Lower Sandusky freeman. (Lower Sandusky [i.e. Fremont, Ohio]) 1849-1849, 1849-02-24
From Punch
"a FEW DAYS IN THE DIGGINS"
az A FREE AND 1NpEPENpENT." !"

Landed at San Francisco after ''tarnal tossin''
Of five months. This as coming the small eend of
Cape Horn, / reckon, and there ought to be pretty
considerable some on the other side to make up
leavin' my dry goods store and family fxins in
Broadway.
Traded with Down Easter, who is maxim tracks
for the settlements, with $3o,oOO in his carpet bag,
for spade, pick, scoup and washin' trough-giv-
in $500 for the plunder and glad to get it. as In
crease Nile Flint of Salem went $3.50, and he is a
'tarnal old boss at deal
Swopped my traps and blankets quarter cask
of picked pork, and demijohn of peach brandy
which l had laid in, for six pounds gnooine gold.
Pretty considerable smart tradin
Toted my tools to Hiram K. Doughboy's board
ing shanty, and settled with him for blankets and
board, at $50 per diem. Catawampus prices here,
that's fact; but every bodys got more dust than
he knows what to do with.
OFF to the diggins with party; mighty small
potatoes most of 'em; all sorts and colors and ev-
erlastin' ragged-Bay statesmen, Back-woodsmen,
Buckeyes from Ohio, Hoses from Kentuck, Cape
Cod Whalers, San Francisco Indians, Leperos from
Santa Cruz, Texan Volunteers, Phladel phir Qua
kers, Latter-day Saint, six Irish Sympathisers,
twelve Yankees, many Brtishers, squad of
deserters, Blackfoot Guide, a Methodist Parson,
and Mormon Elder.
Struck diggin' and sot to serious washin'; par
son began to ask blessin', but seein' Silas I.
Forks, of Orangeburgh, N G., hepin' himself, par
son cut it short off, and went to work like Mig
gers at cane holm, agreein to dig in companies and
share profits Cotched the Quaker sunnin' him
SELF and takin' kink out of his back with Havan-
nah. Convened meetin', cowhided Quaker and
at it again, Gold lyin, about like earth nuts and
ridin through the water like hailstones in sherry
cobler.
Sounded the conch for grub, and found nobody
got anything, but that cute old coon, Zerubbabel
w. Peabody, of St4tan Island, who had brought a
bag of biscuit and some meat ixins. The varmint
wouldn't sell notion under an ounce of dust, and
sacked the whole bilin'.
To work again; trotted up again at sundown,
and found we'd averaged $2S per man. Got back
to shanty; but before that 6arned Hiram K.
Doughty would let me inside his door, forced to
pay down $50 for days board and lodgn'. So
wound up 50 worse than in the mornin'. Calkila-
ted to camp out in future, cut Hiram, and work on
my own hook, havin' realized that socialism amt
no GO in gold diggin'. Asked Hiram why he did,
mt go out with his bowe-knife and washing pail
Hiram sniggered, and said he warn't greedy, and
preferred helpin' folks in his shanty. Hiram usn't
to be such consarned fool
Started alone-having swopped the gold got
from Down Easter yesterday, for one blanket, half
CdSh VI pOth, anu HAIL u0HHIOnn Oh DfdnQy. muSb
convene that I've lost so per cent bargains: but
a cargo of new diggers havin' just come in
from Panama, great demand for such things, and
forced to give what that old flint of Down Easter
chose to ask He's made considerable some by his
trade, that's fact, and 1 doubt if he could have
done better at the diggins
Made great day-havin' sacked 40 dollars at
least. Got sorterlost and when l tracked back to
the tree where I'd cached my plunder found those
tarnal Iegines had absquatulated with blanket
pork and brandy. Lucky rve got my tools.
Spent the night under a cotton tree; mighty
sharp set in the mornin, havin' eat nothing since
yesterday at twelve. Struck the trail of Zerubba-
bel W. Peabody, and traded with him for some
bread and pork doin's for which the everastin' old
skinflnt made me come down cruel, cleanin' me
out of all I'd raised yesterday.
Zerubbabel says he amt diggins but goin' a.
bout with aprovision and liquor store. 1t is anna
zin' how long headed men like Zerubbabel can be
such darned idiots.
I've got out of the track of the settlement and
into prime diggin'-all to mysef-where the humps
of gold run as big as pigeons eggs, and lie as
thick as hail-stones in Broadway, after come
down in the fall. But Pm darned weak for want
of grub, and so rheumatic with eampin' out that
it's quite caution
X
Two days without seein food-gold gets more
abundant than ever