Year: 1871

1


working as laborer in New York city for
few weeks, opened small fruit store near
the Battery, and doing a good business, and
being of an economical turn OF mind, he had
amassed q small fortune at the breaking cut
of the California fever in 1S49. In the same
building, and Immediately above his sales
room was a young Frenchman who sought
to keep body and soul together by transfer
ring the countenances of Goihamites to can
vas, but at times his best efforts gave pro-
mise of nothing but failure. One morning
the artist stopped at the fruit stand, and
breakfasted upon a few pennies worth of
apples. This was repeated every morning
for two weeks, and the fruit merchant be-
came satisfied from his sunken checks and
wildly brilliant eyes that this morning meal
was the only one of the day and that Mon
sieur was nearly famished. The next day
he prohered assistance to the painter, and it
was accepted. An acquaintance sprang up
that soon became friendship. Tho fruit
dealer managed to obtain work for his artist
friend, but there were times when some of
the profits of the fruit stand were required to
provide food for the painter.


In 1S49 the merchant was induced by the
golden promises that exerted a powerful in
fuence throughout the country, to sail for
the land of gold. His little wealth was nearly
all invested in real estate in New York, and
placing this in the hands Of an agent for
management during his absence, he transfer
red the lease Of his fruit stand to the artist,
with the advice to throw bis easel out of the
window and give his mind to a business
which, though humble, had proved remuncr
ative, and sailed, with hundreds of other
49crs, in a sailing vessel, via Cape Horn,
for California.


The wealth that came to others in golden
shower fitted from before his grasp, a fever
laid him for weeks before the very jaws of
death, and when at last he had recovered his
health sufficient TO work, he was penniless.
For two years be wandered about the mining
regions, working as laborer until he had a
sufficient amount, when he would start out
prospecting for gold on his own hook, nva
riably to le disappointed. These trips through
the mountainous regions of the State had
caused him to believe that in the bed of the
rivers at the foot of the mountains was un-
told wealth that had been washed down from
the hills, and had there been accommodating
for ages A few small creeks had been
turned from their channels, and their beds
were found TO be rich in the precious dust.
How much more valuable must be the ac-
cumulated dust in the larger streams?


Firm in the belief that great wealth await
ed the daring man who could command
sufficient means to turn from its channel
q river, he labored in mine until he had
earned sufficient for bis passage money to
New York, when he returned to that city,
disposed Of his property for sum that TO
most men would be wealth indeed, but to
him was but the key that was to open mine
of gold. Before sailing, however, he visited
the scene of his early struggles with poverty,
but block Of stores covered the site, and
when at last he succeeded in tracing his form
er friend, he found him in miserable little
room at the top of business block, painting
and starving as usual. The Californian at
once engaged room better suited to the re-
qurements of an artist, furnished it neatly,
and, paying years rent in advance, de-
parted with the oft repeated blessings Of
Monsieur.


Every one knows how bitterly disappoint-
ed were those who sought wealth in Caliior-
MIA by turning large streams from their beds,
and large companies representing a capital
stock of hundreds of thousands of dollars,
and such was the fate of the intrepid fruit
merchant. Stripped of his last dollar, he
became an adventurer. EvcV fresh dscov
cry of gold would see him among the thou.
sands who focked thther At last he
joined party who had decided to return to
the States by the then perilous overland
route. AT last, when they had almost reach
ed the Missouri river they were attacked by
a powerful band of Indians, most of them
were killed, but few, including HIMSELF
were taken prisoners. Thirteen months
among the Osages, during which time he en-
joyed himself even less than in draining bar
ren California streams, and he managed to
escape, finding his way to New Orleans, as
he expresses it, without cent Of money in
my pockets, and not a pocket in my clothes
that would hold money" The first employ
ment obtained here was as laborer on the
docks, but his extensive acquaintance with
the extreme West soon gained him a situa-
tion in firm engaged in the Western and
Southwestern supply trade. The store was
located in block of four-story buildings,
and one day he saw familiar figure passing
up the stairway leading to the upper stories,
and following after, discovered his old friend
the painter located in little sky-lighted
room, where he was earning as precarous
an existence as of old, by coloring photo
graphs. Their friendship was renewed, but
the breaking out of the war offered a field
for adventure, and the whilom fruit merchant
soon drifted into the ranks of Louisiana
regiment, and, until the end of the war, he
followed the fortunes of the Confederate
army, peace finding him without dollar.
Since that time he has again visited Califor-
MIA, with his usual success, being one of the
hundreds who joined the Magdalena Bay
colonization party, and nearly starved in that
ill-stalred band of victims to few villainous
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