THE
LAND OF GOLD.
REALITY VERSUS FICTION.
BY
HINTON R. HELPER.
BALTIMORE:
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR,
BY HENRY TAYLOR, SUN IRON BUILDING.
1855.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
HINTON R. HELPER,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
District of Maryland.
SHERWOOD & CO., PRINTERS,
BALTIMORE.
TO THE
HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD,
OF NORTH CAROLINA,
These Pages are respectfully Dedicated,
BY HIS
SINCERE FRIEND AND ADMIRER,
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
Previous to my departure for California, near and dear friends extracted
from me a promise to communicate by letter, upon every convenient
occasion, such intelligence as would give them a distinct idea of the
truthfulness or falsehood of the many glowing descriptions and reputed
vast wealth of California. In accordance with this promise, I collected,
from the best and most reliable sources, all that I deemed worthy of
record touching the past of the modern El Dorado, relying upon my own
powers of observation to depicture its present condition and its future
prospects.
This correspondence was never intended for the public eye, for the
simple reason that the matter therein is set forth in a very plain
manner, with more regard to truth than elegance of diction. Indeed, how
could it be otherwise? I have only described those things which came
immediately under my own observation, and, beside this, I make no
pretensions to extensive scholastic attainments, nor do I claim to be an
adept in the art of book-making.
A weary and rather unprofitable sojourn of three years in various parts
of California, afforded me ample time and opportunity to become _too_
thoroughly conversant with its rottenness and its corruption, its
squalor and its misery, its crime and its shame, its gold and its dross.
Simply and truthfully I gave the history of my experience to friends at
home, who, after my return, suggested that profit might be derived from
giving these letters to the world in narrative form, and urged me so
strenuously, that I at length acceded to their wishes, but not without
much reluctance, being doubtful as to the reception of a book from one
so incapable as myself of producing any thing more than a plain
“unvarnished tale.”
In order to present a more complete picture of California, I have added
two chapters, that describing the route through Nicaragua, and the
general _resume_ at the close of my volume. All that I solicit for this,
my first offering, is a liberal and candid examination; not of a part,
but of the whole--not a cursory, but a considerate reading.
H. R. H.
SALISBURY, North Carolina, 1855.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
CALIFORNIA UNVEILED.
Introductory Remarks--Erroneous opinions respecting
California--Sterility of the Soil--The Seasons--Destitution of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Resources--Dependence upon Importations
for the Conveniences and Necessaries of Life--No Inducement to become
Permanent Residents of the country 13