Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/288



in strange  lands. It is  a  matter  of  pride  with  many to be  seen  by  their  friends  in  their  mining  costume ; so the  bushy  head  and  long  beard  are  protected  with care, and  every  hole  in  the  battered  hat,  every  patch in the  woollen  shirt,  every  dirt-stain  on  the  greasy pantaloons, are  regarded  with  hallowed  affection. Thus appearing in  his  native  village,  with  hints  suggestive of secreted  gold-dust,  and  inuendoes  which  seemed to say,  "  I  could  tell  you  a  thing  or  two  if  I  liked," "Perhaps John  Robinson  came  back  without  his  pile, and  perhaps  he  didn't,"  the  returned  Californian  is  the hero of  the  hour.

It was  a  common  remark  that  more  money  went east in  the  steerage  than  in  the  cabin. Some canied buckskin bags  of  dust  in  their  pockets,  others  in  belts under their  shirts,  and  guarded  by  an  ominous-looking navy revolver. Experience had  made  many  shy  of entrusting  their  hard  earnings  to  banks  and  express companies, and  freight  on  gold  was  high. Sometimes a party  of  two  or  three  would  put  their  fortunes  in  a carpet-bag,  ten  or  twenty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of gold-dust,  alternately  guarding  it,  and  never  leaving it unwatched  for  a  single  instant  during  the  whole voyage from  San  Francisco  to  New  York,  thereby saving in  exchange  the  price  of  passage  for  each  of them. Notwithstanding all  their  care,  many  return- ing miners were  robbed  by  professional  sharpers,  who infested all  the  main  avenues  of  travel,  and  followed their vocation  regularly  on  the  steamers  between  As- pinwall and  New  York.

In the  steerage  also  were  many  penniless  persons, broken in  health  and  spirits,  going  home  to  die. There were those,  pusillanimous  and  disgusting  individuals, eaten up  of  disease,  already  morally  dead ;  there  were self-pitying unfortunates,  whining  and  complaining, whom success  never  attends  under  any  circumstances, and who  never  should  have  left  their  mothers'  apron- strings; and  there  were  those  who  Imd  manfully fought the  battle  and  been  beaten. Faithfully and