Category: Biographies
Scarcity of labouring men--High wages--Want of social restraint--Intense rivalry in all pursuits--Disappointed hopes--Drunkenness--American style of drinking--The bars--Free luncheons--The bar-keeper--Variety of national houses--The Chinese--Chinese stores and washermen--Theat...
Scarcity of labouring men--High wages--Want of social restraint--Intense rivalry in all pursuits--Disappointed hopes--Drunkenness--American style of drinking--The bars--Free lun...
5. CHAPTER V.Start for the Mines--The Sacramento River--American river-steamboats in California--Natural facilities for inland navigation, and promptness of the Americans in taking advantage...
6. CHAPTER VI.7. CHAPTER VII.8. CHAPTER VIII.The Missourians--Pike county: their appearance--Humanising effects of California--Difference between the outward-bound Californians and the same men on their return home--The ac...
9. CHAPTER IX.Hangtown--Digging in the houses--A golden vision--Slaves in California--Negroes--Caloma--First discovery of gold--Greenwood Valley--“The Illustrated News”--Middle fork of the Am...
10. CHAPTER X.The Grizzly-Bear House--Its cuisine--An Illinois warrior and the Mexican campaign--A bear-hunter--Bear stories--Grizzlies--Soft pillows--“Ranches”--Wild oats--Grasshoppers, and...
11. CHAPTER XI.12. CHAPTER XII.Start for Foster’s Bar--A hard road to travel--Portrait-painting--Flattering likenesses--Foster’s Bar--Sleeping under difficulties--Camping out--Camp of a flaming company--Dange...
13. CHAPTER XIII.14. CHAPTER XIV.Lynch law--Necessity for such an institution in California--The protection afforded by it--Its efficiency for the prevention and punishment of crime--Summary executions--Manner...
15. CHAPTER XV.16. CHAPTER XVI.17. CHAPTER XVII.18. CHAPTER XVIII.19. CHAPTER XIX.20. CHAPTER XX.21. CHAPTER XXI.22. CHAPTER XXII.23. CHAPTER XXIII.24. CHAPTER XXIV.25. CHAPTER XXV.26. CHAPTER XXVI.27. CHAPTER XXVII.28. CHAPTER I.About the beginning of the year 1851, the rage for emigration to California from the United States was at its height. All sorts and conditions of men, old, young, and middle-age...
29. CHAPTER II.On our arrival we found the population busily employed in celebrating one of their innumerable _dias de fiesta_. The streets presented a very gay appearance. The natives, all in...
30. CHAPTER III.The entrance to San Francisco harbour is between precipitous rocky headlands about a mile apart, and which have received the name of the Golden Gates. The harbour itself is a la...
31. CHAPTER IV.SCARCITY OF LABOURING MEN--HIGH WAGES--WANT OF SOCIAL RESTRAINT--INTENSE RIVALRY IN ALL PURSUITS--DISAPPOINTED HOPES--DRUNKENNESS--AMERICAN STYLE OF DRINKING--THE BARS--FREE LUN...
32. CHAPTER V.START FOR THE MINES--THE SACRAMENTO RIVER--AMERICAN RIVER-STEAMBOATS IN CALIFORNIA--NATURAL FACILITIES FOR INLAND NAVIGATION, AND PROMPTNESS OF THE AMERICANS IN TAKING ADVANTAGE...
33. CHAPTER VI.The town of Placerville--or Hangtown, as it was commonly called--consisted of one long straggling street of clapboard houses and log cabins, built in a hollow at the side of a c...
34. CHAPTER VII.Small parties of them were constantly to be seen in Hangtown, wandering listlessly about the street, begging for bread, meat, or old clothes. These Digger Indians, as they are c...
35. CHAPTER VIII.THE MISSOURIANS--PIKE COUNTY: THEIR APPEARANCE--HUMANISING EFFECTS OF CALIFORNIA--DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OUTWARD-BOUND CALIFORNIANS AND THE SAME MEN ON THEIR RETURN HOME--THE AC...
36. CHAPTER IX.We worked our claim very successfully for about six weeks, when the creek at last became so dry that we had not water enough to run our long tom, and the claim was rendered for...
37. CHAPTER X.THE GRIZZLY-BEAR HOUSE--ITS CUISINE--AN ILLINOIS WARRIOR AND THE MEXICAN CAMPAIGN--A BEAR-HUNTER--BEAR STORIES--GRIZZLIES--SOFT PILLOWS--“RANCHES”--WILD OATS--GRASSHOPPERS, AND...
38. CHAPTER XI.In this part of the country the pine-trees are of an immense size, and of every variety. The most graceful is what is called the “sugar pine.” It is perfectly straight and cylin...
39. CHAPTER XII.START FOR FOSTER’S BAR--A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL--PORTRAIT-PAINTING--FLATTERING LIKENESSES--FOSTER’S BAR--SLEEPING UNDER DIFFICULTIES--CAMPING OUT--CAMP OF A FLAMING COMPANY--DANGE...
40. CHAPTER XIII.On leaving the river, I had as usual a long hill to climb, but once on the top, the trail followed the backbone of the ridge, and was comparatively easy to travel. It was the ma...
41. CHAPTER XIV.LYNCH LAW--NECESSITY FOR SUCH AN INSTITUTION IN CALIFORNIA--THE PROTECTION AFFORDED BY IT--ITS EFFICIENCY FOR THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF CRIME--SUMMARY EXECUTIONS--MANNER...
42. CHAPTER XV.Without having visited some distant place in the mountains, such as Downieville, it was impossible to realise fully the extraordinary extent to which the country had, in so shor...
43. CHAPTER XVI.I returned to Downieville the next day, and as the weather was now getting rather cold and disagreeable, and I did not wish to be caught quite so far up in the mountains by the...
44. CHAPTER XVII.While at this camp, I went down the river two or three miles to see a place called Mississippi Bar, where a company of Chinamen were at work. After an hour’s climbing along the...
45. CHAPTER XVIII.I had occasion to return to San Francisco at this time, and the journey was about the most unpleasant I ever performed. The roads had been getting worse all the time, and were q...
46. CHAPTER XIX.The long tract of mountainous country lying north and south, which comprises the mining districts, is divided into the northern and southern mines--the former having communicati...
47. CHAPTER XX.The want of water was the great obstacle in the way of mining at Moquelumne Hill. As it stood so much higher than the surrounding country, there were no streams which could be i...
48. CHAPTER XXI.If one can imagine the booths and penny theatres on a race-course left for a year or two till they are tattered and torn, and blackened with the weather, he will have some idea...
49. CHAPTER XXII.From Angel’s Camp I went on a few miles to Carson’s Creek, on which there was a small camp, lying at the foot of a hill, which was named after the same man. On its summit a quar...
50. CHAPTER XXIII.A company of Mexican bull-fighters were at this time performing in Sonora every Sunday afternoon. The amphitheatre was a large well-built place, erected for the purpose on a sma...
51. CHAPTER XXIV.It was about one o’clock in the morning when the fire broke out. I happened to be awake at the time, and at the first alarm I jumped up, and, looking out of my window, I saw a h...
52. CHAPTER XXV.On the 4th of July I went over to Columbia, four miles distant from Sonora, where there were to be great doings, as the latter place had hardly yet recovered from the effects of...
53. CHAPTER XXVI.The only miners on the Creek were Frenchmen, two or three of whom lived in a very neat log-cabin, close to the tunnel. Behind it was a small kitchen-garden in a high state of cu...
54. CHAPTER XXVII.After a month or two spent on the Tuolumne and Merced rivers, and in the more sparsely populated section of country lying still farther south, I returned to Sonora, on my way to...