An Irishman's Experience of the Californian Gold-rush.
Experience of a Goldfinder. Having had the good fortune to return safe and sound from a region, which, when I had trod it, at least, was considered to be equally full of perils as of gold dust, I very willingly comply with the friendly request made me by the editor of "The Fireside Magazine" to detail precisely what I saw, what I felt, and what I suffered during my short visit to California. I shall "nothing extenuate nor set down ought in malice," nor will it be necessary for me to do either, as it is scarcely possible to exaggerate the wild life or extraordinary scenes which these persons usually encounter, who, like myself, are induced, partly by a love of adventure and partly by a wish to gather a fortune in a hurry, to forsake civilised life, and plunge among the most anomalous and heterogenous society - if one can call it so - that was ever probably brought together, before, on the face of the habitable globe. I do not pretend to give anything like a consecutive narrative, for if I were to undertake such a task, it would extend over volumes instead of pages, and besides, as I never contemplated recording my travels, I took no particular notes, and therefore, I might, where I to enter into details as to sites and distances, lead to incorrect estimates and inferences, or possibly offend the critical judgement of some learned Theban, to whom such matters are the "be all and end all" of travel. Having thus briefly detailed my intentions, and stated to my reader what I mean to do, I commence "Rambling Recollections," by recording that I and my three comrades, (not one of whom, except myself, had ever handled an axe, a spade, or a hammer, ten times in their lives,) arrived in San Francisco, on the 28th April, 1849, and took up our temporary station at the United States Hotel, where we succeeded, as a favour, in gaining admittance at fourteen dollars per week each for our rooms, and five and twenty for our board, which I am bound to say was exceedingly good, both in quality and quantity, as well it might at the price. Of course, as may be supposed, with such an expensive rate of living to stimulate us, we very soon began to look about us; and indeed we had not been half an hour in our hotel, when we sallied forth to make observations and enquiries. There never was so curious a scene. The streets were busy with the hum of men, not two of whom seemed to be of the same nation. The "boy" from Tipperary, with his quizzical look of blended fun and wonder, jostled aside the wilder looking Malay, who clapped his hand to his crease belt, at the obstruction, but hesitated to draw it on looking at the athletic proportions and rollicking swagger of his possible antagonist. The cockney from Cornhill walked side by side with a long-tailed Chinaman from Peking or Hong Kong, and the New Yorker or Philadelphian Quaker, quiet but astute looking, glanced curiously at the sarapes and sombreros which his new brother, a "genuine" Californian, was endowed with. Here were to be encountered canny Scotchmen, phlegmatic Germans, sober Swedes, and long bearded Russians, intermingled with wild looking Indians, some with bows in their hands and quivers of arrows at their backs, or else shouldering the suspicious looking rifle on their brawny but naked shoulders. And the town itself presented quite as curious an appearance as its inhabitants. Half built houses, run up in any fashion, and with any sort of materials, stood gaping and unformed on every side; many of them had canvas sheds in front, with swing signs elevated above them on poles and hooks, detailing the trades and professions of their owners, in all sorts of languages that, I believe, ever were invented or spoken by the tongue of man. Neither was this extraordinary scene confined to the town itself; hundreds of tents and houses were scattered over the heights, and along the shore of the bay almost as far as the eye could reach, while the mountain in the background and the forest of masts in the noble harbour, confined the area of view and made the whole more life-like and impressive. Bewildered and dazzled by the multitudinous groupings around us, we returned to our hotel, and here, in the very streets, on the broad highway, in front almost of our window, we saw the first gold dug - the first "blood drawn" as one of our friends termed it. Two or three men, and half a dozen semi-clad urchins, were digging up the earth with knives, placing it on paper after crumbling it in their hands, and picking out the grains of gold after blowing cautiously away the lighter dust. The gatherers, however, did not pretend to say that the precious ore was contained in the soil itself, although more than one did assure us that it was so. It was more probable that it was the sweepings of the stores or the leakings of the miners bags, although it is questionable, after all, if from such sources grains so large as we heard of could be gathered, as twenty or thirty dollars a day were sometimes said to be realized from this strange occupation. I was a little earlier afoot next morning than my companions, and strolled out before breakfast to have another look at this extraordinary town. Early as it was, thousands were astir and business was in full swing. The sign or name over one of the shops or stores struck me as singular; it ran thus:- Patrick Murphy, from Cork, sells everthing, Wholesale and Retail." I entered this receptacle, or omnibus, and found the proprietor eating his breakfast of ham, coffee, bread and butter, from off his own counter. He had the air and manners of a gentleman, and asked me "what I pleased to want," with the perfect address of one. Seeing this, I frankly told him who I was, what I was, and what I wanted. I came to sell, not to purchase. We had brought with us from New york a venture of "miscellanies," as we called them, consisting of blankets, cloths, wide-awake hats, shoes boots, and a few rifles. This, indeed, was partly a speculation of my own, and I was proportionately anxious about it. Three words with my new friend settled the business." Send your goods to me, allow me a commission of twenty-five percent, and I promise you a quick return." "But I want to leave San Francisco immediately," said I, "or at least as soon as possible." "So do I," replied he laughing. "I am selling off my stock and mean to be off to the mines in four or five days, at furthest. I was there last year, and did pretty well considering. During the rains I came here and took to a new trade to keep down expenses, and have done pretty well at that too. But I long to be once more at the placer, and if I only succeed as well as I hope to do, I shall return to Europe and sit down contented during the rest of my life." "Do you mean to travel alone?" "Why, no; not if I can find pleasant companions." "And safe ones," said I. "We are all safe companions here now," said he; "our self-imposed laws are too stringent for the dishonest. If a man steals he hangs, or is shot down like a wolf; and since our 'trial by jury` has come out, and a few wholesome examples (backed by a little naked unadorned Lynch Law) have been made, it is wonderful what a reformation it has caused." After a little further discourse, during which I found out that his name was not Murphy at all, that he rejoiced in a more aristocratic Irish prefix, and had adopted this present one from mixed motives of whim and vanity- and, finally, that he was an intelligent and well informed man, particularily in all that related to the mines or resources of California, I left him, and returned to the hotel, well pleased at having made the aquaintance. On a further enquiry, I found that he was well known by the soubriquets of "Paddy from Cork," and "gentleman Pat," and that his character stood high, both as a dexterous trader, and an honourable man. That day our goods were transferred from the ship to his store, and he dined with us. During the evening our arrangements were talked over and canvassed. Before he left us we had agreed to travel under his guidance to the mines, and such was the expedition he used, that on the seventh morning after our entrance to San Francisco, we were leaving it again for the mines, having in the meantime, sold of our surplus stock at an enormous profit, for it was just the proper season for doing so, and provided ourselves with everything that the experience of our friend or the information picked up by ourselves told us would be most needful. We went determinedly to work. Our dress was coarse and durable, our boots equally so; we had pans, knives, axes, hammers, rammers, wooden bowls, and the means of putting together "cradles" to wash the gold. We carried a light canvas tent, easily packed, jerked bacon, dried meats, flour, biscuit, plenty of coffee and sugar, and a single large tin flask of brandy, for we were determined teetotallers to a man, and were resolved to keep from all stimulants, except in case of illness, or some such necessity. We carried also a small, but well considered medicine chest, which one of us was well qualified to dispense, and having fairly loaded a stout mule and a stouter horse, for both of which we paid 310 dollars, with our luggage, neatly made up, we walked on gallantly by the side of our steeds, our knives hung to our leathern belts, our rifles in our hands, and "revolvers" in our pockets. It was on the sixth of May we commenced our journey, and early on the fourteenth we reached Stockton, a distance of a hundred and fifty miles, having passed through Pueblo San Jose, which has, since then, been selected as the seat of the legislature of the State, en route. The weather was charming, and the country through which we travelled equally so. Almost the entire way was a magnificent valley, unoccupied, except by a few solitary rancheros. The hills were covered with a bursting vegetation of the wild oat and mustard, which looked deliciously green and fresh, while the mountain slopes were wooded with timber, oak, pine, cypress and red wood, as regularly planted as they might be on the slope of a hill in a gentlemans demense. We entered Stockton about noon, and remained until next morning. Like almost all towns as yet founded by the Americans, (Benicia excepted) Stockton is unpleasantly and unfavourably situated. San Francisco is exposed to summer heats, clouds of sand, hurricanes of great violence, and in winter to inundations - at least in its lower parts - from the rains. But then its noble harbour and roadstead redeems it. Sacramento City, built on the eastern bank of the river of the same name, at its junction with the Rio Americano, is in summer an oven, in winter, a swamp. Stockton is situated on the San Joaquin, and has equal advantages and disadvantages with the others, both in its being low, swampy, and subject to periodical inundations, (although not as serious as Sacramento, to which they have done great damage,) and in its being favourable for trade and commerce. Some idea may be formed of the celerity with which towns spring up in California, by the history of Stockton. In the winter of 1848, a solitary ranch stood in the midst of Tule-Marshes; in May, 1849, the Port contained thirty vessels, and the town numbered more than four hundred inhabitants, living in what was literally a town of canvas. Here again, as in San Francisco, all was business and bustle. The clank of hammers, the shouting of men, the tramping of mules, the unloading of wares, by their parti-coloured guides and owners, all showed the anxiety of the new inhabitants to proceed to business without loss of time. It was a very pretty and picturesque sight, and cheered us on wonderfully. The next morning we struck our tent, and resumed our journey to the mines on the Mokalume River, for which we were bound. Our way lay upward among the hills. At first the country was pleasantly variegated with oak, sycamore, and red-wood, but as we rounded the mountain spurs, noble pines of splendid size surrounded us on all sides. Making a little detour, our friend Murphy came upon the trace of a deer and shot it. This gave us venison collops to our coffee, after which we slept gloriously, with the balmiest night air that ever smoothed a travellers brow or pillow, flowing all around us. At lenght we reached the top of the hill that over-looked the Mokalume river or valley. It was just sunset, and a more exciting and beautiful scene could not be imagined. In the extreme background, was the bold crown of the Sierra Nevada, with range upon range of mountain, sloping down, until they ended in that upon which we stood. Below us ran the river - the scource of all our golden hopes - along the banks of which we could plainly see the tents, various in hue and capacity, of those who had already preceded us in our search after fortune. About three quarters way down, as we descended - which we at once commenced doing - we found a sort of wooden town, built of rude timber and thatched with boughs. This was called the Sonerian town, and was inhabited by Mexicans. Here we found a "hotel," such as it was, kept by a Frenchman, and as we wished to learn the ways of the place, we put up there for the night. At the first dawn of day, we started for the river bottom, and here, on a piece of level sward, we finally pitched our tent, emptied our stores, and prepared in earnest for work. Our first attention was turned to the construction of two "cradles," as they are called. Within three or four hours we had them finished of stout deal planks and rockers, with firm pieces of close wire placed horizontally at their head. Carrying these, and armed with pans, shovels, and scoops, we selected our first position, near a "bar," and plunging boldly into the stream, commenced our search. It required three of us to work a "cradle," one shovelled the sand upon the wires of the cradle, which allowed only the smaller particles of earth and sand to fall through; a second labourer kept rocking the cradle constantly; and a third, kept flinging water upon the mass of earth inside. The thick black sediment remaining at the bottom of the cradle was afterwards scooped out and dried in the sun. It was tremendously hard work, especially when the sun got high, but the certainty of gain supported us, and we wrought cheerfully, resting an hour or two to eat our dinner, and then commencing again as merrily as ever. Those of us who were not engaged at the "cradle," were using their scoops and pans quite as diligently, and, on the whole, when night came, we had every reason to pleased with our first day's earning. We continued this for a week, and then we changed our location, and began to think of other things, to which a consideration of the geology of the region around led us. The gold region of California is between four and five hundred miles long, and from forty to fifty broad, following the line of the Sierra Nevada. This area will probably be increased hereafter. It embraces these extensive ranges of hills which rise on the eastern border of Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and terminate in the base of the main ridge of the Nevada. There are numerous streams arising from the springs of the Sierra, which receive the waters from the melting snows and from the rains in the wet season. These commence in November and end generally in April - although, sometimes they extend into May. These rivers disembogue [sic] into the Sacramento and San Jocquin, and are, probably twenty miles apart. The principal formation in these hills talcose [sic] slate; the superstratum, sometimes penetrating to a great depth, is Quartz, and the general opinion, formed by all intelligent men who have examined the region is, that the gold, whether in detatched pieces, or particles, or in veins, was created in combination with the quartz. For gold is not found on the surface of the country, or as if thrown up and scattered by volcanic action, but is found only in particular localities, and attended by particular circumstances and indications. It is found in the bars and shoals of rivers, in Ravines, and in what is called dry diggings. The gold found in the rivers is, evidently, brought down by the attrition of the current, wearing away the quartz, and bringing the gold down with it into the bed of the stream, and as the velocity of some streams is greater than others, so is the quantity brought down; and so, also, is the size of the particles of gold determined. In the dry season, the channels are mostly without water, and the gold is easily collected from the margins and shallows. The "dry diggings," are places were quartz containing gold, has cropped out, and crumbled to fragments, by the action of the atmosphere and the water. the gold has been left as it was made, in all imaginable shapes and sizes, from a grain to several pounds weight, but a very large proportion of the gold so found has more or less quartz adhering to it. In the ravines, the largest and best specimens of gold are found, although their discovery, is by no means, certain; as a man might work for hours without finding a single flake or lump, while, by continuing in the rivers, he was certain to earn more or less. Still the temptation to try every available mode was irresistible, and we extended our area, from time to time, and when we grew wearied by stooping and poking in the water, we generally tried the ravines and dry diggings. By this means, I think, we both increased our gains and preserved our health. Occasionally, however, one or two of us had slight fever, and for a week in July I had a smart attack of an intermittent; but nursing, blue pill, and quinine, restored me, as they did all of us, and our temperate and systematic diet, (which I specially recommend to all gold seekers,) contributed mainly to that consummation. Neither were we much inconvenienced by our neighbours. As the season advanced, so did the new comers increase, and although some of them were well disposed enough to be both dishonest and insolent, still our little party were all determined men, and were, moreover, supported by the more civilized and industrious part of the community; and thus, generally speaking, we escaped any serious loss or inconvenience. One example which was made of an incorrigible thief and drunken idler, late in June, had a remarkabley good effect. He was a German, and was evidently endeavouring to organise a gang of all those who were tired of work, or who found their profits not quite so splendid as they expected. At length he stole my friend Murphy's best rifle, and some lumps of gold, which were incautiously left in the tent. he could not have ventured on a worse person. the robbery was traced, the rifle found, the gold known by a particular mark on one lump, weighing about thirteen ounces, and the thief was seized and bound while he lay fast asleep. A jury of the most respectable men was summoned, and as the fellow could not deny his crime, he was found guilty at once. where it not for me and my friend's influence, he would have been shot; as it was we could not prevent unpleasant consequences. He was soundly whipped by one square shouldered Suake Indian, and his ears were completely cropped by another, hired for the purpose; and thus marked and disfigured, he was banished from the location, with the assurance that if he was seen amongst us again, he would be shot down like a dog. He disappeared, and we never saw him after. On the whole , our party was remarkably fortunate. We left the river in October, having worked inintermittingly [in intermittingly?] and with excellent success. During the last two months we had several men at work for us, some Indians, and some others, principally Sonorians. To these we gave half the gold they washed or found and their support, and although we paid high for provisions, still the system was a profitable one. One way in which we employed these men, was in cutting and damming a new channel for a certain number of yards, of the river, and the new bed, thus laid bare, invariably yielded a rich return. there were days at this work when every man engaged in it collected eight ounces of pure gold, but then there were others when half that amount was not gathered. We were also fortunate in finding out two or three wells, or "pockets," as they are called, among the rocks, and from these, in a few days, we extracted several thousand dollars. In what are called "gulches," also, we were singularly fortunate. These are in the dry diggings, and the metal generally lies deep. In one of them it lay so deep, that although two adventurers had tried it already, they gave it up in despair, as not worth further trouble. Not so my friend Murphy, however. He chanced to stumble upon it of a Sunday evening, and, on the following morning, he and I set to work. At the close of Tuesday evening we had taken from the deserted hole more than twelve hundred dollars. Such is perserverance and the good luck it brings with it. The largest piece of gold we found during the season weighed four pounds two ounces; we had others from two pounds down to a few ounces, and not unfrequently, in the newly dammed out parts of the river, pieces of two or three ounces weight would be scooped up, and thrown into the washing basket. And let it not be supposed that we fared badly, either. When we chose to pay extravagently for a good dinner, we had only to go to the "hotel," and we could have venison, turkey, quail, salmon, green corn, peas, and delicious milk and butter. The price was an ounce of gold a head, which at the New York mint, was worth eighteen dollars, and, therefore, as it may be supposed, we did not too often trouble so expensive an ordinary. On the twenty-first of October we cried "content," We called an auction of our tools and superflous articles, and sold them to excellent profit, to those who intended to winter in the diggings. On the twenty-second we recommenced our journey to San Francisco, bringing away from the mines just forty-nine pounds four ounces of gold each, the greater part of it pure, as the profits of our expedition. I do not mean to say that we did not suffer a great deal during our labours, as, between insects, cramps caught in the water, pains from stooping, etc., we may perhaps be said to have earned our gold dearly; still, we had ample reson to be satisfied with our 'divide," and I for one, would not hesitate over again to incur the same danger and the same trouble, if sure of the same result. E.M.B.Close