Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1849-04-27
California 1trms.
About California and Emigration Thllhcr

Mr.. Wm. +. Norford of New Jersey. who
left for the Pacific cnasl year agn. wrilng tui
his friends lrum San Francisco, thus gives his
experience in gold digging:
81 worked about eleven days. averaging StO4
per day-was then taken sick with the fever &
had very severe time of il. received four
visits from the nearest doctor, which was 60
miles off, and paid him to the tune Of S6O0-
$3.50 per yisiI-leaying me with about $50 in
pocket, after paying for my provisions which are
high in proportion"
Ho then abandoned gold gathering, and en-.
gagged as n clerk in a mercantile house al $3.50
per month and board-inlending 10 return home
as soon as he earns money enough-as he could
live better in New York al $50 a month, than at
San Francisco for $3.50. He says "Ihere is no
society here; il is ten times worse than WiScOn.
sin; with gamblers innunerabe, and the Span.
ish gamblers will murder you with good will
for vOur clothes or blankets. You may Judge
the state Of society, also. by great pau of il
being composed o. disbanded soldiers aud runa-
way saors." With $1,000, he says he could
make $1,000 in short time.
The California emigranls, by way Of the 18th.
mus, are experiencing great detenliOns, and
sickness and distress are multiplying the num-
Der Of the homesck and drjcclcd.
A letter from Panama of date March 23I,
says that there are about 1000 Americans be.
tween Chagres and thai pace-thui some are
destitute Of the necessary funds; others in poor
health, aud that when the rainy season begins,
the frSl of April, il will necessarily bP very sick.
ly.-ThuI in consequence Of poverty. sickness.
and want Of facilities 10 ''go ahead" as many
will return home as 90 on. The charges lnr
board are 80 per week and the fare principally
delicious fruiI-oranges, pine apples, bananas,
&c.
The population is mualIoes and ncgroes-la.
zy and worthless. The Sunday amuSemenIs
are cock fighting. gaming aud the circus. Rob
berries are frequent. aud as many emlgranlS have
become entirely destitute of muney by long de.
lenlOn, they have become desperate aud reck-
less. and The robberes are generally charged
upon them. The large specie trains have not
ye been mOleSIed; but this, says the writer,
cannot long continue, AS large amounIs--$l,.
400 Gn9 IN one traln--are St nj across on mules
and poorly guarded. The specie transportation
is entirely IN the hands Of the English aud
mostly on English account
The reports from California, he says, are not
90 exlravaganl, but far from dlscouruging--it is
said there IS plenty of gold, but it takes time ~
trouble to gel it. At The dat of the pter the
arrivals wrr, more than three for every one de-.
parlure. Caution is given to those coming not
10 buy preserved provisions, unless pul up with
great care as over $4,000 worth had been thrown
away as trash.
Another letter dated al Gorgora. Feb. 9Th,
says, Il arrived nj Chagres with six hundred 9th.
ers. Those vino had III" most money hurried
On. Some paid $3.50 lo b, taken with their
baggage to Gorgona. As miles. We lrled the
Negroes, but lh-y would not take US 10 this
place with our baggage for less than $40. |
found an old canoe spI al each end, gave Two
dollars fur her, found Il pile of tin cans which
had been thrown away with spoiled preserved
meat, shealhed the leaks Of the canoe with
them, and put in our baggage. Just as we were
leaving couple of men came to us from one
of the vessels going To California. and off red
US four dollars each, TO work their paSSag with
US 10 Gorgona. We took them in though they
did not understand boating we'll. b1ng farmers
Irum New Hampshire; buI they paid US eight
dollars.
On arriving here we sold the canoe for four
dollars. having saved forty dollars and earned
ten. The river Crucus is very pleasant, the
water puru as that Of lake tluron--he banks of
the river higher than ST. Clair, with large ma
( hOgany trees. cocoanut, banuua. orange and le.
mon trees on either side--lurge vines running
TO The tops Of the lofties trees, then returning
again to The wafer, extending their roofs again
in the ground, covered with heavy foliage and
l,,v piu E,rK Kt,h1 Al
beaulv surpasses "hny river | have seen. We
saw several monkies on the trees; also parrots
Of finer plumage than those with us al home. d
birds large aud small, of every variety carroll
ing their sweetest notes.
This place is high and the river very clear
the wat,r equal To the Crolon. The place il
certainly heallhv--no sickness h, ~. coun
nine high hills like the sugar loaf. in full view
of this villng =; about Two hundred lhached cot
tages, eight hundred natives, blacks aud Span
iards; me hundred and eight American tents
About three hundred Yankees here and The mos
novel sigh, you ever suw--piles of baggage ii
one pInce that would fill u small house, wrecks
of old boxes and trunks in another, pile OF lht
remnants of old silk hats that would not b.a
transportation, thrown away; uls" piles oI Iii
cans OF preserved TOR rather spoheul meals
One man told me he lost $500 worth of these
meats. One OF our purty LOST $3.50. All have
J spoiled that have been brought.
Aigaors, Iizards. monkies, aud birds ofbeau
! tifu plumagn abound.
An officer on board the United Suites shi
| Ohio. who had explored the gold region, write
, from San Francisco 10 an officer oil the Gov
eminent in Washington thus:
r You may be prepared 10 believe great deO
. when | assure you have seen no written q
1 published account which has not been verlfe
d BY occular proof ! hazard nothing in sayln
i that more than live millions of dollars, nj six
4 teen dollars the ounce, have been already oh
e tanned from the crevices of the rocks, pickle
e up in the sands Of dry creeks, or washed out {
l. the digginga of guIIes, and this with the rude'
r of nmplemen,s--a pick, spade. often only jac
!. knife and Il wooden b"wl. A large amount hu
!. been sent away, mud the Lexington will TAX