Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1894 — THE GOLD FEVER. [ARTICLE]

THE GOLD FEVER.

A Remembrance of the Days When It First Struck California. “1 was a resident of San Francisco in 1848 when the gold fever struck that part of the country,” said Matthew 1., j'arrell, one of the pioneers of California, “and it seemed as though all the people went wild with excitement. As soon as it became Tknown fhaUgold had been discovered, men hastened to sell their real estate and merchandise that they might obtain means to journey to the gold diggings. Row boats worth SSO were sold for SSOO to those wishing to sail up the bay into the Sacramento river. The price of shovels and.picks jumped from $1 to $lO. Stores were rummaged for bottles, vials and brass tubes to hold the gold when found. “In less than two months San Franicisco was as if swept by a pestilence; three-fourths of the male population had gone to the mines. Real estate dropped fully one-half in value, and the same happened to all merchandise not used in the mines. Labor rose tenfold in price. Negro waiters received $lO a day and cooks sls, but even such wages as these could not indu«o Uto eager gold-seekers to remain in the city. Nearly everyone .went to try his luck. Some made thorir fortunes, but many came back a good deal poorer than when they started.”