The Argonauts of California: being the reminiscenses of scenes and incidents that occurred in California in the early mining days

by Charles Warren Haskins

where they can get a few colors to the pan, and find the bed rock pitching. They are the spirits of Jeff, Yank, Old Pike, Tennessee, Jersey and Jim, the old Forty-niners.”

It is now forty years since a few thousands of hardy adventurers sailed out upon the broad ocean from the various sea ports on the Atlantic coast, and also about an equal number of thousands crossed the barren plains in that eventful and long-to-be-remembered year of 1849, to follow upon the trail of the Star of the Westward-bound Empire, which, tradition said, was coursing across the continent, and which was supposed to have finally set somewhere upon the Pacific Coast. And what a transformation has taken place since their arrival upon the shores of California! Here, where we first landed, where all appeared like a vast army encampment, with the sand hills dotted with tents, we now find, in place of those primitive and original conditions, a great city, the foundations of which were laid by those original tent-dwellers, and which has in a few short years sprung into existence as if impelled by some magical-hidden subterranean influence in the mountain regions. And it is this magical influence, more potent than the lamp of Aladdin, which has accomplished such wonderful transformations in so short a space of time that we have come thousands of miles by sea, as well as across barren sands and deserts, to seek for the widely scattered fragments of the once richly paved streets of the “New Jerusalem.”

These wonderful transformations are not, however, confined to the few large cities of the plains, or to those the foundations of which are laid by the sea, but are visible over the entire country, for even among the hills and mountains ranges, as well as in the broad and rich valley bottoms, can now be seen the pleasant homes and residences of the farmer, the fruit, and the vine grower. There can also be seen occasionally the homes of those who are yet engaged in the mining industry. There can yet be seen, also, among the deep ravines, upon the level spots of the steep sides of the cañons, and in other localities, the ruins of the once pleasant homes of the old Forty-niners; but these have, in the great majority of cases, like the greater number of their once happy and energetic occupants, gone to decay. Many of them, however, yet exist in form, and to all outward appearances, from a distance, have an air of usefulness and solidity; but upon a nearer approach it will be

found that the foundation only remains; the bark upon the old logs has rotted and fallen off, and the decayed logs have a seedy, antiquated appearance. The once palatial residences of the old-timers, which have withstood the storms and battled with the elements for nearly forty years, are now, like many of their former occupants, existing only in form. They have fought the fight and have won, and many of them are yet in existence, roaming upon various portions of the earth’s surface, resembling in their seedy and antiquated appearance the old logs of their ancient castles among the mountain ranges, and like these requiring but a slight push or a gentle breeze to throw them from their foundations into the ravine below.

Yet there is, after all, among the old Forty-niners a great satisfaction when, from a commanding eminence or standing upon the rugged cliff of some mountain peak, the Argonaut can take a view of the surrounding country spread out before him below, and see the pleasant homes upon the flats, among the ravines and sunny slopes of the hillsides of the once thickly populated mining region. The country that once was dreary and desolate, now covered with extensive forests of fruits and vineyards; and away further back among the hills, where formerly dwelt the grizzly and other wild animals, can now be seen the cabins of the herders with their immense droves of cattle and flocks of sheep. In the valleys below he can see fields of waving grain, and the railroad trains rushing through them in various directions, filled with travelers from all parts of the world who have come to view this wonderful transformation scene. He includes, also, in the view the great cities beyond, which have risen during this brief period, and are now filled with a busy crowd, all engaged in fierce warfare, endeavoring to see who will get there first, and in which none are anticipating that they will get left.

All this the old-timer views from his lofty perch upon the mountain summit, and with these thoughts running in his mind:

“Although I am not at present in a suitable condition or circumstances to take an active part in the busy scene, or even to mingle with the well-dressed crowds that are promenading the streets of the great cities (for the stylish plug hat that I sported in my early mining days has long since been jammed and knocked out of shape by my mining acquaintances, my store clothes are in tatters, and my biled shirt and fancy necktie also have long since faded and gone), yet there is consolation in the thought that I assisted by my labor to lay the foundation of all this grand panorama, in motion below me. And amid the solid rocks which form the foundation, and beneath the corner-stone upon which the whole fabric rests, will be found the results of my labor, cheerfully contributed towards the erection of this grand and noble structure.”

To an old-timer, the wonderful changes and transformations which have taken place within, apparently, so short a space of time are hard to realize; and one who has followed the business of mining, more particularly for many years, finds it difficult, even, to grasp the fact that so many long years have come and gone since he first landed upon the shores of the country.