The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-05-08
T8E LATE
S. j. FIELD

being graduated from Williams College
in 1897, he practiced law for ten or
twelve years with his brother in New
York. Then came the discovery of gold
in California. and Mr. Field took pas
sage for San Francisco, where he ar
of his early experiences in a book
printed for a. few friends of which
but few copies were ever struck off.
From this book, Personal Reminis-
quoted:
Upon landing from the steamer, my
baggage consisted of two trunks, and /
had only the SUM of ten dollars in my
pocket. might, perhaps, have carried
one trunk, but could not manage Two;
so l was compelled to pay out seven of
my ten dollars so have them taken to
room in an old adobe building on the
Portsmouth square. This room was
about ten feet long by eight feet wide,
and had a ben in it For its occupation
the sum of dhirty-hve dollars a week
was Charged. Two of my fellow pas
sengers and myself engaged it. They
took the bed, and I took the floor
do not think they had much the adean-
tage on the score of comfort The next
morning / started out early with three
dollars in my pocket. | hunted up "a.
restaurant and ordered the cheapest
breakfast l could get 1t cost me two
dollars A solitary dollar was, there
fore, all the money IN the world l rad
lett"
No Ole seemed 10 complain of tie
charges made
There was an apparent disdain of
all attempts ID cheaper articles and
reduce prices Newspapers from New
York were sold at a dollar apiece
had a bundle of them, and seeing the
price paid for such papers, l gave them
TO Iellow-passenge telling him he
might have half he could get for them
There were siXty-four numbers, If
reco1lect right, and the third day after
our arrival, to my establishment, he
handed me 5hirty-two dollars, stating
that he had sold them all at dollar
apiece. Nearly everything else brought
a similarly eXtravagant price And
this reminds me OF an experience of my
own with some chamois-Skins. Before
| left New York, / purchased a lot IF
stationery and the usual accompani-
ments of writing-table, as / intended
to practice my profession IN California.
The stationer, learning from some re-
mark made by my brother Cyrus, who
was with me at this time, that / in
tended to go to California, said that ]
ought to buy some chamois-skins in
which to wrap the stationery, as they
would be needed there to make bags for
carrying golddust. Upon this sugges-
ton / bought dozen skins for ten dol
vile, these chamois-skins were, of
course, exposed, and gentleman call
ing at the tent which 1 then occupied,
asked me what would take for them.
I answered by inquiring what he would
give for them. He replied at once, an
ounce apiece. My establishment nearly
checked me, for an ounce was taken for
sixteen dollars; at the mint it often
yielded eighteen or nineteen dollars in
coin. |, of course, let the skins go, and
blessed the hunter who brought the
chamois down. The purchaser made
bags of the skins, and the profit to him
from their sale amounted to two oun-
ceS on each skin. From this trans
action the story arose that l had sold
portemonnaies in Marysville before
practicing law.
Mr.. Field did not have great success
in San Francisco: and when an offer
was made him of transportation up the !
Sacramento he very gladly accepted it. |
'Yubaville" is now Marysville:
mo sooner had the vessel struck the !
landing at Nye's Ranch than all the t
some forty or fifty in num-
Der, as if moved by a common impulse. |
started tor an ola adobe building, which !
stood upon the bank of the river, and !
near which were numerous tents. Judg-
ing by the number of the tents, there |
must have been from five hundred to a
thousand people there. When we
'eached the adobe and entered the
room, we saw a map spread
out upon the counter, containing the
plan of town, which was called
Yubaville,' and a man standing behind
t crying out: Gentlemen, put your
names down: put Your names down, all
Tou that want lots He seemed to ad-
,rice of the lots. He answered, Two
hundred and fifty dollars each for lots