The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1892-12-07
HOW WE STRUCK 1T.
One of Joaquin Miller. Frontier Tale.


One Of Joaquin MilIer's Frontier Tales
"If had only come here away back
in the early fiftiesw sighed a dreamy
man TO me as We waited for the train al
Fruitvale last week. And another man
ehipped in and sighe,i also as he said
"Flush times then. you bet, and bic
strikes; but only got here in the seven
ties-got here without cent and have
held my own right along"
First let me once for all disabuse the
popular mind about the flush times and
big strikes of the early ffties. Yes, there
were big strikes, but they were, ike the
big generals of our great war, not the
rule. You hear of big strikes and you
hear ofthe big ggeneral.- The thousands
and hundreds ofthousands that perished
in the ranks you never hear about.
For the benefit Of the dreamy man
who sits waiting and l2menting let me
say the openings and opportunities are
better to-day than they were in the sew
enties, AMI they were better in the seven
ties than they were in the fifties. The
wear and tear oflife was so terrible then
too. Every dollar cost about two dol
lars and half to get in those days.
1t has been estimated, and think
about correctly, that if each miner had
received twenty-five cents q day and
board for his labor-and such labor six
teen hours day generally-we would
have had more gold-dust than we-got in
those famous early ffties."
50 cease this deploring that you came
50 late to California, my dresmfal friend.
OF course We would all ike TO live over
the impetuous old days again but l
doubt II you who don't get on to day
would have gotten on then. Better, far
better for you, or all. to settle down con-
tent by some sweet village in this fair
land, where you can have clean clothes,
good food, books, papers, the presence of
woman and all the healthful refinements
that attend her, than sit sighiny for the
days Of cd. You can at least get your
board and twenty-five cents a day, and
that, be assured, is more than wegot on
the average to the man, notwithstanding
ali our privations.
An old forty-niner from New Bedford,
Mas, Mr.. Haskins, who has written a
very readable book about his fellow ar
gonauts-and a very important book If
il, IS It contains the names of more than
5000 Of them-toid me that of the 600
who came from his town, fir-t and last,
it was hard to find more than a very few
who we're much ahead in the world. he
told ne that on returning home after
forty year. be and his old friends took
300 Of their select young men who came
and compared their fortunes with 800
similar young men who remained at
home, and they found that the proper
ton Of those who had prospered at home
was as ten 70 four against those who had
come in forty-nine. On the other hand,
they found that notwithstanding the per-
lis and hardships, the proportion Of ar
gonsuis still living was ten to three
against those who remained in New Bed
ford.
Some day, my dreamful friends who Ia
ment your late coming and are continually
taking the free local trains of Oakland in
order 10 fly from Mi as a contagiOn. l
viii sit down and tell you how to make
fortunes right here by the Bay of san
Francisco far easier than they were made
in the early fifties.H But for the pres
ent the contract is to tell you how We
struck it in the middle fork of Humbug
creek.
had @pardn for about week, win
ter of 1856. He was not yettwenty, small
for his age, and was not thirteen. "a
fool for luck, and so Pat Flannigan, the
banker at Coos Bay, stated-sO be said
and Frank Campbell, Ofthe IIoWlin' Will
derness saloon, started rs. Neither of Gs,
let 1t be frankly told, had enough practi-
cal sense TO come in when it rzined.
Surely We would strike it, if there was
bi. Of truth in the old adage.
His name was Hi Williams Miller, 50
he said, and he claimed to be kin of
mine, but afterward claimed that his
name wss Miller Williams. He was
fearful liar, and had about as much con-
science as a rnbber band.
Boots and pick and pan and shovel,
bacon, -four, frying pan, beans and blan-
kets, and 50, half hidden under our huge
loads, We crept out Of camp at midnight
up the narrow trail of the middle fork
between high walls Of snow. For he
had pointer" be lisped, from old
Boles, killed two years later in the Pitt
river massacre.
How in the world Hi Miller Williams
managed to keep all this name l don't
see. Names were rare Injuries in those
days, especially long ones dixie this, and
many good old man may be found in
those mountains 70 this day with name
and date and nationality all worn away
and gone as from an old quarter. But
the true silver, trust God, Is still there
Three miles up the creek, a mile above
the very last cabin; the last mile or two
solid snow, soft and impossible by day
because Of the sun, but hard as steel by
night, and here We laid down our loads
by daylight and took shelter in a brush
shed built by Alva Boles. We fired our
bacon and flapjaek and ate ike wolves.
On the third day. discouraged and dis