As before mentioned, the chief amusement upon Sunday afternoons with the great majority was in lounging around the various saloons and gambling-houses; but to many, however, this part of the day was devoted to visiting the cabins of each other. There were many good singers to be found among the ravines and gulches, and upon pleasant moonlight evenings could be heard the notes of “Ben Bolt” from the boys who occupied the cabin on the hill above, while from another cabin in the ravine could be heard the refrain of “Do They Miss Me at Home,” or “Sweet Home.” Some, also, could be heard singing the songs we used to hear of, “Life on the Ocean Wave,” “The Last Rose of Summer,” or, perhaps, “Old Dan Tucker,” all to be concluded by the singing of “Old Hundred,” “Siloam,” and “Coronation,” and other tunes of a similar character.
There were also many good musicians to be found among the miners. Many of them had brought their instruments with them, and often at night could be heard echoing from the ravines and cañons the sounds of the fiddle, flute, accordeon and clarionet. One young man from Boston had brought with him his favorite instrument, the bugle, and when perched above upon the summit of a hill overlooking the town upon pleasant moonlight evenings, the strains of “Oft in the Stilly Night,” “The Emigrant’s Lament,” or the martial strains of “The Red, White and Blue,” or “The Star Spangled Banner,” from his bugle, would be heard echoing far and near, among the ravines and gulches, and hailed by all with the greatest delight.
CHAPTER VI.
Business in the Mines—The Various Mining Camps—Physicians in Camp—Dr. Rankin—Coloma—Process of Mining—The ’49 Emigration—Sauerkraut—Female Influence Illustrated.
WE found on arriving in Hangtown quite a number of business houses, stocked with a very good assortment of provisions and nearly all other articles for miner’s use. The merchants, as well as I can remember, were Thomas & Young; W. T. Coleman; Sayward & Thorndike; Judge Russel; Mr. Job; Judge Daniells; C. Williams, while a short distance above upon the bank of the creek were the stores of Frost, Brewster & Price, and just below town was the store of the Governor.
There were three hotels in town: one large log-cabin, used for a hotel, was called the Eldorado, and owned by Mr. Eltsner; another one was kept by J. Adams, and the third by Col. Backus. The most numerous business houses in town were, however, the saloons and gambling houses.
At Cold Springs, a few miles below Hangtown, was located a mining camp, at this time consisting of a cluster of tents used for saloons and for gambling houses, and one provision store, owned by Burgess & Hill.
On the road towards Coloma, at the mining camp called Kelsy, named after the man who discovered the placer mines here, were also two stores with the usual complement of saloons. At Coloma, which is situated upon the South Fork of the American River, we found a number of stores and saloons, whilst just below this camp were the old saw mill and tail race, where Marshall found the nugget of gold which has been the means of revolutionizing society and changing social conditions among us, as well as settling up the whole Pacific coast in so short a space of time.