1. 19-6: Mining in the West 1

2. E.Q., Compare/contrast mining in the West with the East.Compare/contrast mining in the West with the East. Sing, “Oh, My Darling, Clementine.”Sing, “Oh, My Darling, Clementine.” 2

3. Fur trading and then mining were the first major magnets drawing Americans into the Trans-Mississippi West. The Western mining boom began with the California gold rush of 1849. 3

4. Johann Sutter, a Swiss-German immigrant to what was then the Territory of California, discovered gold on his property near present Sacramento. 4

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6. Schreck! I believe you pronounce it: “Kal-ee-forn- ee-yah!” 6

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8. After the Mexican War, thousands of people flocked to the California gold fields by taking steamers from New York to San Francisco. Some took a boat through Nicaragua while others sailed all the way down past the tip of South America. 8

9. Mining in the East, like in Pennsylvania, however, was very regulated. Only a few people owned the land. They then opened up their mines to workers who had to pay a fee to work there. It was very difficult, competitive work—mostly done by Irish or Slavic immigrants. 9

10. In Pennsylvania, people mined coal and were paid by the pound. The attitude of the owners was that if you wanted to work in the mine, that’s your business. Safety was therefore secondary. The owners also owned the land of nearby towns and rented out houses to their miners and owned the stores, etc. 10

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13. Old Pennsylvania coal miner 13

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20. zoolander 20

21. centrallia Centralia, PA 21

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26. Criticize or defend the mine owners, people whose family may have owned the land since 1764 and made no money but now, with the mines, do. 26

27. In the West, nobody really owned the land and what you mined was yours. There were no fee, no pits, no caves, simply digging off the side of hills or panning in creeks. 27

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29. Besides, an ounce of gold is worth a ton of coal. 29

30. I’m looking for silver and gold! 30

31. Yahoo! 31

32. Mush! 32

33. You’re not getting my gold! 33

34. Western gold mining camps usually sprang up where prospectors could find traces of gold along streams or lying just below the ground. Miners, using a simple process called “panning,” separated the gold from dirt and other materials in a wash pan. 34

35. Who were the real miners, Pennsylvania colliers or California prospectors? Which one would you rather be? 35

36. The toughest thing about prospecting in California was the anarchy. Murder, and especially theft, were rampant. 36

37. In most camps, between a quarter and a half of the people were foreign-born. Almost a third of the western miners were Chinese. Riots against the Chinese broke out in California, Nevada, and Colorado in the 1870s and 1880s. In most camps, between a quarter and a half of the people were foreign-born. Almost a third of the western miners were Chinese. Riots against the Chinese broke out in California, Nevada, and Colorado in the 1870s and 1880s. 37

38. Although 95% were men, some wild ladies like “Calamity Jane” lived in the camps. Prostitution was also a big draw for some women. Very few were married housewives. 38

39. Soon, mining in the West began to look like the East, however. In Nevada in 1859, Henry Comstock found a heavy bluish soil that proved to be rich in silver and gold and the strike became known as the Comstock Lode. 39

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41. A lode is a large vein of ore, such as gold or silver. 41

42. Word of the “Comstock Lode” flashed across the country and thousands of miners rushed to the area. They put up a city of tents that eventually became Virginia City, Nevada. The new miners mined all around Comstock’s land and it was wild! 42

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45. Once Comstock mined all that he thought was there, he sold off his land to John Mackay. Mackay also bought up other miners’ claims, and began to dig deep into the mountain. In 1874, Mackay’s company hit the richest discovery of silver and gold in the history of mining. 45

46. By 1890 the mining boom had ended. The Comstock Lode and many other sites were mined out and other mines had come under the control of large corporations. 46

47. Nevertheless, mining had an important impact upon American history. The western mines produced over $2 billion worth of gold and silver between 1860 and 1900. This wealth helped finance the Civil War and provided the money that helped build new industries. 47

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49. In the centre of a golden valley, Dwelt a maiden all divine, A pretty creature a miner's daughter And her name was Clementine. Refrain: Oh my darling, oh my darling, My darling Clementine, You are lost and gone forever, Dreadful sorry, Clementine. 49