Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/368

 Even

the packers  and  traders  were  often  hard  pushed  to make  both  ends  meet,  as  when  Simonton  sold  his mangy dog  for  $50,  takmg  in  pay  two  worthless  pups at $25  each.

In the  summer  of  1851,  business  was  decidedly dull. Everybody complained. Many returned  home. Miners had  touched  bottom ;  for  agricultural  products there would  be  no  demand,  and  the  country  was  now a good  one  to  leave. Auctioneers continued  to  ham- mer off goods  at  rates  which,  after  paying  freight, cartage, storage,  and  commissions,  if  the  shipper  was not brought  in  debt  himself,  he  might  deem  himself fortunate. How like  a  golden  dream  the  old  time came over  them — ^the  brisk  trade,  and  three  and  five hundred per  cent  profits  of  '49  and  '50  I  Alas,  but for the  fires  they  might  now  be  at  home  enjoying  the fruits of  their  enterprise,  instead  of  being  obliged,  for the third  or  fourth  time,  to  try  it  just  once  more.

None felt  the  dull  times  which  seemed  to  settle  on San  Francisco  in  earnest  first  toward  the  spring  of 1852  more  than  the  sporting  fraternity. Many gambling-houses did  not  make  enough  to  pay  the music, and  gamblers  did  not  refuse  to  play  for  as small  a  sum  as  a  quarter  of  a  dollar. Fifty-dollar sluu^s were  as  common  on  the  dealer's  table  four months previous  as  silver  dollars  were  now. The absence of  rain  about  the  1st  of  March  made  business men and  miners  blue. People were  just  beginning to realize  the  full  effect  of  the  absence  of  rain  upon the interests  of  the  country,  and  no  one  had  the  heart even to  gamble. Grand raffles  were  then  started  to stimulate  the  flagging  spirits  of  gambling. Tobin and Duncan, auctioneers  of  China  goods,  finding  them- selves with a  large  stock,  and  bidding  being  slow,  en- gaged the Jenny  Lind  theatre,  spread  out  a  brilliant array of  prizes,  one  thousand  in  number,  consisting  of diamonds,  jewelry,  paintings,  and  China  fabrics,  and on the  6th  of  March,  1852,  distributed  the  whole  by lot  among  the  large  audience  in  attendance. Five