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THBExceptional ALS from Exploratory Gold Miner John F. Snyder, 1851
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
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About Auction
LiveSep 8, 2017 - Sep 9, 2017
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (427)
- Lot Description
Snyder, John F. California miner. ALS, 11pp, 11.5 x 7.5 in., Indian Springs, CA. March 10, 1851. Written to his brother, W.H. Snyder of Belleville, IL.
Exceptional letter describing in detail the life of a young, intellectual miner during the California Gold Rush.
John F. Snyder was an intellectual who traveled out to California hoping to make at least 700 dollars to complete his education. "That object I will accomplish, or never return—my pride will not allow me to be dependent on others for that," he wrote to his brother. The lifestyle in California and the hard people living there did not suit him well. It made him feel considerably lonely. Upon receiving a long-awaited letter home, he wrote, "I felt something like a convict does on receiving his pardon; or like a castaway mariner must feel when he sees a friendly sail heave in sight. Though I am neither a convict, or a castaway mariner, I have feelings common to both, and am certainly, in every sense of the word, an exile." Despite his desperation for a letter from home, he insisted that he was not homesick, and enjoyed his life prospecting.
Over the span of several pages, he tells his brother about the surrounding area, where he is mining, who he is mining with, and what their prospects are. A small portion of the explanation reads:
The streams are nearly all claimed by companies who (like us) are waiting for the water to go down to commence work'.There seems to be a general rush for the North, among the miners. Very rich diggings are said to have been discovered on the Klamath, Scott, and Trinity Rivers, and miners are flocking there daily.
Even though many flocked to different regions seeking gold, he also commented on the many who abandoned their dreams of striking it rich and returned East. "It is no longer the object of a miner, to make his pile; (generally speaking); but to make enough to pay his passage back to the states," he wrote. "The 'gold fever' like other epidemics, has run its course, and disappeared. Of all its emigrants who came out last summer, two thirds have returned, and the majority of the other third would return if they had money enough to pay their passages."
In addition to the business of gold mining he also commented on the excitement of the miners when a circus came to town and, akin to a scene from a Western, a male-dominated ball that resulted in a drunken brawl for the attention of the very few women present.
Snyder determined that he would never return home to Illinois. Instead, he planned to settle in either Oregon, which he predicted to be the most profitable state in the West, or Mexico. However, his final whereabouts have not been determined. There are no records of him either staying in California or returning to Belleville.
Condition
Wrinkling of the paper which is nominally fragile, brittle margins and typical folds.
In working condition.
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