The weekly Butte record., 1861-02-16
0dtehIg 8uttt8etorb
A Warning to Young Men.

Ia 1850, there came to this city, from New
York, in the great throng of fortune seekers at
that time setting towards the West, young
nan, whose name we will not publish. He was
one of an old, wealthy, and highly respectable
family in bis native city, but with the spirit of
recklessness adventure then predominant, he
preferred the wild uncertainties of California
life to the every day conventionalities of home
its duties and business restraints. Soon after
his arrival, he succeeded, by the use Of his
family name, and letters of introduction, in get
ting lucrative appointment in the e. s.
Custom House, under I. Butler King which
he held through that administration, and re-
tanned under Beverly Saunders. During this
period. he was in the receipt of large sums of
money, which were squandered with all the
blind and thoughtless extravaganza of those
days Wine, women, horses, billiards, gam
bling Of all kinds-each took their turn Yet
the young New Yorker, mindful of his social
station, kept up an outward appearance of
decency, and sported all the fine clothes, jewel
ry, ETC., necessary to appear like gentleman
and his debaucheries were conducted by night,
so as not TO interfere with the duties of his
Office
After the defeat Of General Scott, the Wing
candidate for President for 1852, our hero
lost his Custom House position, and was
thrown upon his own resources for a livelihood
Unused to battle with the world in business
matters, and unfit for commercial concerns, he
soon exhausted what little credit he had, begun
to fall into seedy appearance, and finally was
obliged to dispose of his jewelry, etc. From
this he gradually fell in the social scale until
he became the proprietor of miserable dance
house and rum mill, on Pacific street. His
former acquaintance now deserted him, and
soon after he married South American wo-
man, whose character only helped to drag him
down. Subject to the vicsstudes of such a
life be shifted from one wretched place to an
other, became well known to the police, and
frequently taken before the Police Judge for
disreputable and lawless acts. His personal
"PpOoidhNO vas iiON Iudb U! IL NIGlCutQ SOL
the companion of low characters and abandon
ed women.
This has been his life, particularly for the
last two years. Latterly, he had become too
wretched a creature even to keep open his
groggery. Last week he was arrested as q
common drunkard, at which time we mention
ed him (without knowing his history, as suf-
fering with delYi1m tremens in a cell in the
Station House, where he passed the night
crawling around on his hands and knees, to
avoid the tangle of snakes which his distem-
pered Imagination pictured as writhing about
his feet. 1t was but few days after that be
died, and was taken to pauper's grave at
Lone Mountain Cemetery-a truly pitiable and
unsightly victim to his own base passions. This
is Ole of thousands of instances where young
men, with high hopes and aspirations, have
been unequal to the excitements and tempta-
tions of California life. California has been
the grave of multitudes of such. This brief
narrative may serve to point moral, and, as
an example, save Others from an equally igno-
minious fate.-S. f. Alta, Feb. 7th