Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1876-03-06
DAILY
LYON COUNTY TIMES.
ofr,c,AL PAPER OF LYON COUNTY.
MY STORY,
or. Experiences Of Life In Call.
iornia by Female Pioneer
Of 1850.


4riumph. A deputation of miners
awaited the arrival of the mud
wagon which brought the mails as
we'll as the news to the expectant
banoers-on about the digging, and
to have a genuine woman make her
appearance was so rare an occur
renee that the news soon spread
through the camp. and all tongues
were busy. To establish q board
ing-house was going to be easy, but
it had got TO be done, in what Hetty
considered, a very common manner.
A rough board house was all she
could obtain for the purpose. and
the setting up Of the establishment
gave room for the display Of inge-
nuity in no uncommon manner
The deficits of housekeeping
were more numerous than the
equipments, and altogether Hetty
would have been discouraged had
IL not been that the miners showed
such good will in planning and
helping in all particulars, that she
felt it did not much matter, il clean
illness only could be accomplished
which it ultimately was. Every
body contributed from such stores
as they had, and everybody gave
encouragement.
The first meal in Hetty's new
house consisted of baked beans and
brown bread, such as rarely can be
found out of New England. There
was the famous cornmeal pudding
as a dessert, which many Of the
miners remembered as a part of
their childhood's Sunday dinner,
and when Hetty produced from her
depository some mince pies, they
concluded that good times had
come, and blessed the now very
proud woman who was likely to
contribute SO Ruch to their com
fort. With her whole heart and
soul Hetty entered into this new
portion of her life, and feeling that
the miners we're vastly worse off in
comfort than those who we're reap
ing the benefits of their labors in
San Francisco, she did her best to
make them comfortable, and sue
ceeded to such degree, she would
have continued her labors for the
mere love OF it, had it not been
half a. lucrative. But it was lucra-
tive to a degree fur beyond her ex-
pectations. She soon made many
friends and altogether ceased regret
ting anything that had previously y
happened to her in California. She
was very much surprised to find
men in such a neglected condition
as many Of them were, in regard to
clothing, and took it upon herself
to see after their washing and mend
ing, and felt how necessary, after
all, was woman's presence, even in
the midst OF civilization, to keep
men from becoming half savages.
She had but little difficulty in
maintaining order, and for the time
considered herself as doing kind
of missionary work amongst those
whose social law and order ideas
had been put to fight by the new
condition of things, and none other
having been substituted, each had
become law unto himself, and full
filed that law in curious ways. For
example: Sunday had been wash
DAY in the camp; it was with some
difficulty Hetty induced them to
employ Q Chinaman and have the
work done on Monday. To get
through the Sabbath without
actual labor Of the same description
as Of the other six days, seemed
their idea of making i. sacred, and
Aetty's idea of doing anything else
seemed rather an innovation; but
coming herself in clean dress to
breakfast, having q fire lighted in
her own sitting room, and obtaining
books and leaving writing material
about for the use of such as wished
10 write letters during the winter,
made the time pass so pleasantly
ihat one and all voted, not only
ladies' society to be agreeable, but
very useful in "helping q fellar''
out OF many difficulties besides that
-of cooking.
Hetty's table became SO well
known that she had more applica-
lions for board than she could ac-
-commodate, and an addition to her
tenement was the result. She longed
70 90 into mining, which, at that
Time, was carried on in primitive
manner, rockers being the approved
machinery. She did at times take d
pan and go where the men were dig.
glng, sometimes with little success
and sometimes with none, and she
concluded that gold digging was a
more Drocarious r,,aa tn f,.rtuno thar