Luzena Stanley Wilson's Discovery Of Gold In The Gold Rush

Upon hearing the news as everyone else did about the gold being discovered in California, the Wilsons started their journey. They traveled to California and the wife, Luzena Stanley Wilson, had recalled the events in her memoir, which was taken down by her daughter in 1881.
Once people from all over the world found out about the discovery of gold in California, many decided to try their luck in getting rich. With Luzena and her family, they “had almost nothing to lose” and “might gain a fortune” (Wilson). This was very similar to the thought process of many people back in the 1840s, as they thought they could only rise up from their current lives. As with many migrants from eastern United States, the Wilsons came from Missouri, which meant they had to travel a long way

through land, resulting in not being able to carry unnecessary items (Wilson). Traveling by land meant that the migrants traveled on Conestoga wagons, but they had to accommodate for the weight of the luggage and health of the oxen. It had taken the Wilsons over three months and two thousand miles to reach Sacramento, which consisted of going through a desert (Wilson). People that did not travel by land had died by scurvy on the ships or Panama fever by malaria through the isthmus, although ones that traveled on land suffered from cholera. When the Wilsons had heard that some people had “struck it rich at Nevada City,” they headed there from Sacramento even though they had no money or wagons (Wilson). Once again, this was a similar situation to what other people faced because they had no money but they needed to travel in order to get rich.
The Argonaut experience was overall not well for the immigrants, as they were excited but did not get what they desired, known as “seeing the elephant.” The first man that the Wilsons saw in Sacramento was well dressed, which was different from them because they had rags on (Wilson). This showed that gold seekers could end up being wealthy, although it wasn’t common. There were lots of people living in Sacramento and four-tenths of the population in thousands would be “on their way to the gold fields” (Wilson). Most of the reasons for the migration of people into Sacramento was to search for gold, which was what most of the men spent their days doing. Not everything went smooth in gold-seeking. In one instance, many had to flee from their homes because the men’s “puny strength could do nothing against such a flood of waters” (Wilson). This is referencing floods that occur because of rain, and it is because California’s climate is so diverse. A slice of salt pork that Luzena had bought had vanished when cooked, showing that many of the purchases in California were deceptive (Wilson). This proved that there were many people in the Gold Rush that tried to make money by scamming others. “There were few close ties and few friendships” and nobody cared if somebody died (Wilson). Many people were in it for themselves and were selfish. Since there was lots of gold to be found and services that needed to be done, money was flowing around a lot. “Everybody had money, and everybody spent it. Money ran through one's fingers like water through a sieve” (Wilson).
It is known that the people in the Gold Rush consisted of a lot of men.

Men of all professions had gone, such as lawyers, physicians, miners, mechanics, merchants, senators, and gamblers (Wilson). Most of the men had abandoned their jobs and family to try their luck in finding gold. Luzena had went with her husband and brought along their two kids. She had remembered that “the travelers were almost all men” (Wilson). Since there were virtually no women to tend to the men’s needs, men often interacted with women they didn’t know. “A hungry miner, attracted by the unusual sight of a woman” had paid Luzena five dollars for a biscuit that she had made (Wilson). Thus, women became cooks, prostitutes, and owners of hotels. Luzena had a hotel called ‘El Dorado,’ where she had “twenty miners eating at my table.” (Wilson). That was how women typically made money, by providing services that are outside of mining, the ones essential for life, like eating. Luzena had also recalled a ball taking place in Nevada City, where “there were twelve ladies present and about three hundred men” (Wilson). This really portrayed the gender imbalance and demonstrated competition among men for even a dance with the

ladies.
There were many Native Americans scattered all around the continent, especially the western and mid-west because the Americans had taken over the east. As the Wilsons travelled west on land, they came across “Indian Territory,” and had to set up their camp there among the natives (Wilson). This was new to the Wilsons, and to all Americans, because not many ordinary Americans have interacted with natives before, it was usually soldiers that did. Luzena was scared of the Indians because she “had read and heard whole volumes of their bloody deeds, the massacre of harmless white men, torturing helpless women” (Wilson). It was ironic considering that it was the white men who had treated the natives badly, such as by taking their land. It turned out that the Indians were friendly to the Wilsons and they engaged in trade (Wilson).
Since California was a new state, or about to be a new state, there was really no justice system. There was violence in mining camps with bloodshed between miners and the gamblers, and “nearly every man carried in his belt either knife or pistol” (Wilson). There were also whippings and lynchings that happened because of racism, retaliation, and unfair deals. Mobs had risen to take justice into their own hands and Luzena was a victim, as a mob looked for a fugitive in her hotel (Wilson). Vigilantes were also common, usually ones who opposed whites.