Men were so eager to go that often several joined together to buy an outfit of oxen, mules, wagons, and provisions. They made the journey in covered wagons called “prairie-schooners,” while their goods followed in peddlers’ carts. It often happened that out on the plains they missed their way, for there was no travelled road, and a compass was as necessary as if they had been on the ocean.
Placer-Mining in the days of the California Gold Rush.
Journeying thus by day, and camping by night, they suffered many hardships while on the way. Disease laid hold of them. Four thousand died from cholera during the first year, and many more for lack of suitable food. In some cases they had to kill and eat their mules, and at times they lived on rattlesnakes. The scattered bones of men and beasts marked the trail; for in the frantic desire to reach the diggings the wayfarers would not always stop to bury their dead.
When the gold region was reached, tents, wigwams, bark huts, and brush arbors served as shelter. The men did their own cooking, washing, and mending, and food soared to famine prices. A woman or a child was a rare sight in all that eager throng, for men in their haste had left their families behind.
It was a time of great excitement. Perhaps you have a grandparent who can tell you something of those stirring days. The gold craze of ‘49 is a never-to-be-forgotten event in our history. As the search for nuggets and gold-dust became less fruitful, many of the men turned homeward, some enriched and some—alas!—having lost all they possessed.
Some Things To Think About
- What kind of boy was Houston? What kind of man? What did he do for Texas?
- Tell about David Crockett’s heroism at the Alamo.
- When reading about Frémont’s explorations look up on the map every one of them. What do you think of him?
- Who was Kit Carson, and how did he help Frémont?
- Locate on your map every acquisition of territory from the end of the Revolution to 1848.
- Imagine yourself going to California across the plains and mountains in 1849, and give an account of your experiences.
CHAPTER XV