The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-11-22
San Francisco in 1850.

We found bleak and meager frontiS-
piece to our Book of Fate. A few low
houses and many tents, such as they
were, covered the base of some of the
wind-swept treeless hills, over which
the June fog rolled in chilling mist.
Deserted ships of all sorts were swing
ing with the tide. A crowd of men
swarmed about what is now MontgOm-
cry Street, then the mud shore of the
bay. 1t was Aladdin's old lamp, how
ever, homely us it seemed, and fortune
was there for those who had what my
father used to call ga stomach for Il
fight" or for those who, born lucky,
succeeded by virtue of the unknown
force to which we concede that term.
The mere landing of the passengers
was a problem. The crews who took
boats to shore were pretty sure not to
come back. The Ohio, Capt. APP Gates
by Jones commanding, was there. Capt.
Jones very kindly invited me on board
to remain until Mr.. Fremont should ar
rive, for | had the disappointment of
finding he was not yet here. Mr.. How
ard, wealthy merchant, had brought
out his boat, and accepted his invita-
ton, as after so much sea travel the
land was best for me.
There were then some three or four
regularly built houses in San Francisco,
representing the Hudson Bay and Rus
sian hide business; the rest were can
vas and blanket tents. Of course there
was no lumber there for building, and
there were not even trees to be cut
down; nor would any man have divert
ed his attention from the mines to go to
house-building. A little later, when
they found the hardships of mining life
too great and the returns too uncertain,
the tide turned and many men came
back to make fortunes at steady work
in building up the town. Sixteen dol
lars a day was ordinary pay for carpen-
tiers. The young officers of the army
and navy there used to lament to me
that their business was far less profita-
BILE. One of them turned to profit his
having been on the Wilkes surveying
expedition, and made really great sum
of money, by plotting in the thick in
coming fleet of vessels of all sorts.
was taken to one of these houses,
which had been the residence of Liedes-
dorff. the Russian Consul, who had re-
Gently died there. 1t was a time of Won
derful contrasts. This was well built
adobe house, one story high, with
GOOD veranda about it, and beautiful
garden kept in old-world order by
Scotch gardener. Luxuries of every
kind were to be had, but there were
wanting some necesSaries. Fine car
pets and fine furniture and fine Broad
wood piano, AID no house-maid. The
one room with fireplace had been pre-
pared for my sleeping-roOm, and had
French furniture and no end of mirrors,
but lacked a fire.
The June winds were blowing, and l
felt them the more from recent illness,
which had left the lungs, however, very
sensitive. There was no fuel proper;
and little fagots of brush-wood, broken
ND good boxes, and sodden ends of old
ship timber were all that could be had.
The club of wealthy merchants who
had this house together had excellent
Chinese servants, but to make every
thing comfortable to me they added the
only woman that could be procured,
who accepted a temporary place OF
chamber-maid at two hundred and forty
dollars month and perquisites. One of
the perquisites was the housing of her
husband and children as well as herself.
She had been washer-woman to New
York regiment, and was already the
laundress of these gentlemen. She was
kind enough to tell me that she liked
nv clothes, and would take the pattern
of certain dresses, and seemed to think
it a matter of course that would let her
carry off gowns and wraps to be copied
by her dress-maker, Chinaman. de-
ciined this as civilly as 1 could, but the
result was that she threw up the situa-
ton.
The only really private house was one
belonging to a young New Yorker, who
had it shipped from home, house and
furniture cOmplete-a double two-story
frame house, which, when in place, was
said to have cost $50, 900. At this price,
with the absence of timber and the abb
sence of labor, it will be seen that it was
difficult to have any other shelter than a
tent. The bride for whose reception this
house was intended arrived just before