Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-09-29
HOW WE STRUCK 1T.

IlOh W IA - 4 lOtth IL.
"If bad only come here away back
In tho carly iflesr sighed dreamy
man to me as we waited for tho train at
Fruitvalc last week. And another man
chippcd in and sighed also "a he said.
"rlush times then, you bet, and big
strikes; but only got hero In the seven
ties-got here without cont and have
held my own right along"
First let me once for all disabuse tho
popular mind about the flush times and |
big strikes Of the early fiftics. Yes,
there were big strikes, but they were,
like tho big generals OF our great war, |
not tho rule. You hear Of the big strikes |
and you hear OF the big generals. The |
thousands and hundreds OF thousands |
that persisted in tho ranks you never
hear about.
For tho foneflt OF tho dreamy man
who sits waiting and lamenting, let me !
say that tho openings aud opportunities
are better totry than they woro In tho
seventies, and they were better Ia tho
seventies than thoy woro IN tho tiftics.
Ht MtAI anu titI VI lllN WIZ ~ ANiiA-
bic then too. Every dollar cost about
two dollars and u half to get in those
days.
II has been estimated, and | think
about correctly, that " each miner had
received twenty-five cents day and
board for his labor--and such laboit
sixteen hours day gcnerally-wo
would have had more golddust than we
got In those famous "carly iiiiies."
SO cease this deplorIng that you camo
30 late 10 California, my droamful
friend. OF cotrse we would all like to
live over the impetuous old days ngain;
but doubt II you who don't get on to-
day would have got on then. Better.
far better for you, for all, TO settle
down content by some sweet village in
this fair land, whore you can have clean
clothes, good food, books, papers, the
presence Of women and all tho hcalthful
refnenents that attend her, than sit
slghng for tho Days of old. You can at
least get your board and twenty-five
ccnts'a day. and that. be insured. is
more than We got on an average TO tho
man, notwithstanding all our priva-
tons.
An old forty-n;ner from New Bed
ford. Mass, Mr.. Haslins, who has writ
ten very readable book about his fel.
low argonauts-and very important
book II 30, as 1t contains the names Of
more than 5000 Of them-told mo that
OF the 5000 who came from his town.
first and last, IL was hard TO find more
than very few who were much ahead
In the world. He told me that on re-
turning home after forty years he aud
his old friends took 800 Of their select
young men who came and compared
their fortunes with 800 similar young
non who remained at home, and they
found that the proportion Of those who
had prosporod ut home was as ten Ia
four against those who had come In
forty.nino. GA the other hand, they
found that notwithstanding tho pcri,t
and hardshipa the proportion of arso
nauts stlll living was ton to three against
those who remained In New Bedford.
Some day, my drcamful friends VIII,
lament your late coming and are con
tinually taking tho FREQ local trains o
Oakland In order to Nv from toll us from
acontagion, will sit down and tell yol
how TO make fortunes right here by tn
Bay OF San Francisco far easier thai
they were made In the "early hfties.
But for ,he present the contract Is TO tel
you how we struck 1t in the middle for
Of Humhug creek.
had "pnrdnor" for about wecl
winter of 1855. He was not yet twenty
small for his age, and | was not yc
ftta g.. ~ q. L. - nd -
Flanagan, the banker Mt Coos Ba,
staked him--so he said-and Fran
Campbell, of the Howlin' Wildene,
saloon, starred me. Neither OF us, |,
II be frankly told had enough praotici
sense TO come In when 1t rained, Surel
we would strike II, II there was bit {
truth in the old adago.
His name was Iii Williams Miller,
he snid. and he claimed to be kin
mino, but afterward learned that h
name was Miller Williams. He was
fearful liar. and had about as much col
science a. n rubber band
Boots and pick and pan and shove
bacon flour, frying pan, beans az
blankets, and so, hall hidden under OF
huge loads, we crept ont of camp
midnight up the narrow trail of Il
middle fork between high walls of sno'
For he had "pointer," he lisped, fro
old Alvh Boles, killed two years later
the Pitt river massacre
How In the world Iii Miller william
managed to keep all this name dor
see. Names were rare luxuries in tho
days, especially long ones like this, q,
many good old man may DO found