It does not require much penetration to see that the acquisition of that territory never can be of any pecuniary advantage to the country at large. There will always be contentions and troubles, which will finally end in a revolt. Some portions of the upper country, with much labor and expense, can be made highly productive; while a great portion of it, for agricultural purposes, is entirely useless. As long as gold continues abundant, or sufficiently so to pay, the population will always be great; but when that ceases, Upper California is done. 1 noticed that in the immense forests along the Sierra Nevada range, not a young tree is to be found. I have seen splendid oaks, which, to appearance, contained sufficient timber for a ship of three hundred tons.
I measured a pine tree that had fallen, it having been undermined by gold diggers. This tree was three hundred feet long, and eight feet through at the butt; and another that was standing near it, was as long, and twelve feet through, and either of them would square eighteen inches at the top end. The snow lies in the upper valleys nearly all the year, and in some places it is more than twelve feet deep, in the summer months. Manv of the Indians o-o entirely naked, and I believe would never trouble a white man, if the latter were not the aggressors. I have met them on the road while travelling alone, and they have invariably returned my salutation with true Indian politeness.
There was much sickness throughout the mines, and many deaths. The most fatal disease was diarrhoea, which was caused chiefly by laboring in the water, and a too frequent use of ardent spirits. I administered relief to some who were sick, and admonished others who were pursuing the right course to become so; quack doctor's fees were enormous and in no case would they come nigh a sick man that had no money. One amusing incident occurred, that really pleased me. An Iowa man had suffered much from toothache. One of AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 435 ™ applied to to extract the tooth, which he made out to do in a bungling and painful manner. He then says to the man: " * l "Your teeth want cleaning; by doing which, it will prevent the toothache." l " Well, go ahead." m So the man sat down, and the doctor went to work, scraping and filing a set of teeth that had never been throtA the operation before.
After he had finished, and both had taken a nipper of whiskey: " Well, now doctor, what's to pay? " " I shall charge you eighty dollars." " What's that, stranger? " ' ' Eighty dollars is my price for taking aeout a tooth, and cleaning aeout a mouth. " m The miner looked at him a few moments, and then stepping on a block, took down his rifle, capped and cocked it, and with a savage look and a western oath, ordered the fellow out of his tent, and with a stentorian voice, swore that if he was not out of the reach of his rifle in five minutes, he would shoot him. The doctor gathered up his leather ban-, started, and was soon over the hill.
By this time, two of the miner's comrades had come in, and to whom he related the story. He was a good-natured, clever fellow, and said that if the charge had been ten or fifteen dollars, he would have paid it willingly, as the whole operation occupied but an hour and a half. I thought the doctor (?) was served just right. During my tour through the mining region, I was much interested in the Geological formation of the country, a graphic description of which would make a book of itself. I returned to San Francisco, and made arrangements for returning home. I left my business with two nice, young men, at least, as I thought, for I certainly had a right to think so.
They were both apparently pious men, members of Christian churches in Boston, and with whom I had been previously acquainted, before leaving San Francisco. It was understood between i us that remittances should be made to me by every steamer, until the business was closed. I sailed from San Francisco in the Tennessee. Several passengers were sick, and one died before we reached Panama. We crossed the Isthmus safely, although part of our train was robbed, and some of them murdered. We arrived at Chagres late in the evening, and with much difficulty got on board the Crescent City, then lying three miles out. On our way home, we stopped into Jamaica for coal. Many of the steerage passengers went ashore, drank freely of Jamaica rum, were taken with cholera and diarrhcea, and died like fools, after having withstood the hardships of the mines for two or three years, and having also, a considerable amount of gold dust about their persons, of which, probably, their friends knew where it went.