East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1864-01-20

Early Gold Digging.

ohe Niel VI kth AohSio~o IL AC1st VS.
a very inconsiderable Spanish town
called Mission Dolores, and yet in.
1851 q magnificent and wonderful
city. inhabited by So 900 people had
sprung intoexistence like q full armed
minecva. The whole solution of
this miraculous growth and prosperi7
ty, lies in one word-gold.
which makes the true true man killed, and saves the
atl thief, -
Nay, sometimes hangs both thief and true man
7' what 49,
Can II not do and unds2 ~. f,..,,..,r
2. The naturally exciting story that
gold could be gathered in abundance,
almost without cost. or labor spread
through the land and awakened the
ayarics Of almost every individual
The journey was long and tedious,
expensive and dangerous, but "dan-
gers self seemed lure alone" for whom
could by sacrifice of property, mort
gage of farm, or any other means
raise sufficient money to pay for oven
the poor Accommodations of a steerage
passage to this wonderful land, set
out at once with the full conviction
that very soon he would return to his
native town accompanied by at least
two immense steamboats, loaded down
to the waters edge with the shining
metal that makes or breaks n man for
oil time Lawyers and doctors, clerks,
merchants, farmers, luborers, mechan-
les and loafers al for once united in
one grand undertaking to distinguish
themselves. Men whose hands had
grown hard and bare under severe la
Dor, and men whose hands were never
sulhod by anything SO honorable as
labor, stood side by side, hoping, be-
lieving, knowing that their fortune
lay above ground somswhese in Cali
fornia, and that all required of them
was to pick it up and carry it home
and DO forever beyond work and
want. They came from England and
France, from South America and
China, from the United States and.
from the Islands Of tho Sea. Every
steamer outward bound was orammed
to its utmost capacity, and every sail
vsssol wasi full Thsy erosssp the
deserts and mountains on foot, en-
dured starvation exposure and almost
death only that they might roach this
"land of promise" AS a natural con-
sequence the population increased
much faster than tho means for their
accommodation, and suffering and want
followed. But the salubrity of the
climate, the temperate character OF
the weather and the fertility of the
soil soon relieved absolute want, and
gave increased vigor to emigration, so
that as early as 1857 San Francisco
was wealthy and luxurious city
But during her first fivo years she
had seen millions of people of all ma
tons thrown into her streets, without
money, without friends, without en-
ployment, without any knowledge of
the country, and yet every one ofthem
hoping to "gobble up" mist of filthy
lucre in an inconceivable short time.
Robbing, murder gambling and and
oil the kindred vices flowed in. as a
consequence, and in all her wealth and
magnifcence San Francisco was the
most debuched and abandoned city
in tho world. Women had, as yet,
gathered there only in very small
numbers, and the majority Of these
were Chinese nymphs du pare. Grog-
shops, fitted up in the most elegant
manner, gambling saloons glittering
in splendor, everywhere meet the eye
Of the beholder, the soft handed clerk
that went out with such brilliant
hopes was realizing his visions by
driving dray or carrying a hod Of NOR
tar. Gray haired judges who left
comfortable homes in the States to
CRAFTY their greed for gold here man
fully earned money by the sweat of
their brow to bring them homo again.
Some were driven TO the mountains
and ecked out miserable existence
until their misfortunes sharpened
their wits, and then they realized for
tunes and fled to lands of less promise
and more comfort. These sharpened
wits led many an unfortunate wild
goose chase and Aceced him of his
money. The plan early adopted re-
quired principal and one or more
ccnfedcrates, and the, plan adopted
was thus: Ff
The principal employs his confede-
rates to go to some ,nfroquented To-
cality in the mountains and COM
mencc digg.ng, so asto make a re-
spectacle show Of labor. There is