The Sierra citizen., 1854-11-04


the bed rock, as miners say; not judge u
too harshly, not harrass us with theil
everlasting questions when we are coming
home This is the miners home; leave u
here to toll on until we succeed, or unit
some of our fellow laborers perform for u
the last service of the pick and shovel thai
we will ever require. IA,
Bid you ever build cabin beside 9
claim that you kner was rich, store il
with provisions, pile on the wood in the
new chimney with the dissatisfaction O
a householder, and the day following &C
down to your claim, and but you need
not tell me, | can guess how it turned out
l have often heard it observed that the
surest way to make claim fail, is to get
into company that pleases you in every
respect, settle yourself down in your cabin
with the determination of prospecting nc
more; then if the claim should pay, you
must be one of the lucky ones sure enough
it is the exception not the rule.
Comfort and gold digging are not very
closely connected, and if we would obtain
the one we must forego the other. But to
resume my story at our camp on the Zu.
malt Flat. How independent and care
less we were then! No running and hur-
rying about, no working at nights or on
Sunday. Sometimes l took walk up
the river and picked up an ounce or two
which might then be found lying round
loose. Putting it in my jacket pocc,a,vtt.
returned and nllng the garment on the
tent-pole, without taking out the gold
You will hardly credit it now, but / was
actually ashamed to display what my part
ners considered the wages of sin. But
have got pretty we'll over that now, not
that | would boast of becoming reckless
or that have forgotten the strict lessons
learned in the Land o'Cakes, or that have
less reverence for that Holy Day, but its
continual desecration by others causes one
to forget its sanctity.
If may be allowed to express my opin
ion, | will do it in few words. You will
rccollect that there was time at the
Forks when every store-keeper thought he
was doing poor business if he were not
weighing out gold half the time. That
was the time of quick returns from small
capital--or sometimes from no capital al
all. Then miners and merchants made
their fortunes suddenly and went home
A change has taken place; it is now ne
cessary to dig or trade with some system
Money is not squandered so reclxlessly, be
cause it is only obtained by diligence anc
economy in business. Let us see if we
can find out the cause of hard times; the
effect is apparent.
When the fuming fever ragged, people
incurred debts with cool indifference, very
certain that they would get it all out oI
the river. Well, of course the fumes
didn't all pay, and then came the tug be
tween the miners and merchants. Ther
the disappointed miners went into the
banks and hills, but that everlasting fumt
debt hung over their heads like a threat
ening thunder-cloud. They had little
heart to work, they only held their claim.
by sufferance. Then was the time for tht
merchants to pitch in, which some of then
did, without giving the miners chance
to work out their claim, and pay the debt
Suit was commenced, and carried on will
zeal worthy a better cause. This de
stroyed confidence between merchant ant
miner, and gave the first hard blow tt
Downieville.
Do you know how H.. B. c. ant
myself collected our debts up the Soutl
Fork, when our claims failed !? Well, We
called in the boys, emptied the keg, tool
the canvas off the poles, packed it ovel
to Poor Mans creek, went to work our
selves and struck good diggings. A fa1
better plan than to sue the poor fellows who
had been working in the water all summer
and at last had their hopes swept ava,
in an hour-much better than to. sit rela
ting our misfortunes, and railing at tn
ingratitude of miners. But as | said be
fore, this system caused a breach betweel
the merchants and miners, that is no
healed yet, and caused many of the miner
to leave Downieville, to get rid of importu
nate creditors. And let me tell you man,
of them were men that any State nigh
be proud OF, they were the best miner
that have met with, before or since: goot
honest men, who would have paid the las