California Gold Rush.

Recently saw a documentary on the Gold Rush in California in the 1840’s. It was interesting reflecting on the human psychology of the whole event. The first man to rush into the streets of San Francisco boasting of finding Gold in “ Them Ther Hills” was not a proper prospector, but a Sacramento Shop Keeper. He then went on to turn his gold into stock for his store and then printed 400 flyers to be sent back East advertising the find. Thus the following year when the 48 Rush began, he was fully prepared for the influx in customers and preceded to make his fortune out of the gold rush, but not by digging gold himself.

During the 48 Rush, there apparently was Gold for the finding, with just about every stone turned over, revealing a nugget of some sort or size Thus there was peace and harmony and reasonable tranquillity on the Gold fields.

Not so in 49 when even more prospective miners flocked in, and found that all the easy Gold had gone. The peace and tranquillity and harmony of the previous year disappeared, and thievery and race riots became the norm, as an ever-increasing army of miners sought and fought for an ever-decreasing amount of available gold.

Much gold was still there but deep underground and not just there for the easy getting anymore, and the Big mining Companies either came into existence, or gradually took over decreasing yet further the riches formerly available to all for the “picking”.

1. I thought it interesting that not all the gold in the gold rush was real gold but that a savvy shopkeeper made better than “Real Gold” out of trading to the miners. He in fact made more money that most individual miners and more than he would ever had as a miner.
2. I also thought it interesting that when things are in plenty, people of all races and classes get along, but when things get scarce, people fall back to social and national lines.

How about us? Can we only see one way to “find” gold, or like the Trader can we too not do what we are good, at and make our fortunes supplying the ‘miners?

Can we too not try and get along in harmony all the time, and not just in times of plenty? Can we not try and look at people as people and not as ‘strangers’ and thus competitors? What would you have done if you had been “a miner in 49er”? Walter