In January of 1848, the largest migration in human history began. This migration was the great California Gold Rush. Travelers from all over the world came seeking a quick richness. This event was what formed some major cities in California, and also changed many things in California at the time of the great rush.
The big race for gold was started at a small mill, about forty miles up the American River from SanFrancisco. This mill was named Sutters Mill after the owner, John Sutter.
One day, one of John Sutters foremen found a few tiny gold nuggets in the river. The foreman, Sam Brannan, ran to Sutter shouting, Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River! (Ketchem, 2) The two men locked themselves in a room, talked it over, and tested the metal out. It really was gold!
None of this news was published until about a week after the find. When it was published, the newspaper, the Californian, was the first to do it.
It stated, Gold mine found- in the newly made raceway of the sawmill erected by Captain Sutter on the American fork gold has been found in considerable quantities. (Stein, 8) Actually, this publication was not true. Only a few gold nuggets were found, not considerable quantities.
California residents rushed to the California Valley to find riches for themselves. Merchants, doctors, lawyers, tailors, blacksmiths, and wheelbarrow makers all became gold hunters or merchants selling needed items for the gold seekers. As a gold hunter, B. P. Kloozer wrote home, I am almost crazy Excuse this letter, as I have the gold fever shocking bad.
(Stein, 7) Everyone dropped what he or she was doing to go search for gold. The last newspaper published before the gold rush reported, The whole country from San Francisco to Los Angeles resounds with the sordid cry of gold. GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! While the field is left half planted and the house left half built, and everything neglected but the manufactures of shovels and pickaxes. (Ward, 164)
Easterners fled to California also to get rich with gold. Traveling was a terrible problem with getting to California. Adults, mostly men, left their families in order to find gold. One promise that all gold hunters must have made was to always remain true to their spouses while on the gold hunt. (Blumeburg, 48) Families were left behind expecting to be rich when their relatives got back.
One way to get to California was to go around Cape Horn of South America and up the pacific coast by boat. This travel took an average of six to eight months. About 39,000 people took this route, and many drowned or died of disease. This was a very dangerous route to take because of the many people on the boats. These people could get sick from one person, and then all die.
The captains of the boats were very greedy. Only a certain amount of people could fit on one boat, and the captains usually made three times the amount of people get on the boat at once. The California was designed to carry 210 passengers, but on the first ship, she is reported to have had over 400 jammed aboard. (American Heritage, 33)
Down around the South American tip, violent storms occurred. Many people called these boats floating coffins. This was because some of the boats were abandoned because they were considered unsafe. When people found they could make money off of the boats, they fixed them up a bit and sold them. Many people died on these boats, and the boat owners did not care because they had their money.
Another way to get to the west was over land. This was by far the most popular route. Over 40,000 people took this route. Singles and families traveled by foot, horse, mule, and by wagon across the large area of land. Some of the rough things that occurred were sand in migrators’ eyes, shoes, and the sand whipping across any bare skin. There was never enough water, and about one out of every eight people died on the trails died.
In the middle of their travel, the forty-mile desert was crossed. This was the worst part of the journey. One man wrote in his journal, Imagine the worst desert that you can possibly think of, and when you get here, it is worse. (McMorrow, 46) Along the way, travelers sang songs to ease their desperation. One song was sung to the tune of Oh, Susanna. It went as follows:
I shall soon be in San Francisco
And then Ill look around
And when I see a lump of gold
Ill pick them off the ground
Oh, Californi-o
Thats the land for me!
Im going to Sacramento
With my washbowl on my knee!
Along the way to California, land travelers brought with them items not needed. The travelers needed to throw these non-necessities out. However, some people were very greedy and decided to burn or destroy any object that would be helpful to another. Travelers wanted as much gold to themselves as possible, so any elimination would be very helpful.
Another route to California from the East was to go down to Panama on a boat, cross the small section of land west, and then hop on a boat that was going up the Pacific coast. Not many people took this route. This was because of the rough jungles and the diseases. Sicknesses occurred often, and many died while trying to take this route.
The people that found gold were very rare. A lot of findings occurred by luck. One lucky finding was by a little girl. She was out looking for flowers when she found a rock that she thought was pretty. She brought it home to her mother, and her mother washed it off. It turned out to be one of the largest lumps of gold ever found. Another lucky finding was by a team of gold hunters. They had gotten into a fistfight from the frustration of being unlucky. When one of the men missed and punched the wall, gold dust fell out of the mine wall.
Digging for gold was a very tough and painful job. Looking for gold included hard working hours, and a lot of patience. While wash panning was the most popular method of finding gold, it was probably the most painful. To wash pan, you had to squat in ice-cold water for hours, and sift for gold. Most people got numb hands and legs from sitting in the cold water. Other methods of finding gold were to use the cradle, long-toms, digging, and to pickaxe in mines.
While hunting for gold was a lot of pain and suffering, a little bit of fun was also included in the package. Every Sunday was named funday for the gold hunters. There were shows and plays for the men to see. Gambling was also an event used to block out the thought of gold digging, and on every Sunday night, there would be dances held. When there werent enough women to dance with, the men danced with each other for the fun of it.
Since there werent any police or laws in the gold digging days, the pioneers made up their own laws. The pioneers 10 commandments stated
- Only one claim of land per person
- No one may jump another to get anothers fortune
- Not to go hunting before the prospect is said
- Do not forget the Sabbath day
- Do not think of how you can make gold the fastest
- Do not work in the rain
- Do not get discouraged or go home before you get what you desire
- Do not steal tools from others
- Do not tell lies about finding gold
- Go back to present marriage or love
If one of these laws were broken, the punishments consisted of, thirty-nine lashes; ears cut off, and/or are hung. (McMorrow, 37)
The peak year of the gold rush was 1852. Gold fields produced 80,000,000 dollars worth of gold, and in 1962, the gold rush was officially ended. Most surfacing gold in California was found and sold. Men and women returned to their families. Some had gotten rich, but no many. Travel back home was much easier. Pioneers shared what they had. Others stayed in California. This produced the bigger cities in the west, and then California became the richest, most populated area on the continent.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
