Return to Index
A Miner's Life
Wherever a gold strike was made, hundreds of miners, often called Forty-Niners would gather to stake their claims and build a camp. Few women or children accompanied the miners to these communities. The miners often lived in shanties constructed of old cloth tacked to wood frames. Many miners' free time was devoted to drinking and gambling. Prices soared in the boom economy. Boots sold for $20 a pair, eggs for 50 cents each, and potatoes fetched $1 a pound.
The communities were lawless, disorlerly, and dirty. Life was hard and the tools were simple. Diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and small pox took the lives of many people.