Arizona republican., 1891-05-03

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 studs ot 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 a week, he concluded by rolling up his trousers and showing the bullet scars he had received.
 California then was but blotch of yellow on the sChoolboy's map of lS4I. 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 h. dian Territory covered an area now oc- cupied by half dozen prosperous states. Texas was then the Mecca of adventur- CTS and people who found it advisable to leave home suddenly. The phrase in thoss days, "Gone to Texas" had a steaning almost equivalent to "Gone to the -" Then California took its place
 The report slumbered during the sum mer in our village, but in the fall it com menced llindling and by winter it was ablaze. Then companies commenced forming It was not entirely strange land to some of our people.
 Ours was whaling village. Two thirds of the male population were bred to the ses. Every boy knew the ropes of a ship as soon if not sooner than he did his multiplication table. Ours was "travcled" community. They went nearer tne 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 localities were words in every ones mouth, and words, too, which we vera familiar with from childhood. Many of our whalers had touched at San Francisco and Mont erey. There had recently been a great break down in the whale fishery. Whale ships for sale were plentiful Most of the em were bought to carry the "49' rust of merchandise and men to California
 By November, 1S4S, California was the talk of the village, 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 fer 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 fornia Indian. He was expecred to give stores of gold and furs in exchange for gilt watches, brass chains. beads and glass marbles. The companles 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 wers to see a gold mine. Curious ideas were enter tained relative to California. The Sacra- mento river was reported as abounding ip alligators. Colored prints represented the sdventurer pursued by these reptiles. The general opinion was that it was . 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 them was eagerly sought for. An idea pre-. vailed that when this moral weight and responsibility was launched on the shores of California it would entail fortune on all belonging to the organization. People with the lightning glance and diyination of golden anticipation saw themselves al ready in the mines hauling over chunks of ore and returning home weighed down with them. Five years was the longest period any one expected to stay. Five years at most was to be given to rifiing