Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1853-07-27
From private letter to the n Y Tribune
TIE MISERY AND DELUsI0N OF CALIFORNIA.

SAN FRANclsco, May 26, 1853.
1t has been matter of great surprise to me
that some one has not, before this, given true
account of the condition of the people and the
state of things in California.
have been in this State twelve weeks, and
during that time have seen more misery, more
vice, more immortality, more blasted hopes and
whitening disappointment, moro utler wreiched-
ness and impotent regrets than have ever wit
messed before in my whole life !; and it is as
tonishing--it is amazing-;hat some phianthro-
pist has not taken upon himself the task, ere
this, of exposing to the world the state of af-
fairs here, and the almost universal fate Of =
great majority of California emigrants. All
who leave home for this supposed land of gold,
do so with high hopes and brilliant expecta.
tions; but did they know the almost certain
destiny which awaits them here, they would
sooner dig potatoes for fifty cents day than
undertake this expedition.
In this city of San Francisco there are, to-day,
two thousand people, at least, seeking employ
ncut, but seeking it in vain. Occasionally an
advertisement will appear in the papers, or 4 no.
iica he posted up on the board of some intelii-
ge"ce o!?ice, that hotel waiter, an experienced
farmer, or few wood-choppers are wanted, and
inmedatci; there will be rush of eager ap-
p.i:ants 1t the appointed place of interview,
like a pack of famished wolves around dead
carcass.
have seen young men who left good situa-
tions in stores and Offices at home, piling up
lumber here on the docks, washing dishes and
doing the most menial service in restaurants
and hotels and others who are unable 10 find
cny work, which from their physical constitution
or habits OF life they are competent to perform !;
and know of many and have heard of many
more. who are working for 90 and 80 dollars 4
month, and hundreds who are working for their
board, and glad Of the opportunity 10 do that.
There are hundreds of strong and robust men
sitting in the hotels and standing upon the cor.
ners of the streets, without cent of money in
their pockets, who have sought and striven for
employment until their stout hearts become
heavy with despair.
Those who have been accustomed to all the
luXurcs of life at home, and unused to manual
labor, find themselves here compelled 10 en-
counter difficulties, and suffer prvations they
never dreamed of before People are willing
and anxious to work-to do any work-work
which they would have Scorned to have done be-
fore they saw California; but the ,cork is not
here 10 do; and the bitter exclamation goes ont
from y thousand hearts every day, 90 God !
what shall do :" They are as powerless rs
infants, as helpless as babes, for they cannot
make work, nor can they force 4 man TO give
them employment when he has none to give.
The mental agony-the unspoken anguish of
the SOU, felt here every twenty-four hours, are
almost equal 10 the torturcs of hel-who ever
saw such number of sad faces, such multiudes
of miserable men, as one meets in this city
every weeks | am sick, confess am silk at
heart when | see the crowds of deIuded mortals
brought TO these shores by every steamer that
arrives. 1t is too bad-'tis wirked-'tis cruelty
wrong The great idea that seems to pervade
the States from one end to the other in regard
10 California is q stupendous fraud-a gigantic
humbug-a most inhuman scheme to cheat
thousands out of their home, their happiness,
their peace of mind. their property. and, in TOO
many cases, of their lives. Nine.,enths of the
people here, in addition to all other disappoint-
ments and privations, are deprived of all the ad.
rantages of social intercourse and civilized So
ciety and in = few weeks their minds become
rusty, and their moral feelings and sensibili;es
buntea
This is no fancy sketch, no picture of the im-
agination, for no language at my command is
sufficiently strong 10 express the misery, the
dsappoin,nlents and ruined expectations of nine
teen-twentieth of those who come to California
What write know to be true, and if my voice
could reach the ears and penetrate the heart Of
the thousands who are yet 10 come TO these
Shores and they acouH be!iese what they hear,
what mountains of sorrow might be avertcd
Good carpenters, 1chen they can obtain ,cork,
receive Sc i day. but not one out Of twenty-five
is able TO accumulate anything. They may be
employed one, two or three days, and perhaps Il
week. and then, the job completed upon which
thay have benD n work tbor lad
lie idle until they can find another job and thus
spend The money which they have earned But
if they should be fortunate enough TO accumu.
late anything during the dry season, they arc
ob'ighed TO spend it all during the ,cet for then
little or no building can be done. The same is
the case with masons and brirklayers. 1t is
fact, uhiCh cannot be denied, that one mechanic
out Of fifty can save as much money here us he
can at home and laboring men, who have no
trade, with the best Of California fortune, are
bart:y able TO support miserable existence.
bo'rd here, at the cheapest hotels, cannot be
Lad Ter less than $40 per week, and washing
E3$ ncr dozen.
lie accounts which you read in The papers
ale, al Gt icm either downright lies, or, what is
Jdst az oad, they are calculated to, and do, mis-
fcad and deceice. A few people in the mines are
doing we'll, but while one man is making money
hundred are no more than making their expen-
ses. a few individuals and companies who
have expended large sums of money in blasting
into the mountains, or otherwise with much la
Dor and expense have got at good claims, are
doing well; but from all have seen. and from
all have heard from reliable sources, it is nv
firm belief that not one in hundred clears a
dollar day at the mines. | know of many
Woodworking, sober men who have been here
since 49, who have striven hard to accomplish |
something, and now have not money enough to
pay their passage home.
The accounts you read in the papers about
men taking out large amounts of gold at such
and such places, are written by some traders or
spectators. Possibly some of The accounts are
literally true, but while one man or one compa-
ny may be doing well, the hundreds of Others
are doing nothing, and all claims that are worth
anything are taken up The mines are more
risky than lottery. DO not come 10 California
Don't fiatter yourself that you are smarter than
others-that you can make money here Stay
at home. Read this letter more than once.
have weighed my words. want you to weigh
them, for they are all true.
Truly, WM.F.s.
DRowNED.-We regret to learn that young
lad about II or IL years of age by the name Of
George Sibley, the youngest son of the late
Anlory Sibley, was drowned yesterday afternoon
in Savannah River. From what we can learn,
in company with youth of about his own age
he attempted to cross the river in canoe. which |
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