Bret Harte Union High School - Sierra Vista Yearbook (Angels Camp, CA)

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.4 44 44 'Tales of Town and Trail Mrs. Pioneer News of the California gold rush had reached the little eastern town of Laneville. Every day strings of covered Wagons carrying the sole possessions of their owners-eager, grim-faced men and women -rolled down the dusty little main street with the lead oxen pointing their noses westward. One of these schooners, drawn by four strong mules was driven by a slight, pale woman. Mrs. Blair had sold her small, non-paying farm, and leaving her two small children with relatives, had joined the mad throng and traveled toward that illustrious land filled with hopes and aspirations. Several months later found a vastly different Mrs. Blair. Sun and wind burned, her face deeply lined by pain and suffering, but still with hope ftrue, not such high hopes as formerlyj she worked day in and day out on the little claim she had staked on Angels Creek. The whole creek was fairly bristling with claims. People in all walks of life were to be seen panning or busy with pick and shovel. The rich were there endeavoring to gain more wealth, the poor were there because of necessity. Young and old, rich and poor, weak and strong, they all throbbed- with the lust for the precious metal. Mrs. Blair had just about given up all hopes of ever finding pay dirt on her claim. Oh, she had found some, but only enough to urge her on. Too, she must remember her children back home. They were her big reasons for this struggle. All this was running through her mind as she washed a panful of gravel one morning. Suddenly she heard raised voices coming from the claim above her. The owner had hit a small lead yesterday-perhaps someone had offered to buy it. For a moment all was still and then a gun was fired. The quiet became ominous. A man had been killed, but the West just shrugged its huge shoulders and went on prospecting. What was one man's life when there were so many to replace it? Mrs. Blair straightened up very slowly. She was tired but she must stick. She just had to. She gathered her tools and mounted the little hill to the spot where her tent was pitched. just across the divi- sion line a family by the name of Judson had their camp. This prox- imity afforded Mrs. Blair company and protection. , She noticed that the Judson outfit was silent, and guessed they had gone into Angels for supplies. She needed a new piece of screen for her sluice box, and after a hasty look around to see that everything was all right she started for the town that had grown so famous in such a short time. ...Er 36 jg..-