The Press., 1891-04-23

 .~za# @ NE June morning, WEWI when was boy, Cap ssEJ 2a tain Eben Latham came " k2S to our house, and the KAYE first gossip he unloaded was that them stories N=W about finding gold in Californy was all true. It was ''wash day" and our folks and some of the neighbors were gathered in the "wash house" while the colored help soused her fat black arms in the suds of the wash tub.
 That was the first report heard from California. Old Eben had been a man of the sea; was once captured by pirate, and when he told the story, which he did once week, he concluded by rolling up his trousers and showing the bullet scars he had received.
 California then was but a blotch of yellow on the schoolboy's map of 1S47. It was associated only with hides, tai low and Dana's ''Two Years Before the Mast" It was thought of principally in connection with long horned savage cat tie, lassos and Mexicans. Very near this in general vacancy and mystery was the entire region west of the Rocky mountains. What was known as the In- dian Territory covered an area now oc- cupied by half a dozen prosperous states. Texas was then the Mecca of adventur- CTS and people who found it advisable to leave home suddenly. The phrase in those days, "Gone to Texas" had a meaning almost equivalent to 'Gone to the -" Then California took it's place.
 The report slumb bered during the sum- mer in our village, but in the fall it com menced kindling and by winter it was ablaze. Then companies commenced forming It was not entirely strange land to some of our people.
 Ours was a whaling village. Two thirds of the male population were bred to the sea. Every boy knew the ropes of ship as soon if not sooner than he did his multiplication table. Ours was 'traveled" community. They went nearer the north and south poles than most people of their time. and Behring straits, the Kamtschatkan coast, the sea of Japan. Rio Janeiro. Valparaiso, the Sandwich islands, the Azores and the names of many other remote lo..alities were words in every ones mouth, and words. too, which we were familiar with from childhood. Many of oul whalers had touched at San Francisco and Monterey. There had recently beer a great break down in the whale fishery Whale ships for sale Were plentiful Most of them were bought to carry thu
 '''49" rush of merchandise and men tG California
 By November, 184S, California was the talk of thevillage. as it was all that
 time of the whole country. The great gold fever ragged all winter.
 All the old retired whaling captains
 wanted to go, and most of them did go.
 All the spruce young men of the place
 wanted to go. Companies were formed, and there was much serious drawing up of constitutions and bylaws for their regulation. In most cases the avowed object of the companies, as set forth in these documents, was Mining and trad. ing with the Indians" Great profit was expected to be gotten out of the Cali. fornia Indian. He was expected to give stores of gold and furs in exchange fol gilt watches, brass chains, beads and glass marbles. The companies bought safes in which to keep their gold, and also strange and complex gold washing machines, of which numerous patterns suddenly sprang up, invented by Yankees who never saw and never were to see g gold mine. Curious ideas were enter tained relative to California. The Sacra mento river was reported as aboundine in alligators. Colored prints represented the adventurer pursued by these reptiles The general opinion was that it was 3 fearfully hot country and full of snakes.
 Of the companies formed in our vicin ity some had more standing and weight than others, and membership in then was eagerly sought for. An idea pre- vailed that when this moral weight and responsibility was launched on the shore. of California it would entail fortune or all belonging to the organization. People with the lightning glance and divinstioI of golden anticipation saw themselves al ready in the mines hauling over chunk of ore and returning home weighed dow1
 with them. Five years was the longes
 period any one expected to stay. Five years at most was to be given to ridinf California of her treasures, and then tha country was to be thrown aside like |. used-up newspaper, and the rich adven turers would spend the remainder o
 their days in wealth, peace and prosper ity at their eastern homes. No one talked then of going out ''to build up the glori ous state of California" No one the1
 ever took any pride in the thought tha
 he might be called Californian" & they went.
 People who could not go invested il
 men who could go, and paid half the ex pense of their passage and outfit on con
 dition that they should remit back hal the gold they dug. This description of Argonaut seldom paid any dividends. doubt if one ever sent back dollar. Eastern shareholders really got their moneys worth in gilded hopes, which with them lasted for years. But people never put such brilliant anticipations on the credit side of the account, and merely because that at the last they are not real ized. &E
 As the winter of "'4e" waned the com- panies, one after another, set sail for the land of gold. The Sunday preceding they listened to farewell sermons at church. l recollect seeing score or two of tho young Argonauts thus preached to. They were admonished from the pulpit to behave temperately, virtuously, wisely and piously. How seriously they listened. How soberly were their mar row brimmed, straight-up-and-d down lit tie plug hats of that period piled one atop the other in front of them. How glistened their hair with the village bar ber's hair oil. How pronounced the creak