Mariposa Democrat., 1857-04-01
The Miners Downs and Ups.

We take the following from the Sierra Cit-
zen, and commend it to our readers for its
Itruthfulness
Tho miner sees far more downs than ups in
his experience Of California life. Sometimes,
after writing dozen letters to his friends in
the Atlantic States, and waiting as many
months for an answer--hearing that the mail
is in-aitcr hard weeks work, he puts on
his ceanliest wool shirt, and hurries five or
iIl5s 81 ., are stiff with Vice srgstins tfss&s
to winters storms, but with heart beating
quick and light with happy expectations.
You see him walk up to the little hole in the
wall with an unsteady nerve, and trembling
voice, asks If there is a letter fol. him. He rs-
ceves the laconic answer, "Not any, sir" in
a tone of voice indicating that he had better
go about his business, and then to see the tear
mositening the poor fellows check, as he re-
traces his weary steps homeward, wondering
to himself if the loved ones at home "miss"
him.
He is d0wn now. Everything seems dark
and dreary, even the brilliant star of Hope has
refused to shed her radiant beams on his path
way, and he feels as if he had not friend on
the face Of the earth But in an unexpected
hour, he receives several letters from home
containing intelligence Perhaps one is from
his father, who tells him that he is brave
boy, that he must be prudent and steady, and
above all, not to bring a reproach upon his
,o,,o lx n dishonorohla action and IN re-
member, come what may, whether rich or
poor, as long as his father lives, he will find q
home and parents arms open to receive him.
His mother adds a few lines at the bottom,
the import Of which is, that he must not forget
his duty to his Maker. He also receives LETT
ter from his intended, who, among a host Of
other sweet things, informs him that Dick,
Tom, and Harry have all made proposals for
her hand but that she had rejected them all,
much to her own amusement, and to their ter
rible confusion. And among the rest, there
is one from Joe Barpost, his old hunting COM
panion, who informs him that last Thursday
a week he wounded thunderin' big black
bar over in the corn patch, and she tuck to the
} woods, and in consequence Of the little white
slut having her tail druv up, and fifteen or
-:--l----li-- li-;-s-, Iose inssIciy dras
ratid bad luck that"
The miner is up now. He lies down on his
} rough couch at night with light heart and
! while enjoying that pleasant repose between
consciousness and sleep, visions Of other days
: fit across his memory. In his dream he is
sitting in a brilliantly lighted parlor-the hour
J is mdnight-besidc him sits a lovely being
t one whom Of all others he holds most dear OH
this earth. He had been asking her to name
the day, and was waiting for her rcply-ths
, tell-tale blush was on her check, when just at
that moment the door opened, and in stalked
the T" big black bar that tuck to the woods
he has hardly time to recover from his aston
ishment, when the bar suddenly changes into
Dick, Tom and Harry, who are all fighting
, with each other. The miner rolls up his
! sleeves, pitches in, and is about to come off
fourth best, when he wakes up, and finds
F; himself in the middle Of the cabin floor, with
Q sundry camp kettles, stools, and boots scatter
) ed about him.
|, Again, the miner concludes that his claim,
which has always paid him five or six dollars
(; per day to the hand is not such good claim
t after all, as he is continually hearing Of others
/ who are making from an ounce up to fifty dol
: lars, and why cannot he do the same? So he
sells out for few hundred dollars, and leaves
: on a prospecting tour-sinks shaft--gets two
: dollars to the pan, and concludes he has got
: the dead wood" this time-spends five or six
e months time and all of his money in opening
t his new diggings, and at last finds that he can
a not snake grub" Here he is dopn again
q wishes that he had not sold his old claim
e could have had fifteen hundred dollars in cash
if he had held on to it.
: and this is the miners history-fve dozens
to one ug-but of all the "downs," that Of
, getting down IN grog.snop, anu rurowmY
away his dust for that which not only does
t him no good, but Injuries him intellectually,
physically and morally, is the worst. o. that
the miner would learn lessons of wisdom from
his hard experience.