Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1853-08-06
SANFRANcIsco, Cal,
June Is, 1858.

June lo, 1000.
| Dear Brother: You
piyo your reasons for not coming to
Gala. They arc, l think, good enough,
and am glad that you came to that
conclusion. Although tho chances
arc on the decline here for making
money, tho majority are fairly rcmu.
n Grated for their labor-cspccially
since the settling of the Summer sea-
son. l heard a few days ago Of a
man dopositing thirty thousand dol
lars in a bank, tho proceeds Of ten
months labor for himself and son he
paid for the claim Il think it was s;a-
ted) FIVE hundred dollars. Such In
stances of good fortune do sometimes
occur, but they arc extremely raro |;
indeed there arc thousands in this
city who would rather return to the
States to work for one dollar per day
than go back to tho mines, having
tried and failed SO often-but they
made too extravugant calculations
before thoy left home.
A man, for instance, leaves his wife
and family, intending to return in two
years with ten thousand dollars. He
goes to tho mines, buys pick, show
81, prospecting pan, and some few !,
other mining tools, perhaps-builds
himself q tent and buys some fow
cooking utensils. Cooks his own
sapper, spreads his blanket on the
ground lin most instances) and sleeps
well, owing to the salubrity of the
climate and o previous preparation
for hard bed from long sea voy-
age, especially if he had the misfor-
tano of being obliged to take steer.
age. He awakes refreshed-perhaps
he dreamed of big Jumps Of gold.
He goes in search of his fortunes in
good spirits. He meets man
"Good morning, friend; can you
tell me where l can find q claim that
will pay ten or twelve dollars per
day :"
"Jus. come, ain. YET" 80. =
Yes, 1 am stranger to this gold
digging"
"Loft q family at home, I Isupposol'
Eyes, l left wife and two daugh-
ters."
"More's the pity. I was just such d
o fool. Ihaye a wife and eight chill.
dren (God bless them,)iu Maine. |
expected to return in ut most two
years, with something handsome, but
lo! have been toiling since '49 and
have not more than supported my
family. l intend to return SO soon as
1 make five hundreddollars, and spend
the remnant of my days along with
my wife and little ones"
Here the miner, although ofstrong
nerve, can hold out no more. He
weeps. The newcomer passes
on. He meets young man:
IL say, my young friend, where
can find q claim that pays ten or
twelve dollars per dayl"
"Ten or twelve dollars per day
Why, you are crazy, or have just ar.
rived. If l knew where could
make five dollars per day, I would
not tell any living mani toll you
stranger, you will have to dig holes
and wash a pan of dirt occasionally,
you know, to 500 when you como to
the lead, If there should be any, and
| | have known now comers' to hit il
right Off"
"How deep must digl"
"Will depend on where j. is. Just
here we have to dig only about six.
teen fect-somo places fifty feet, and
!; some places on yon hill they have to
dig one hundred and fifty feet"
"I suppose they always strike the
lead then, do they mott"
: "Not always. l have dug sepcrai
and have never found anything ofany
consequence; yet some Of my ncigh'
bors have done very we'll. DR.. James
the Crawfords, and somo others from
Pennsylvania, struck q lead some
timo ago, have done very we'll ! an
told, aud have gone home; and an
in hopes I shall hit it too, bye ant
byo. Cheer up, my good friend
there is no use in being discouraged
have been here since 80, have hat
hard luck compared to many, ha'int
: cent, but ON still in hopes"
!. "You arc single man l supposed
"Yes, lam single, and fortunate i
4 is, too, for should have broken m,
0 heart ero this, if ! had q family de
pending on my scanty earnings.
was about to be married to q swee
girl down East before l loft, but
choose rather to try my luck in Cal
J. ufornia before getting married, for
d could not think of leaving a younl
Y wife behind; and toll you, friend,
n was too poor to bring US both. Bu
| shall make big strike bye an.
hvo and ,hon my good friend, Ishal
take tho first steamer for home, bu
= to return with my dear Sally. Sue