 |
| Wok |
Texas Gold Rush
by Mike Cox
Only four years after thousands of Forty-niners flocked to California Texas
Word of potential wealth in newly createdBurnet County New York Texas
“Important from Texas – The Gold Discoveries Confirmed—Great Excitement,” read a one-column headline in theApril 20, 1853 edition of the New York Times. That report had been abbreviated from the New Orleans Picayune of April 18. According to the item:
“The news fully confirms the previous reports received of rich discoveries of gold on theUpper Colorado River , and also above Austin. Large amounts had already been collected by those who proceeded to the ‘diggins,’ and the greatest excitement prevailed throughout all Texas.”
Of course, the shining belief that gold – and silver – could be found in the Hill Country dated back to Spanish Texas. Later, colonizer Stephen F. Austin bought into the idea, as did the adventurous scalawag Jim Bowie. While his dreams of wealth ended at the Alamo, the notion persisted that the mineral-rich hills north and west of Austin held untold riches. And for a few months in 1853, it looked like Texas would be the newCalifornia
A week after its first report, the Times offered its readers more details on theTexas New York
“The steamer James L. Day arrived this morning from Aransas andMatagorda Bays Hamilton California
The newspaper went on to report that “rumors are rife of large quantities of gold being found throughout the western portion of [Texas]” with “great excitement prevailing at Austin, San Antonio, Seguin, Gonzales and other points.” Indeed, several "companies" (used in the 19th century as a synonym for "parties" or "groups") were organized and en route to search for gold.
Though longer, this story offered no further detail on the location of the reported gold find other than in Hamilton’s Valley “and various other places.” Still, the final information in the story doubtless contained all the information seekers of wealth needed to read: “One person sold a piece of quartz in San Antonio for $25.” Back then, $25 had the purchasing power of $780 today.
A month later, the Texas gold rush continued to make national news.
“The latest news from Texas will excite all those who desire to make money in any other than the natural way—by hard work of the hands and brain,” began a piece in the Alton, Ill. Weekly Courier of May 20, 1853. The Illinois newspaper went on to reprint an item from the Lavaca Commercial (a long-extinct Port Lavaca sheet) that actually offered some detail on Texas’ new-born mining district.
“There are now from 300 to 400 persons at work in the mines, and we learn that they are averaging from $5 to $10 per day each, and some few of them have already succeeded in gathering as much as $1,500 to $2,000 worth of gold.”
Austin’s Texas State Gazette weighed in with a report that up to 500 people were hard at work digging for gold “in our neighborhood,” including one operator who in two days “obtained $500 worth of gold.” Noting that the gold play was “easy of access from this city,” the newspaper continued that “we shall not be surprised to hear soon of discoveries equalling in importance the golden stories ofCalifornia
On July 3, 1853 Burnet County pioneer Logan Vandeveer, a Kentuckian who had fought in the Texas Revolution, wrote his father that there was “some excitement in this country about gold mines and other minerals.” He continued: “I cannot see how it will turn out. The people come here in great quantities. Some of them return and some and others remain. It could be the means of selling this country.”
Despite all the hoopla, at least one out-of-state newspaper editor had his doubts about the purported gold discoveries in Texas.
“This reads very much like a hum,” theMilwaukee
Alas, even if all that glitters IS gold, that particular precious metal has to be available in real plentitude to sustain a boom. While some apparently did find some gold, by summer of that year reports concerning the great Texas gold fields had disappeared from the newspapers.
Though the Hill Country did not prove to be the newEl Dorado Colorado Burnet County Llano County
Still, with the current price of gold being $1,400-plus an ounce….
© Mike Cox -July 14, 2011 column
Word of potential wealth in newly created
“Important from Texas – The Gold Discoveries Confirmed—Great Excitement,” read a one-column headline in the
“The news fully confirms the previous reports received of rich discoveries of gold on the
Of course, the shining belief that gold – and silver – could be found in the Hill Country dated back to Spanish Texas. Later, colonizer Stephen F. Austin bought into the idea, as did the adventurous scalawag Jim Bowie. While his dreams of wealth ended at the Alamo, the notion persisted that the mineral-rich hills north and west of Austin held untold riches. And for a few months in 1853, it looked like Texas would be the new
A week after its first report, the Times offered its readers more details on the
“The steamer James L. Day arrived this morning from Aransas and
The newspaper went on to report that “rumors are rife of large quantities of gold being found throughout the western portion of [Texas]” with “great excitement prevailing at Austin, San Antonio, Seguin, Gonzales and other points.” Indeed, several "companies" (used in the 19th century as a synonym for "parties" or "groups") were organized and en route to search for gold.
Though longer, this story offered no further detail on the location of the reported gold find other than in Hamilton’s Valley “and various other places.” Still, the final information in the story doubtless contained all the information seekers of wealth needed to read: “One person sold a piece of quartz in San Antonio for $25.” Back then, $25 had the purchasing power of $780 today.
A month later, the Texas gold rush continued to make national news.
“The latest news from Texas will excite all those who desire to make money in any other than the natural way—by hard work of the hands and brain,” began a piece in the Alton, Ill. Weekly Courier of May 20, 1853. The Illinois newspaper went on to reprint an item from the Lavaca Commercial (a long-extinct Port Lavaca sheet) that actually offered some detail on Texas’ new-born mining district.
“There are now from 300 to 400 persons at work in the mines, and we learn that they are averaging from $5 to $10 per day each, and some few of them have already succeeded in gathering as much as $1,500 to $2,000 worth of gold.”
Austin’s Texas State Gazette weighed in with a report that up to 500 people were hard at work digging for gold “in our neighborhood,” including one operator who in two days “obtained $500 worth of gold.” Noting that the gold play was “easy of access from this city,” the newspaper continued that “we shall not be surprised to hear soon of discoveries equalling in importance the golden stories of
On July 3, 1853 Burnet County pioneer Logan Vandeveer, a Kentuckian who had fought in the Texas Revolution, wrote his father that there was “some excitement in this country about gold mines and other minerals.” He continued: “I cannot see how it will turn out. The people come here in great quantities. Some of them return and some and others remain. It could be the means of selling this country.”
Despite all the hoopla, at least one out-of-state newspaper editor had his doubts about the purported gold discoveries in Texas.
“This reads very much like a hum,” the
Alas, even if all that glitters IS gold, that particular precious metal has to be available in real plentitude to sustain a boom. While some apparently did find some gold, by summer of that year reports concerning the great Texas gold fields had disappeared from the newspapers.
Though the Hill Country did not prove to be the new
Still, with the current price of gold being $1,400-plus an ounce….
© Mike Cox -
http://www.texasescapes.com/
 |
Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) |
 |
Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) |
 |
| Harlin's find during his gold panning experience |
 |
| Water willow |
I am tempted to intervene and "restore" the Creek and its environs to what I imagine to be their natural state. In other words, if a small juniper or sycamore lies bent because of a flood's current, then I want to right the tree. If debris hangs from a limb, I want to remove it. If fish have been washed out of the Pool, I want to restore them. If a plant died in the drought, I want to yank it out of the ground. But restoration to what? Drought and flood have shaped this valley, these hills, and everything about this creek.
So I pull my thoughts back to what "natural" means in the context of a world of flux. If I have to look at a brown and then a gray juniper for the remainder of my days, then I will still be looking at nature as much as if I had replaced it with a green tree.
Everything is in flux; everything is graying; everything is shifting, silting, piling up, wearing down, eroding, breaking, going away, and coming to. Now we will make room for such an appreciation.
 |
| Window trim going up. Siding next. |
 |
| Tongue-and-groove No. 2 yellow pine for the ceiling. |
