“Well, if Mrs. S. wishes to return East again with her daughters, she shall go.”
Taking his hat around among the gamblers in the various houses, he raised in one hour about $1,500, which was sent to her, and in a few days the family went on its way rejoicing.
The winter of ’51-’52 was a very damp one, and mining throughout the entire region was carried on very extensively with toms, long and short, and towards spring sluices came into use, which enabled the miner to wash large quantities of dirt that would not pay by any other process. The greatest activity prevailed among all classes, and fortunes were realized by many. Among the arrivals during this year from the East, were many who had previously been in the mines and returned home; some to remain, while many had been to visit parents, wives and families as well, also in some few cases with the intention to return with a partner. Among the
latter class was a young man from Philadelphia, who had been absent from his loved one nearly two years. During the first year after parting he had written to her by every steamer; but, for some reason, for several months previous to revisiting his home he had neglected to correspond, not dreaming of the effect which such neglect sometimes produces upon the female mind. Upon arriving in his native city he hastened at once to the home of his adored one, knocked upon the door, and the mother of his darling Maggie, answering the call, invite him in with the greatest pleasure. Maggie is called; she enters the room, and the negligent miner goes for her, but hold! with a wave of the hand, she exclaims:
“Joseph, away, away! I thought you were dead, and I’m a married woman now.”
Joe’s advice to all young men upon his return to California was: “Boys, write often! Write often!”
During the winter, many ditches had been dug, bringing water from the mountain streams into the various mining districts, thus enabling the miners to work ravines, slides and benches, which never before had been worked. This extended the area of mining ground, and from this time forth it was possible to work nearly all gold-bearing soil.
In the spring of ’52, many who had succeeded in accumulating a sufficient amount of gold turned their attention to the cultivation of land, and to stock-raising in other portions of the State; and throughout the summer, ranches were pre-empted and located in many of the lower counties, for the very important discovery had now been made that a portion of California, at least, contained land suitable for agriculture. Up to this time, however, but very few people came with the intention of remaining, the principal purpose being to acquire a sufficient amount of gold, and then to return as soon as possible to their Eastern homes. But to thousands this quick return home was a delusion and a snare; for just how to return, or how to acquire the necessary means for so doing, was a conundrum that they endeavored to solve, but in many instances were finally compelled to give up.