. Beckhart. Of the business men, there are now living Thomas & Young, W. T. Coleman, Mr. Darlington, who is at the present time in business at Placerville; Mr. Thorndike; Judge Russell: Mr. Caples, Mr. Price, and I think, Mr. Brewster, all of Hangtown. Mr. J. T. Little and Mr. Beckhart are both residing at the present time also in San Francisco, and no doubt many of the early business men are yet living in the East, or in some remote corner of the earth.

Of the physicians who were residing in the mining regions at this early day, a number of them are yet living; and as far as I know these are Dr. Bacon of Coloma; Dr. Clark, who is now residing at Stockton; Dr. Worthen, and I was informed that Dr. Ober is at the present time living east of the Rockies. We found also in the town five or six physicians, among the most prominent of whom were Dr. Wakefield, Dr. Kunkler, Dr. Ober, and Dr. Worthen, who is at the present time engaged in his profession and residing in the same old locality. There were Dr. Rankin, also, who had an extensive practice, and Dr. Clark.

In connection with Dr. Rankin, an amusing incident which occurred in the fall of ’49 may not be out of place here. The doctor was a Southerner by birth, and one of the old school, as his style of dress, which consisted of a white fur plug hat, blue coat with brass buttons, a buff-colored vest with trowsers to match, indicated. Upon certain occasions he sported a frill shirt front as well. Dressed in this style, he went one day astride his favorite Bucephalus, to visit a patient a few miles from town. It had been raining recently, and the road upon which he was travelling was house deep with soft yellow mud. He passed on his way a tall, large, raw-boned Scotchman, carrying upon his shoulder a sack of flour, and as he passed the pedestrian the doctor remarked that wallowing through the deep mud with a load like that must be tough work.

“Well,” retorted the Scotchman, “and that’s me ain business; and hed I ye doon here, me mon, I wad wallow ye in the mud, too.”

“You would, would you,” says the doctor, at the same time leaping from his horse, and landing knee-deep in the mud alongside of the Scotchman.

The latter laid down his burden upon a log, and seizing the doctor by the nape of the neck and seat of his pants, he raised him up and dropped him in the deepest part of a mud-hole. The doctor wasn’t long in getting out, and mounting his horse was soon on his way home, remarking to the valiant Scot as he turned to leave:

“Well, now, Scotty, you done that weel.”

“It was about sixteen years afterwards that the doctor was sitting in the bar-room of the What Cheer House, in Sacramento City, and in company with a few others, talking of old times. During the conversation he related how the tall Scotchman had rolled him in the yellow mud, and how he looked as though he had been run through a miner’s ground sluice. Sitting tipped back in a chair at the side of the room was an old farmer, half asleep, but listening very attentively to the reminiscences of old times. When the doctor commenced relating the incident as above, the old farmer raised upon his feet, and at the conclusion stepped up, and placing his hand upon the Doctor’s shoulder, remarked:

“Yas, doc’, and ye told me, ye remember, that I doon it weel, too.”

Of course the doctor was somewhat astonished, as well as pleased also, to meet his old antagonist, and again acknowledge once more that he doon it weel at any rate.

Handshaking and the usual refreshments followed, as a matter of course.

The town, or village, of Coloma, is situated upon the south branch of the American River; it was here that gold was first found by Marshall; the old mill where he worked is still standing. Mr. Marshall resided here during his life, living in a small cabin upon the side hill, a portion of which he had planted with vines and fruit trees. The first mining, of course, was done here, and this location constituted the germ or nucleus from which radiated all other mining localities, for it was from this point that the prospectors started out in various directions in the search for other mines. Some of the prospectors took a southerly course and found the rich deposits among the ravines of what is now called Hangtown creek. Others found Kelsey’s, Spanish dry diggings, and further north they ran afoul of Georgetown and Greenwood, each locality deriving its name, when found, from some circumstance, event, or from the name of the finder. By the time of the arrival of the first gold seekers, who came via Cape Horn, hundreds of new locations had been made and named around the immediate vicinity of Coloma, and by the 1st of December, ’49 the country had been traveled over and prospected, from Coloma to the Slanislau River on the south, and up to the Yuba River on the north, and valuable mines found for over a hundred miles in both directions.

Before commencing the business of mining, our little company concluded first to build a residence, which we constructed of logs in the regulation style, with chimney in the rear, the front door opposite, and after stowing away pots, pans and kettles in their proper places, putting up bunks with all the necessary arrangements of curtains, out-riggers, etc., a few more blows with the hammer here and there made us master of the situation, or of the castle, at least.

After finishing our residence, we started in to the business of mining, for which we had traveled nearly half way around the globe. In a large ravine near at hand, called Oregon Ravine, as it was first found by a man from that State, we determined to make our first effort. There were at work in the same locality about two hundred others. The method of mining was of the most primitive character. The dirt would be dug down to the bed-rock and thrown to one side, as the dirt and gravel in immediate contact with the bed-rock, including the surface of the latter also, was all that was considered of any value. This was put into sacks and packed upon our backs down to the creek, where the gold was separated from it by panning. Many, however, would spread their pay dirt upon the ground, and when it was thoroughly dry would winnow it out by pouring it from the pan to the ground, the wind, when strong enough, answering a very good purpose. This was the style of mining as practiced by the Mexicans and also the Chileans, but it was a very slow process, and would only pay when no water could be found.

From the hill above, it was a strange sight to see men of all classes and from every State in the Union thus clustered together upon one spot in common, and all inspired with the one desire, i. e., to dig gold. All hard at work in the mud and water, with pick and shovel, each one determined to do his level best to get all he could in the shortest time possible.

Over in that ravine yonder is a crowd of Yankees from Maine and Vermont, with a leavening of a few Missourians and Kentuckians. In that large ravine to the right are three or four hundred hard-working, earnest, gold seekers from Massachusetts and New

York, and from Connecticut and Ohio, as well as a few from Georgia, Arkansas and Old Virginia. Upon that extensive flat below, the great crowd at work is of a more cosmopolitan character, being composed of men from all States in nearly equal proportions. But few are noticed at present hailing from the Southern States, except those of a sporting character, who will be found among the saloons and gambling houses. Among these, a few of the old style Southern politicians, who are dressed in regulation blue dress-coat, with its great brass buttons, and a white plug hat, can be seen daily promenading around from place to place, with the crooked cane hanging upon the arm. The emigration across the plains in the fall of 1849 was estimated to be about 25,000. But a small proportion of them, however, remained in the mining regions. The greater number of them being farmers, passed through to make their homes in the valleys below.

Much has been said and written in relation to the arrival of the first young ladies in the mines; but the very first young ladies who made their appearance in the mining regions of California arrived at this time. They were the daughters of Mrs. Stuart, from the State of Illinois. Their father died during the journey across the plains. They arrived in Hangtown about the middle of September, returning again to their Eastern homes sometime during the summer or autumn of ’50.

There were many women and children in the emigration of this season, and in consequence of the scarcity of feed for the teams, many of them were compelled to trudge along through the sandy desert and over the steep and rough mountain roads, for hundreds of miles.

One family to arrive at this time was that of Dr. Kunkler, with his wife and son, who was about six years of age, and an incident in relation to them is worthy of record. An accident happened to the doctor through which he was unable to travel on foot, and was consequently obliged to ride in the wagon. They were traveling with an ox-team, and for this reason, the accident to him was very unfortunate, since it was absolutely necessary for one of the party to walk alongside of the team for a part of the time, especially when traveling among the hills. Mrs. Kunkler was a French lady, and born in the city of Paris. She was of slight build, delicate in appearance, and unaccustomed to such hardships; but it was now absolutely necessary that she should take charge of the ox team, for a time at least. All emigrants who cross the plains are well aware that this is a very difficult duty to perform, even for a man. To attend to and hunt the cattle, cook and wait upon the sick and the children also, and to make ready for a start again—all of this the delicate French lady attended to in good style, and walked alongside of her team (for over 800 miles) which she managed like a veteran, arriving in Hangtown in August, ’49, in the best of health and spirits.

The doctor and his wife have both crossed to the other side; but the son, having inherited the profession of the father, practiced in San Francisco until a short time ago, when he also joined the great majority.

Quite a number of slaves from Tennessee and Kentucky were brought across the plains during this year, and were taken into the mines by their masters. This kind of mining by slave labor did not, however, prove a success, and was soon abandoned. One man from Tennessee, brought his slaves, three in number, into Hangtown and located in a small gulch near Spanish Ravine. The claim which they worked was rich, and the master was happy, although his happiness was of short duration, for he was very much astonished at the close of one very pleasant day, when, as he went to take possession of the gold dust which had been washed out during the day, he was politely informed by his rebellious subjects to “Jess take his hands off from dat ar gold dust, as it belonged to dem.”

He was further informed that “Dey was now in a free country and slaves no mor’; but if Massa was willin’ to come in and work with em on sheers he could do so.”

He endeavored to reason with the boys, but in vain. He told them that he would appeal to the law, which he finally did; but with no better success, and he returned in disgust to Tennessee leaving his slaves masters of the field, as well as of themselves.

Two slaves worked in the Spring of ’50 in Log Cabin Ravine, now Bedford ave. They were from the city of Louisville, Ky., and owned by a very prominent physician at that place. The doctor had furnished his two slaves with a good team and all necessary supplies, and had sent them forth to earn their freedom, the agreement being that when they had forwarded to him the sum of twenty-three hundred dollars in gold, the master in return would send them their “freedom papers.” They were informed that they were free men, and it was unnecessary to send money to purchase their freedom; but they were firm in their purpose to do just as they had agreed with their master, and since he had trusted in their word they should not disappoint him, and they did not. The money was sent to their master through Adams & Co.’s Express, and in due time they received their papers. In a few months afterwards they forwarded to their late master the sum of eight hundred dollars also, as the price of their sister’s freedom, and in the fall of ’50 she met her brothers in Hangtown with her papers of deliverance in her pocket.

There were no cradles or toms at this time in the mines, for the reason that there was no water; but with the first rains, cradles made their appearance, and towards Spring long toms were used, but regular sluices did not come into use until a year later. The first hole that we dug after having measured off and staked our claims, fifteen feet square to each man, in accordance with the miners’ law, gave us the gold very fine, and by the advice of a few veteran miners who had followed the business off and on for nearly eight days, we moved to other vacant spots nearer to the center of the ravine (Oregon Ravine), where we found the gold much coarser and easier to save. It was the custom for miners to get out to work as early in the morning as possible, usually about eight o’clock, and we quit work about four P.M. This gave us sufficient time to finish our evening meal, and to dress up, ready for a long evening, lounging through the various gambling houses and seeing the sights in town, which, however, at this early day were not to be compared in number or in gorgeousness with those of a year later. The chief pleasure, however, among us was in visiting the cabins of each other, and listening to the old yarns from the seafaring men, or in tasting of some of their favorite dishes, which they had learned to manufacture out on the ocean; such for instance as “dundefunk,” “lobsconce,” and a variety of others; to hear the various opinions expressed upon the subject of cooking. It gave us the impression that cooking was one of the fine arts, and that the only object in life or the chief aim in existence was to eat. Of course we, the novices in the art, soon became quite expert in the chemical combination necessary for dundefunk, lobsconce, hard and soft tack, etc., and in a short time were able to boast of our dexterity, also, in whirling a flapjack up through the chimney and catching it again in our frying pan, right side up, by holding the latter out doors on the other side of the house.

It was customary, also, among many of the miners to play all kinds of practical jokes upon each other, and one amusement, in particular, was to place a flat stone, or board, upon the top of a chimney, and then to be near at hand in the morning when the victims were trying to cook their breakfast amidst the smoke, occasionally coming to the door with the tears streaming down their cheeks, swearing until all nature around looked blue. They would assert that some “infernal sea cook” had come in the night and stolen the draught, or had turned the chimney “tother end up.” It didn’t take long, however, to discover the cause, and then the remark was “that Nantucket sea cook of a Tom Ferney done it,” they knew.

It is necessary to explain here, as it may be the means of giving a wrong impression in relation to the habits of the old-timers, to elucidate what is meant by the boys dressing up after the day’s work

was done. In all civilized societies the expression “to dress up” signifies to change, or to alter one’s general appearance by the donning of “a biled shirt,” store clothes and a plug hat, perhaps. There was no necessity, however, in the mines for being very particular about the style. It is true that at this time there would be found occasionally one who would shave or trim up his whiskers and even don a fancy necktie, but he was looked upon with suspicion. His ancestors were sporting men, probably, and he had inherited the tendency. There was not, in the opinion of these old-timers, any necessity or use in dressing up in “store clothes” or “biled shirts.” The “dress up,” therefore, to which I had reference, consisted of washing the face and hands, taking a fresh cud of fine cut (Mrs. Miller’s brand), or donning a clay pipe, well stocked.

All of my readers, perhaps, have during their lives many times read of or heard discussed the old worn-out subject of “female influence,” but it is but very seldom that any of us are enabled to see the effect of the absence of woman so practically illustrated as it was in the mines. For the first two years, or up to the arrival of the emigration from across the plains in the fall of ’50, the condition of the mining population, especially their carelessness in regard to appearances, mode of life, and habits in general, showed conclusively that man, when alone, and deprived of that influence which the presence of woman only can produce, would in a short time degenerate into a savage and barbarous state.

At this time, also, there was but little necessity for law, except to restrain the vicious element among the few Mexican horse-thieves, who had found their way into the mining regions, but this class, Judge Lynch dealt with in a very summary style, and they soon became scarce. No standing army or armed force of policemen were required to protect the rights of the forty-niners, for they were, as a general rule, a class who respected law and order, as well as the rights of others, and illustrated the fact that among a class of men who are disposed to do what is right, with no desire to injure or trespass upon the rights of others, no law for their government or control is really necessary. It is very true, however, that in the cases of many who had occupied high positions in church organizations in the East, upon finding themselves thus placed, afar from all restraint and church influences, did reveal their true nature by falling from grace and practicing habits that were strictly prohibited by ecclesiastical law. Yet these were the exceptions, only; not the rule. We were, of course, under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Government; but no laws could be put into force or executed as no officers had been appointed for the purpose. We elected, however, an Alcalde, according to the Mexican custom, who decided all cases occurring in relation to the disputes among miners. All cases of a criminal nature were decided by a committee of the whole, a jury for the purpose being chosen from the mining community, and all criminals being granted a fair and impartial trial.

But a change soon took place in our political affairs, for upon November 13th, 1849, the constitution of the Territory was adopted, and Peter H. Burnett was elected our first Governor.

The election to vote upon the adoption of the constitution and for Governor in this portion of the mining region was held in the hotel of Col. Bachus, Hangtown, and the border element was very strongly opposed to the whole business, claiming that we did not require law and order, constitution or Governor either; that we were getting along well enough without them; if the Yanks undertook to play any sich nonsense they would be sorry for it; they made some show of resistance, but when they saw that the Yanks were in dead earnest, and had come to the place of voting well armed and prepared to maintain law and order, they very reluctantly departed in disgust and the constitution was adopted unanimously.

The first persons hung in California subsequent to the gold discovery, were two Mexicans and an American. They were hung for horse stealing and robbery during the fall of ’48, in Hangtown, and it was from this fact that the mining camp derived its name, and although the camp has enjoyed the unenviable reputation of being the place where many murderers and horse-thieves have been kindly laid to rest by the citizens, in committees of the whole, yet only one other individual was ever hung by the citizens of the place, and that was Irish Dick, a young gambler, who was executed in the fall of ’50 for murder. A jury, composed of miners, was chosen; he was granted a fair trial, declared guilty, and sentenced to be hung from the old oak tree which stood upon the side of the hill across the creek, at 2 P.M. of the same day. He requested permission to leap from the limb of the tree, head foremost; but this favor, of course, could not be granted since it did not conform to the law, and would be a very barbarous proceeding, as well as a bad precedent to establish, for in some parts of the country the trees were very small.

The first rainstorm in the fall of ’49 occurred October 13th. It was a shower lasting but a few hours, and continuing in this manner throughout the winter months with light showers, but enough, however, for the working of cradles; and now was inaugurated the process of mining in a more business-like and profitable manner.

Claims, which by the panning process yielded daily but an ounce or so, now gave down, by the use of the cradle, from one to ten ounces, and in some cases even double the last amount. The richest part of any ravine or gulch, was, of course, near the center, or where the water course had deposited the greatest quantity, consequently the first miners would confine their work chiefly to such portions of a ravine, and those who came after would work nearer the banks, where the gold was usually finer and much lighter. By the use of this machine very high wages could be made from gravel, which would not pay to pan.

As winter approached, emigrants who had come by steamer and across the Isthmus of Panama, as well as “around the Horn,” now commenced to arrive in great numbers, and not being satisfied with the prospects of the camp scattered about in various directions over the country in the search for new mines. Soon other towns and camps were started; some very rich and valuable placer mines being discovered in the vicinity of Hangtown. Great excitement prevailed, and at this period of its history Hangtown contained almost as large a population as the chief city of the country, San Francisco, and a year later Eldorado was called the banner county. The winter following passed without the occurrence of any events in this portion of the country worth relating. The rains were light, with but little snow, and the weather warm. Towards spring news was received that rich mines had been found farther north. From this fact it was concluded that all the gold had originally been washed down from the north by floods or brought down by glacial action; consequently, the mines would be richer as you advanced toward the North Pole. This belief was almost universal among the mining classes, and some were so sanguine that such would prove to be the case, that one miner offered to bet, “that if yer’d only go fur enough to the north yer’d find ther gold all coined and sacked up, ready for shipping.” Great preparations were therefore made for leaving the old worked-out mining regions in the central portions of the State, and towards the spring of ’50 the stampede commenced for the Yuba, Bear River, and other rich mining camps at the north.

CHAPTER VII.

The Kanakas—The Dry Diggin’s Deserted—Admission of the State—Scarcity of Reading Matter—The Cost of Letter Postage—The Ingenious Bartender—Prices of Drinks—Celebrating the Fourth of July—Hard Characters.

EARLY in the Spring of ’50, a number of Kanakas from the Sandwich Islands came up into the mines; but being of an amphibious nature, they concluded to prospect the bed of the South Fork of the American River. They found a depression in the bed of this river some fifty yards in length and about fifteen feet deep. After a little prospecting, they concluded that there was enough gold in that cavity to satisfy them, and they proceeded to work the same in the most primitive style. They procured a number of empty kegs to which rocks and ropes were attached. These were sunk at the most favorable points, and the Kanakas, by diving down, would shovel the sand into them. They were hauled up and the sand was washed in cradles in the usual manner. But this deep cavity, like many others upon the various rivers, contained but little gold, as was afterwards discovered by a company that bought out the Kanakas, for upon pumping out the water by the use of water-wheels, not enough gold was found to pay the expense of working it.

The fact that the deep holes and depressions found in the river beds of California contained but little gold was a singular discovery, and an unaccountable phenomenon to the miners, for, owing to the great specific gravity of gold, it should always settle to the lowest places, and it is upon this principle that the miner is enabled to make use of the cradle and sluices for the saving of gold. For such reasons it was hard to explain why the greatest quantities should be found on the higher riffles in our river beds and the less amount in the deep cavities. The only explanation of this phenomenon, in my opinion, is that these deep depressions found in the river beds were scooped out by glacial action after the gold had been deposited there.

About the middle of April in the spring of ’50, the central mining regions were almost entirely deserted. All business had ceased, and within a radius of ten miles, where hundreds of miners were hard at work but two or three months before, not more than six or eight remained. In the creek, for a distance of four miles from the upper part of Hangtown, to the village of Cold Springs, a distance of about five miles, but four miners were at work, all doing well, and two of them to my knowledge, were washing out daily from six to fifteen ounces. All hands had struck out for better diggings. Did they find them? A few, perhaps, but the greater portion of them, who returned to their old mines in autumn, and found their claims occupied by others, concluded that they rather missed it. The rains being over by the last of April, mining with cradles through the summer season was impossible, except in a few localities. In some cases dirt was conveyed by ox teams and other means of transportation to where it could be washed, and other miners again would throw up their pay dirt on the bank, ready for washing in the fall.

During the summer, an excitement was occasioned by the wish and desire of all Eastern men, or Yankees (for at that time all persons from any point east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio were called “Yanks” by all those who came from States west of it), for the admission of the State into the Union. And the State was admitted into the Union on September 9th, 1850. From this day, everything seemed to undergo an entire change, and instead now of being a resident thousands of miles from home in a foreign land, we had by an act of Congress been transferred, as if by magic, into our own country, under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. Officers were now elected, and the machinery of a State Government put into motion. Posters could be found tacked upon the trees, stating that certain candidates for the various offices would honor our town by exhorting from a stump, or from the top of a whiskey barrel, upon the topics of the day, and what they would do if elected. Other candidates followed in proper time and order.

I forgot to mention that towards spring, in consequence of the bad conditions of the roads to Sacramento City, the prices of all eatables advanced to fabulous figures: flour at one time selling at $1 per lb., molasses and vinegar $2 a bottle, potatoes $1.50 per lb., and other provisions in proportion. An Ames’ shovel was worth at this time $16, and a good pair of heavy boots from $40 to $50; but, with the opening of spring all was changed, and provisions were as cheap as in any other portion of the State.

The principal and chief article of food at this early day was the Chilean bean, and such was its value that in times of scarcity, as is related by some writer who witnessed the incident very probably, a miner seated upon a huge nugget of gold, offered the trifling sum of $25,000 for a dish of pork and beans. This fact, however, has been denied by those who ought to know.

The following bill of fare will give an idea of the cost of living in the mining region at this period:

Books, papers and reading matter of any description were very scarce articles in the mines at this early day, with the exception, perhaps, of a few Bibles which were brought around Cape Horn. An acquaintance, who occupied a log cabin near, informed me that the only book he was able to find was an old Farmer’s Almanac, for which he paid $1.00, and, said he,

“I read that almanac through and through, forwards and backwards, sideways and upside down, and by spring had acquired such a knowledge of astronomical science, that I could locate the signs of the Zodiac blindfolded, stand on my head and calculate an eclipse, foretell the condition of the weather for more than ten years ahead, and prognosticate the value of the popcorn, baked peanut, and chewing gum crops for the whole time.”

Towards the spring of ’50 a little event occurred here in this

town for which it never as yet has received due credit or mention. It was nothing more nor less than the organization of a temperance society, and the first in the mining regions, at least, if not in the State. Money was contributed, and a canvas house was erected with a seating capacity for two hundred persons. Mr. Quereau, a prominent lawyer, was chosen as the President, and Mr. A. W. Bee as Vice-President. The Executive Committee consisted of G. Wheeler, F. A. Bee and three others. Meetings were held two evenings a week, upon which occasions old veterans in the business would enlighten the audience upon the evils of intemperance in general, as well as the horrors and dangers which would result from frequent use of the vile compounds sold in the mining regions for pure liquor. But all things have an ending, and temperance societies are no exception to the general rule. In the autumn of ’50, the greater portion of the active members of the society had departed for other mining camps, and it was finally abandoned for want of patronage.

For the first six months after our arrival in the mines it was hardly possible to get a letter from our friends at home, the only chance being to send to San Francisco by some person who was going down on business or for pleasure. At such times the cost of a letter ranged all the way from $1 to $2, and even in some cases as high as $3 each, for the reason that the one who was willing to do the favor was oftentimes obliged to buy a convenient position near the post-office window in San Francisco rather than take his place in line, and be compelled to remain in the city longer than was necessary. But upon the establishment of regular mail facilities into the mines, in the spring of ’50, there was a change—we received our mails regularly, and within four days after the arrival of the steamer at ’Frisco. Upon the day of the arrival of the mail, eager crowds of miners would gather in front of the office, and watch for the appearance of the stage as it came into view over the top of Hangtown Hill, and “there she comes!” would be the cry from a hundred throats, as it first made its appearance. As the boys received their letters from Molly, Polly and “Sary Anne,” they would take a seat upon some convenient old box or barrel, and eagerly devour the contents, and the nature of the news, whether good or bad, could be easily seen in their countenances.

“There,” said Bob Hewitt, as he drew his coat sleeve across his eyes, after having read his letter while sitting upon a stump in the street, “that’s just my infernal luck!”

“Why, what’s the matter now, Bob?” his friends inquired.

“Matter! why I have just got the news that I have lost a fortune down in old Kentuck.”

“How is that?” they inquired.

“Well boys, don’t you remember that little red-headed cuss who worked with me over in the big canon last winter?”

“Oh yes.”

“Well, he went home on a visit and I sent a lot of specimens and presents by him to my gal, and I’ll be doll garned if he didn’t tell her that I was dead and married her himself, the little cuss, and she had a fortune too. Oh!”

A regular post-office was soon established with T. Nugent as our first postmaster, and, if I am not mistaken. I think it was Mr. Nugent who first gave to the camp the name of Placerville sometime during the spring of ’51, although it continued to be known and called Hangtown for three or four years afterwards, by the mining community.

At this early day, there was but very little coin, either of gold or silver, in use in the mining regions, and gold dust was invariably used for all business purposes. It was customary in all business places, stores, hotels, and bar-rooms, as well as in the barber shops, to have upon the counter, or other convenient place, a pair of gold scales for weighing the gold dust, with the proper weights for weighing any desired amount, from the price of a drink of whiskey to a sack of flour, the value of gold dust being estimated at $16.00 per ounce, or $.80 to the penny-weight, as its standard value for the purchase of all commodities. In the use of fine gold dust in this manner much was scattered and lost; but in some of the saloons the ingenious barkeepers would take the precaution to cover the floor below the scales with cloth or zinc, and by this means increase their regular salary to some extent. Of one in particular it was said that in handling sacks of gold dust, although he was generally very careful, yet at such a time it was often observed that his hand had a remarkable way of trembling violently. The consequence was that the cloth upon the floor below the scales panned out monthly an average of about $100, which would have been entirely lost but for the wise forethought of the bartender. One of the barkeepers in a prominent saloon remarked that by the judicious handling of the buckskin sack, and with a tight floor behind the counter it was an easy job to realize $300 per month, and, furthermore, that he could even improve upon that, when he felt real well.

The price of drinks at the bar in the mining regions, at this time and during the winter of ’49 and ’50, were 3/4 pennyweight or about $.50 for a single, and one pennyweight (heavy) for two drinks; but it was not until the fall of ’50 that drinks fell to the regulation price of $.25 (fancy drinks extra), which price was maintained for several years. At this early day, nothing could be purchased for a less sum of gold dust, or coin, than $.25, and it was not until ’54 that the little innocent but insignificant dime came into circulation, which was followed a few years later by the diminutive 5-cent piece and the nickel, which will in their turn, no doubt, be accompanied by the 1-cent coin, as our civilization advances to higher conditions of development. Much has been stated in regard to the habits of the early miners, of their intemperance and manner of spending their money; but this is all a mistake, for they were as a general rule industrious and temperate in their habits, and in fact more so in my opinion, than any other subsequent emigration. The first

temperance organization in our State was organized by these same forty-niners.

It must not be supposed that a residence in California on the part of the natives of the Eastern States, would cause them to forget the habits of their fathers, and pass over in silence or without recognizing, the day upon which all Americans give full expression to their patriotism. Among us were very many who were born and raised under the shadow of old Bunker Hill; consequently, it was absolutely necessary that we do honer to the day by celebrating it in the usual manner, a knowledge of which we had acquired in early boyhood. Stumps and old logs were charged with the powder; guns and pistols were brought into service, and upon the morning of the 4th they told the tale, belching forth the glad news, echoing through the hills that liberty and freedom had perched upon our banner, and that the 4th of July had arrived in California, and was going to remain with us. A military company was formed, commanded by “Squire Bob” (Ed. Otis, of Boston), and with colors flying, marched to the tune of “Yankee Doodle” and other appropriate military airs, performed upon drum and fife around through the town, and when, late in the evening, we retired to our cabins, we felt that we had done our share in the celebration of the day, and although so far from our homes, in a strange land, yet we had not lost nor sacrificed, in our desire for gold, one jot of our respect for the old flag or love for our country. I should have mentioned that at 10 A.M., exercises were held in the large tent used for a temperance hall, which consisted in singing the patriotic songs “Red, White and Blue,” “The Star Spangled Banner,” and others of a similar nature, followed by an oration delivered by Mr. Quereau.

It is probably well known that the news of the gold discovery in California reached the Australian Colonies early in ’49, and the consequence was that large numbers of the colonists made their way here immediately, and among them were a great many ex-convicts. This class went into the mines, and in ’49 and ’50 there were a large number of them around Hangtown and in the immediate vicinity. When these Sydney ducks (as they were entitled) were informed that a 4th of July oration was to be delivered in Hangtown, they protested against it, and made certain threats that in case any allusion should be made to England that was at all disrespectful, the orator should suffer the consequences. Mr. Quereau, however, nothing daunted, mounted the platform, and, taking a large horse-pistol from under his coat, he laid it upon the table before him, and delivered his oration in grand style, taking very good care not to forget old England, and he was not very particular in the choice of his language in relation to the events which occurred during our struggle for Independence. But there was no interruption from the Sydney ducks, and it was well for them that they kept good order during its delivery, for notwithstanding a disagreement among the residents of the extreme Eastern and Western portions of the Union, each one held an individual, undivided interest in 4th of July, and any attempt on the part of these Sydney ducks to prevent or to interfere in any manner with the regulation 4th of July oration would have been fatal to them.

During the continuation of the celebration upon the evening of the 4th, a slight accident occurred, although not of a very serious nature, yet very unsatisfactory to an inquisitive mind. Dr. Ruddock found amongst a pile of rubbish a keg, in the bottom of which was a quantity of wet powder. The Doctor was curious to know whether it would explode, and the only way to find out was to try it, and he did. Placing the keg upon the ground in a suitable position, he stepped back a few paces from it, and with a shot-gun fired a charge into the keg, and his curiosity was satisfied. He concluded the celebration of the day in a very heroic manner, but remarked when his friends, Luke Richardson, Hale Moore and Dr. Marshall were painting and oiling his badly scorched countenance, that he thought he had finished up the festivities of the day very creditably. Said he:

“I had no idea that the darned old keg would kick back in that way; but anyhow my experiment was a complete success, and that’s some satisfaction.”

Fresh beef was now very plentiful and cheap in all the mining districts, and droves of wild Spanish cattle could be seen wending their way over the hills and among cañons, destined for the various settlements. It required, usually, quite a large number of Mexican cattle men, or Vaqueros, to drive a small drove of these wild cattle from Lower California to the mining regions, to prevent their stampeding, which they will often do when becoming frightened. Some curious scenes and narrow escapes of the miners among the ravines were often witnessed, one in particular more comical than serious, however. Upon the arrival into the lower part of the town of a small drove of this species of beeves, they became frightened, and the usual stampede and scattering among ravines and gulches in all directions was the result. A miner was seated upon his stool, washing with his cradle. On the other side of him was the pit from which he was digging his pay dirt. This pit was about twelve feet square and about six feet in depth. Hearing a noise in the rear he turned his head, and saw very near him a wild steer, with the long regulation horns and with blood in its eye. He had no time to run, but leaped over his cradle and into the bottom of his pit. The steer, not to be foiled, followed in his track over the cradle and into the pit with the miner. They faced each other for a moment, and it was difficult to tell which was the most frightened, the steer or the miner. The latter scrambled out as soon as possible, and the steer was secured. This was the only instance ever known of a miner’s claim being jumped by a wild steer.

About this time a storekeeper in town found among a load of provisions hauled from Sacramento City, a barrel of provisions of some kind, which from all appearances and smell was so badly damaged as to be unfit for use. It was therefore consigned to the

rubbish heap in the rear of the store, where it was soon covered up with empty barrels and boxes. The proprietor noticed that certain emigrants from the Fatherland would be seen occasionally prowling around the back yard, apparently having lost something. But little attention, however, was paid to them, and one day a burly Dutchman came into the store, tired, covered with dust, and said:

“I vants me some von dot, for I vas walked more as den miles.”

The storekeeper remarked that he couldn’t tell what “dot” was.

“Vell, den, I shows you vat I want. You shust come mit me.”

The storekeeper followed him to the rear of the store, and the Dutchman, pointing to the rubbish heap, remarked that “some of dot in dere vas vat he wanted.”

The boxes and barrels being removed, the barrel of rotten meats was exposed to view, and he was informed that the contents were unfit to eat.

“Ach, mein Gott! I knows better as dot. You shust bust em in, und I shows you.”