22 ELDORADO 



California gold fever and "had it bad." The imagina- 

 tion, especially of those of an adventurous spirit, was 

 stimulated by the most extravagant and exaggerated 

 accounts of the gold mines. It was even reported that 

 nuggets of pure gold worth thousands of dollars had 

 been found with handles attached to them, making an 

 independent fortune for the lucky finder. Uniting the 

 very limited capital at my command— saved from 

 teaching school in winter at $12 a month, and working 

 in summer — I, with four other young fellows, left my 

 father's home at Marengo, 111., on April 19, 1850, with 

 two covered wagons and eight horses, with such a 

 supply of provisions, medicines and the like as might 

 be required for a journey of five or six months. 



The parting with father, mother and sisters was for 

 the moment a sad one. The gift of that bible and the 

 tearful benediction and prayer for the safe return of 

 an only son can never be effaced from memory, and 

 often in times of temptation, when far from home and 

 social restrains, those memories prevented the son's 

 feet from straying into forbidden paths. The novelty 

 of camping out and cooking soon wore off. Every 

 member of the company performed the duties of cook 

 and dishwasher in turn one week at a time. After 

 crossing the Mississippi river we were compelled to 

 remain at Tipton, Cedar county, Iowa, nearly three 

 weeks until the grass should start, as the prairie fires 

 had consumed the greater part and settlers were often 

 twenty or thirty miles apart. 



We soon ascertained that the house at Tipton at 

 which we were stopping was the headquarters of a 

 gang of horse thieves, and we were compelled to stand 

 guard over our horses at night. On one occasion the 



