Identifier: recollectionsof400mcil (find matches)
Title: Recollections of a '49er. A quaint and thrilling narrative of a trip across the plains, and life in the California gold fields during the stirring days following the discovery of gold in the far West
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: McIlhany, Edward Washington, 1828-
Subjects: Overland journeys to the Pacific California -- Gold discoveries Jefferson County (W. Va.) West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
Publisher: Kansas City, Mo., Hailman printing company
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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0 in goldper yoke. I broke up 100 acres, rich land with a sandyloam to it, easy to plow, and sowed 60 acres of wheatand 40 of barley. I raised 40 bushels to the acre ofwheat and 70 bushels of barley. I sold my crop, re-serving what I wanted for my own use on the road, for$10,000 in gold coin. I put the gold in a sack andpacked it down to the bank and deposited it. I thoughtit was a tremendous price for grain. I paid my har-vest hands $5.00 per day. In threshing my grain something about themachine was broken and the owner went to Marys-ville to have it repaired, saying it would probably takea day. I told two of my men to hitch up two teamswith a pair of horses to each wagon and load themwith barley and watermelons and go up the rivertwelve miles to Longs Bar and sell out their load,which they did, returning the same day, and bringingme for those two small loads of barley and watermel-ons $250 in gold. I had fine hay on my ranch, wouldput up as much as 200 tons in one season. It did not
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Carrying freight down the mountains. 74 RECOLLECTIONS OF A FORTY-NINER. suit me to farm and raise grain, as I had so muchother business to attend to. I sold these same oxen toa butcher for the same price that I gave for them andthat was the last of raising wheat and barley for me,although I continued to raise acres of watermelons. Imade a trip in the fall to the stores with a large quan-tity of goods and repeated those trips until we thoughtwe had a supply for the winter, before the deep snows.Having worked all my stock pretty hard, I gave themseveral months rest to recuperate. As I found employ-ment for myself and the boys that I needed aroundthe ranch in doing some little improving and occa-sionally making a little trip, either with my teams orpack train, near by. I would hear from my partnersby mail occasionally. When the snows commenced andthe rainy season the snow in the mountains got verydeep and most all merchants rushed to get in therewith supplies, as all communication with t

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