The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-08-16

1his generation does not realize tn
extent of the population that dwelt ii
the western slope of the Lower Sierr;
lin the sos. Each county had its DO
liticaI and corporate center, of which
lsuch towns as Mariposa, Sonora, Moke
ilumne Hill, Placerville, Nevada City
and Downieville were types; but be
sides these there were thousands OF
outlying camps strung along the river
banks, clustered on the principal creeks
and tributary streams, perched on
mountain plateaus, or in the depths OF
the. canons, wherever the rich deposits
yielded golden treasure to the seeker.
These were the Red Dogs, Poker Flats,
Roaring Camps, etc, of the pioneer
days
| MINING CAMPS OF 1851.
Who would suspect that Murderer s
Ear, on the American river. where linn
pid water ripples over the white sand
and along uninhabited banks. boosted
IN 1851 of 500 inhabitants, with its ex-
press office, hotel, stores and dozen
or more saloons. and a tributary popu,
lation up and down the river of 1000
or 5000 more, yet it was ten veara
after its settlement before wagon
road reached lit. Hundreds of other
prosperous camps were in the same con.
dition
The miners were perforce content
with the crooked trails that wound nm.
and down the mountain sides, N ana
out OF the eanons, across pleasant pine.
clad flats and along the windings of
the creeks. The pack mule solved the
transportation problem, and the miner
on his weekly visit to these little cen
tiers of life, packed his flour with his
supply of grub-hacon, beans. coffee
and tobacco-to the log cabin near his
claim. 1t was his wants and necessi-
ties that created the expressman.
Isolated and banished from civilization.
ne must needs keep in slight touch
with it.
The company of Tom and Dick and
Ned, who were working close bv him.
and whose cabins were in close prox.
unity, was well enough in its SWAY. He
would have gone mad had there not
been some semblance of humanity in
reach, but the wide world was bevond
the snow peaks of the mountains. the
gold that he dug was ONLY talisman
that would restore to him what he had
temporarily lost, and the expressman
was the link with what in his lonely
dreams seemed at times an unrealitv.
THE MINER AS A READER.
Steamer day. was sure to bring
him letter from faraway home. from
mother, sister or sweetheart; the near
est postoffice was ten, twenty miles
away; he looked to the mail rider for
its prompt delivery, and what was the
fee OF sl-the usual charge-alongside /
of the happiness that the missive
brought. And then there were the
newspapers. The miner usually suTe |
scribed to one of the principal Eastern +
@V"A "<'i0' 10 be sure, Ene news was q |
month or more old, but it was fresh on
Jaekass Guleh, or Arkansas Flat, and /
while he pored over its columns bv the
light of guttering candle or the blaze
of a pitch pine knot, he forgot for
the time the rude shelter and the ruder
The mail rider and the express rider /
we're distinct and apart. The clientele
II the former was the miner. and his ]
was the fee he charged
'or the delivery of letters, the sale of Il
newspapers and the charge for such /
brands as he might be intrusted with. /,
ONE article needed from the store. {
ome luxury that the camp on the river {
Id not have in stock He rode the
rails twice a month. driving a pack /,
1ule loaded with newspaper literature. t
nd his trips occupied three or four i
avs time, depending on the number a
I his customers. 1t was an arduous b
ut not dangerous business, as he was o
1idom the bearer of anything of value. ! !,
lany rider grew rich and prosperous I
Or time, but with the gradual deple- q
on of the shallow diggings and the a
abandonment of the placers, like Othel- e
J, his occupation was gone. "
THE EXPRESS RIDER 5 RISKS. W
The expressman proper was another n
dividual. He was either in the en- :
oy of the express companies that q
punished at that time. Adams & Co.. l,
age, Bacon. or Wells, Fargo & Co. or Il
Sc established a route on his own ac-
unit. His business was to carry the
Id dust gathered at the smaller sl
mps to the big towns reached bv the th
age lines. when it was sent to the m
Bay, and returned with the coin hs
eded by the merchants, and it was HI
most perilous occupation tn
The trails were infested with high. al
aymen, Mexican bandits and other ca
knights of the road who Law in wait w,
relieve him of his precious burden. TT;
I'd who did not hesitate to kin as ST