Letter from the Author to his Brother in England.
MONTEREY, _October 11th_, 1848.
DEAR GEORGE,--I take advantage of the departure of a courier sent by
Colonel Mason, the United States Governor of California, to
Washington, with dispatches, to let you know what I have been about
during the five months which have elapsed since I last wrote you. Long
before you receive this you will have heard in England of the
extraordinary occurrences which have taken plate out here. My last
letter, which I hope you received, told you of the failure of the
emigration scheme to Oregon, and of my intention of leaving that
barren desert-like place, the first possible opportunity. A friend of
mine, of whom I have before spoken to you, namely, Mr. Malcolm, a
Scotchman, and a thorough practical agriculturist, was anxious to
shift his quarters to California, the soil of which country was
represented by every one who had visited it as of extraordinary
fertility. We had heard of the war that was going on between the
United States and Mexico having extended itself to that country, and
Mr. Malcolm prevailed on me to accompany him to San Francisco, where
he thought I might manage to obtain an appointment in the United
States army. We made the voyage together, and the accompanying
diary--of which more by-and-by--commences with an account of our first
setting out.
But to return to California. I assure you it is hardly possible for any
accounts of the gold mines, and of what I may call gold gravel and
sand, to be exaggerated. The El Dorado of the early voyagers to America
has really been discovered; and what its consequences may be, not only
upon this continent, but upon the world, wiser heads--heads more versed
than mine is in monetary science--must tell. There is much speculation
here as to the effects which the late wonderful discovery will produce
in the States and the old country. Of course we expect to be inundated
with emigrants, coming, I suppose, from every part of the world, and
truly, for all I can tell, there will be gold enough for all.
And now, the first question you will ask me is, whether I have made my
fortune? I reply, my old bad luck has not forsaken me. I always seem to
come in for monkey's allowance--more kicks than halfpence. Three months
ago I thought my fortune was made, and that I might come home a South
American nabob. Nothing of the kind. Here I was, almost on the spot,
when the first news of the gold was received. I have worked hard, and
undergone some hardships, and, thanks to the now almost lawless state
of this country, I have been deprived of the great mass of my savings,
and must, when the dry season comes round again, set to work almost
anew. I have but fourteen hundred dollars' worth of the precious metal
remaining, and, with the rate of prices which now universally prevails
here, that will not keep me much over a couple of months. My own case,
though, is that of many others. As the number of diggers and miners
augmented, robberies and violence became frequent. At first, when we
arrived at the Mormon diggings, for example, everything was tranquil.
Every man worked for himself, without disturbing his neighbour. Now the
scene is widely changed indeed. When I was last there, as you will see
by my diary, things were bad enough; but now, according to the reports
we hear, no man, known to be in possession of much gold, dare say, as
he lays down his head at night, that he will ever rise from his pillow.
The fact is, that there is no executive government of any strength here
to put an end to this state of things. The country is almost a
wilderness, whereof Indians are the principal inhabitants. The small
force Colonel Mason has here has been thinned very materially by
desertions, and the fidelity of those that remain is, according to the
opinion of their commanding officer, not to be over much depended on.
Of course, as you may expect, I am naturally much cast down at the turn
which matters have taken--I mean as regards my own misfortune. It is
heart-breaking to be robbed by a set of villains of what you have
worked so hard for, and have undergone so much to obtain. I am in
hopes, however, that my next gold campaign may be a more, successful
one. I dare say there have been plenty of accounts of the doings in
California in the newspapers. As, however, not only you, but Anna and
Charley, and my kind friends Mr. and Mrs. ---- and Miss ----, and many
others, will, I am sure, be glad to know something about my own
personal adventures, I send you a rough diary of what I have seen and
done. I hardly know whether you will be able to make the whole of it
out, for I have interlined it in many parts, and my writing never was
of the most legible character. You know I have always been in the
habit, ever since I first went abroad, of jotting down some record of
my movements, scanty enough, but still forming a memorial which it is
pleasant to look back upon. As, however, the gold affair is not only a
great feature in a man's life, but in the history of our times, I made
pretty full jottings of my adventures every few days; and since I
returned here, I have spent several days in expanding them, and adding
to them a few extra particulars which I thought would be of interest. I
don't know whether you will care to wade through such a bundle of
information. The MS. when I got it all together quite frightened me,
and I hardly liked to ask Colonel Mason to transmit such a bulky parcel
for me; but you know our couriers over here travel with quite a
cavalcade of horses, and a few pounds more would not be thought much
of. However, as it may prove interesting to yourself--S---- I know will
read it through with pleasure and delight in it--I dispatch it for you
to do as you like with. It will be forwarded to a young friend of mine
in New York, Mr. Thorne, to whom I have written, requesting him to
transmit the package to England by one of the monthly steamers. This
will save you a heavy charge for postage, which, I dare say, you would
not thank me for.
You can't conceive, my dear brother, how often I have wished you were
out here with me. Your engineering talents would have been invaluable
in inventing some method of procuring the gold dust, or rather of
separating it from the soil, which would have been much more effectual
than the rude way in which we went to work. At the same time, I am now
thankful you are at home. It is easy to get gold here, but it is very
difficult to keep it. In fact, after all, the affair is a hazardous
lottery; and those who may succeed in getting off with their pounds of
gold dust and flakes to Europe, or to the States, will be the few who
will win the great prizes.
In my diary, you will find a very detailed account of our various
operations and successes. The first place we made for was on the south
bank of the Americans' River, and when the Lower or Mormon diggings, as
they are called, got over-crowded, we marched off further up the river,
which soon divides itself into two branches, forming the North and
South Forks. We reached the saw-mill, where the discovery was first
made, and worked there some time; but finding inconveniences in the
way, and hearing of another station, we started again. This new place
is called Weber's Creek, and sometimes Rock Creek, and is a small
stream running into the North Fork of the river. We being upon the
southern bank of the South Fork, and Weber's Creek running into the
North Fork at the north bank, we had to ford both branches of the
stream to get to our new station, which we found very productive; the
gold being more plentiful than in the lower diggings, and discovered in
short veins, and in lumps amongst the rocks of the neighbouring
ravines. We should probably not have gone any further than Weber's
Creek--I sincerely wish we had not--but a good deal of fever and ague
got about. The sun was terribly hot in those deep valleys all day, and
the nights chill and damp. After some weeks here, then, we got
restless, and set off once more, directing our course three days'
journey to the north, to a place upon the Bear River, where we were led
to expect not only plenty of gold, but a better temperature and a
healthier climate. It was after we reached Bear Valley that our
reverses began. It is utterly a savage country, where a strong arm and
the rifle form the only code of laws. Up to our appearance on Bear
River, we had got on with very few adventures, and considerable profit;
but now came misfortunes. I shall not trouble you with them here: they
are written at full length in the batch of MS. I send.
I hardly know what to do with myself here until the dry season comes
round. The rains have not begun yet, but they may be expected from day
to day, and then I suppose we shall have a vast influx from the
interior, as it is quite impossible to camp out in the rainy season. Of
course the price of any article of food and clothing will be excessive,
and I almost think that the best thing for me to do, when the seamen
come down, and the ships are manned again, will be to try and get a
passage to the Sandwich Islands, which are not very far off, and in
which it is probable that living is reasonable. I could easily get back
to the mainland in time for the next dry season. What changes may take
place by that time, however, I know not. The States may claim the land,
and the gold within it, and send an army to enforce their rights. If
so, a terrible scene of tumult and disorder may be expected. All the
lawless adventurers who are scattered about this part of the continent
are flocking down to the gold regions, so are the Indians; and I feel
pretty sure that Jonathan will have a tough battle to fight if he wants
to keep all the bullion to himself.
I suppose that in England the people will be pricking up their ears
when they learn what we are doing here, and that we shall have plenty
of emigrants from home. I hardly like to advise upon the subject here;
there certainly is a wonderful amount of gold. What the chances of
obtaining it and getting it taken home may be next season, I know not.
At all events, the pursuit will be difficult in the extreme, and
tolerably dangerous also.
Yours affectionately,
J. TYRWHITT BROOKS.