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Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
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Friedman, Mel THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH New York : Children's Press, 2010 IL 3-6, RL 5.5 ISBN 0531205819 |
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It was January 24, 1848 and a carpenter was building a sawmill beside a river in the Sacramento Valley of northern California. He saw something shiny in the water and found it was gold. When news of the discovery came out, thousands of Americans traveled across the United States by ship or land. Even people from other countries came. The journey could be quite dangerous. Ships sank in the rough waters and by land many died from diseases like cholera. Many people were eager to enrich themselves by finding gold. In San Francisco, soldiers deserted their units, sailors abandoned their ships. Streets were empty. In Oregon, so many men left for gold digging that there was a shortage of lawyers, doctors, farmers, and even law makers. What was life like for these gold miners? Life was not very comfortable in the rough mining camps. Most of them did not enrich themselves. Most earned only $30 a month and life as a gold miner could be quite expensive. Their money could be nearly gone before they knew it because food and supplies were so expensive. Miners paid $20 for a pair of boots. A meal cost $20. Even a single egg cost 50 cents. Find out more details about life as a gold miner during the California Gold Rush and how it affected this state. (May Harn Liu, may@mailbox.sc.edu, librarian) |
| SUBJECTS: California --
Gold discoveries. California -- History. |
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