The Hartford republican., 1914-08-07
CALIFORNIA
GOLD DAYS
Old Diary Tells Story of
Rush.
Discovery Threw Army Of For
tune Seekers Into Frenzy
Of Anticipation.

| (By M. NJ. QUITE, Supt. of the Wis
cons.n State Historical Society,"
Madison, Mis-. Aug 4.-One day il
January 1S4S, u workman engaged il
digging mill race On the Amer.
can River observJu some ye 'owI lar.
ticles of metal glittering IN The
sand. Gathering IA quantlty of them
he took them to his employer, ant
, together the two NEIL subjected Them
: to some rude tests which satisfied
thom that the shining grains were
| pure d. Such was the discovery
of gold in California. The secret cou.
not ba kept, although California was
then so remote "a place That several
months passed before he outside wor I
became aware of it. So dom has The
news of a discovery been ATTENDED
by more drastic consequances. 1t
threw the c.vi,iz6h world into fever
of ant cipation. 1t started Llrongs
of fortule-Se akers-cut throats, gam
biers laborers, physicians, farmers,
preacheTs-on a mad race for Ca, fer
MIA. 1t precipitated the great Sec
tonal crisis of 1850, the most serious
our history between17S7 and 1861 and
it compelled the Government to AID
NIT California 10 Statehood before
ever she had bean a territory
An D n Larry, now III the Possession
Of the Wisconsin Historical Society,
portrays vivilly the experiences of
one Wisconsin band of Argonauts
who crcss,H the continent i'm the
summer of 1S49 in search of the gold
el fleece. The fortune seekers, five
IN aumb were al residents of Madi
son, Che capital of the youthful State.
Their first step was to organize a
company, equipped with appropriate
officers and laws and regulations.
The company, To which al contribut-
ed equally, then purchased the equip
ment for che 'kng journey, the prin-
cipa, items being a heavy covered
wagon and six mule team. One in
bylaw provided that in nd
dition to the company property eacl
member must equip himself with "a
good rif e, pistol and knife"
From early March until August the
to3Some journey Listed. The route
led over rugged mountain ranges
and through burning deserts, where
men and horses alike Were In danger
of per.shing from thirst. At one
place ten men and ten muks were
barely sufficient TO manage an empty
wagon" This place our Hiarist, with
grim humor, decides to name the
Devils Stairs" Another time a
band of Crow Indians, bent on Stam-
peding tie mules of the party, raid
ed the camp by night But the af-
fray passed off without less TO eith-
er party except the powder and
lead. which was wasted profusely by
botlh.'
More successful thieves We're the
coyotes, which stole the Vast pouad
OF pork from the party, when we
We're awake and had a good watchdog
on guard and the pork lying within
four feet of cur heads"
No less than forty thousand gold
seekers crossed the plains this sum
mer of 1S49, and as many more
reached California by water, either
crossing the Isthmus of Panama or
Cape Horn. Hardship and
privtion awaited them al. dazzling
fortunes the few and poverty, disease
aud death the many.
Our party of Argonauts was more
fortunat" than most, but listen 10 In s
which is only one Of many
observed by the diarist:
"A lone woman riding on a skele-
ton OF horse, and driving two COWS
that were but the shadow of what they
once had been, when grazing quietly
on the prairies of LIMOS The MO-
mans dress oonsisr.b of what once
might have been a decent covering.
but at this time it was of a truth
the evidence OF things not seen"
The woman hailed from Illinois. .and
she with her decrepit five stock was
al that remained of husband, wife
and three children, fifteen or twenty
head OF cattle. a wagon. and eight
hmdreh dollars in money. Even so
she was not disheartened, and beg
ged onl" for advice as to what she
should do. This was rendered freely