Collection: Books and Periodicals

About This Item:

Title: A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Publisher: Lewis Publishing Company Published: 1891 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Source(s): Google Books # of Pages: 713 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-22 00:25:09 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:11:29 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 06:30:36

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 713  

74 HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. an eatable condition he was cast away. Even the rice with which he was boiled acquired no hawk flavor, which induced one of the miners to remark, “They’s much difference’n hawks as’n women.” <A second trial resulted in a splendid dish, and after that hawks learned to avoid that settlement. Bunt, with all the simplicity and supposed monotony of the miner’s bill of fare, it was almost a constant series of comicalities as well as nuisances. The washing of clothee was scarcely ever attended to, with such results as may better be imagined than described. The vermin which were consequently so abundant were after some years vanquished; but whether by the neater habits of miners or the sanguinary flea is still an open question. The fleas were sometimes caught in large numbers in dishes of soap suds set around lighted candles at night. J.ater the bed-bng drove ont to some extent the flea. Rats also became numerous. Rattlesnakes sometimes crawled in between the lugs, and first made their presence known by the sharp rattle of their chain or the deadly thrust of their poisonous fangs into the sleeper’s limbs. As the miners got to building their cabins of sawed lumber and elevating theni above the ground, snakes, rats, mice and skunks became less frequent visitors; when dogs and cats were called in as friends and protectors the people could sleep without fear or disturbance. THE GREAT IMMIGRATION. The greater part of the qverland immigration took the route by way of the valley of the Platte River, the south pass of the Rocky Mountains and the valley of the Humboldt, entering California by the Pit River route, or Lassen’s Cutoff, or the valley of the Truckee and the Bear River Ridge; and a stream poured through the Carson Pass into the Central Mining Region. Many thousands took the old Santa Fe trail through the valley of the Arkansas to the Rio Grande, thence by the road followed by the Colonel Cooke and the Mormon Battalion, through northern Sonora to the Gila River, crossing the Colorado into California and reaching the southern mining region of the Mariposa and Tnolumne rivers several months later than those who followed the nurthern route. There were many estimates of the number of people crossing the plains in 1849, some placing the number as high as 100,000; but later investigations greatly reduced the estimate. Many returned to the East by steamer before the close of the year, some with small fortunes acquired in the mines or by speculation, others disheartened and homesick, and death claimed also his portion. At the commencement of the year the nationalities were estimated as follows: Native Californians, 13,000; Americans, 8,000; foreigners, 5,000; total, 26,000. At the close of the year it was: Natives, 13,000; Americans, 76,000; foreigners, 18,000; showing an increase of 68,000 Americans aud 13,000 foreigners, a total of 81,000 increase and a total population of 107,000. This large increase, of which so large a majority were Americans, redeemed California from a wilderness and made it a State of the Union. On the first rush for gold, of course nothing was thonght of the location and development of towns, every miner pitching his tent with reference only to the temporary residence he expected to maintain during a short period of mining. Naturally, however, as some of these mining camps became more permanent, towns were made from them, and also at landing places along the streams; and within two or three years interested parties would have counties formed, seats of government designated and trading centers developed. According to the rough and ready nature of the period, these towns mostly received rough and ready names, far beyond the “record” of the past: a list need not be given here, as every one is familiar with a large stock of them. The larger proportion of the camps, however, disappeared with the decline of mining; some fell as rapidly as they had risen, when the rich but scanty surface gold which gave them life was worked out. Everything partook of the