"The majority of the emigrants are men occupying a respectable station in society; some are even distinguished in their calling; but the eager desire of making a fortune in a hurry has induced them to throw up good employments and comfortable homes; to leave friends, relatives, connexions, wife, children, and familiar associations, to embark their strength, intelligence, and activity, in this venture. All is bustle where they have landed: boats going to and fro; rafts slowly discharging their cumbrous loads; porters anxiously and interestedly civil; all excited; all bent on gain; ships innumerable in the bay; mountains around; a clear, blue sky above; and the bright waters dancing in the sun, until they touch the horizon in the distance, blending their brightness with his golden track.
"I walked on until I came up to a group of men, who, like myself, were looking on the busy scene before us with no small degree of interest. I recognized amongst them two of the volunteers, with whom I forthwith claimed acquaintance. The whole party had come from the mines, as was easily to be seen from their appearance, which was something the worse for wear, their countenances being weather-beaten and bronzed by exposure; whilst their attire, consisting of buckskin coats, leather leggings, and broad-brimmed hats, denoted the sort of labor in which they had been recently engaged. I learned from them, in the course of a subsequent conversation, that they had all of them been successful at the 'diggings.' One of the number had made, or 'picked,' two thousand dollars, and the rest, from that to nine thousand dollars each, within the space of a few months. With this, however, they were far from satisfied, most of them being determined to realize a large fortune before they quitted the country; for not one of them seemed to have the remotest intention of settling.
"The party had come down from the mines to make purchases, and to enjoy a little recreation. They were admirable specimens of their class--hardy in appearance and rough in demeanor; but shrewd, withal, and toil-enduring. For the moment, their conversation turned upon the prospects of the newly-landed emigrants--for I should have stated that there were one or two arrivals in the harbor--and they were unsparing of their remarks upon such of the new comers as by their dress, or any physical peculiarity, offered a fair target for their witticisms, which were not less pointed than coarse.