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atmosphere ; the  excessively  prim  and  puritanical,  who when they  fell  never  stopped  until  they  reached  bot- tom; godless young  men,  of  rich  and  honorable  parent- age, who preferred  the  woollen  shirt  and  unkempt beard of  the  miner  with  immediate  independence  to the  more  sedate  and  less  venturesome  life  of  plodding respectability, with  the  crowning  honor  of  church deaconship or  bank  director  to  gild  its  latter  days.

Notwithstanding the  diversity  of  character  here displayed, diverse  in  thought,  customs,  beliefs  and tongues, there  was  almost  immediately  apparent — in the  Caucasian  portion  of  the  society  at  least — a  re- markable homogeneity and  oneness  in  adaptation  to the  new  order  of  thino;s. Strangers to  each  other's faces,  to  each  other's  hearts,  to  each  other's  idiosyn- crasies, come from  strange  lands  into  a  land  strange to all,  and  there  at  once  fit  themselves  to  strange  and improvised ways  never  before  heard  of  by  any. The facility with  which  the  several  elements  coalesced  may be attributed  to  two  causes. First, although  the  up- rising was general  and  proceeded  from  nations  distant and diverse,  the  exodus  was  one  of  certain  homogene- ous elements, no  less  individual  and  distinct  than  other migrations of  peoples. Human nature  the  world  over is framed  on  one  model,  and  the  component  parts  of an  individual  society,  though  widely  scattered  origin- ally, may be  collected  and  fused  into  recognised  metal which shall  pass  current  in  all  societies. Certain qualities and  classes  throughout  all  the  contributing nations, were  alike  touched  by  the  knowledge  of  the gold discovery,  and  rose  up  in  answer  to  one  common impulse. Secondly, being  thus  brought  together  obe- dient to common  promptings  for  the  accomplishment, each for  himself,  of  a  common  object,  there  was  a  sympa- thy of interests  and  a  community  of  though,  and  action never displayed  by  characteristics  and  nationalities  so varied  and  extended  since  the  crusades. The fact  is,  so- ciety here was  at  once  so  unique  and  abnormal,  that  it was  impossible  for  anj^one  thrown  into  it  not  to  con-