I am Samantha Slater. In 1849 I went to California to mine
for gold. I am a woman, so many people from my little town in Ohio did not
think I would succeed. It was strange for a white woman to come out west,
but Nancy Kelsey did it, so would I! I planned to go away for a few months,
so I could get back to my family in Ohio. I hitched up my horse, and away I
went. All I could think was, “I’m going to be rich!” I settled at a camp in
a town called Sonora. I gave my good horse a drink and started mining in
Bonanza Mine. To me, it was hard to believe that people got three million
dollars out of that place. All I got was dust!
One day when I finished mining, I thought I deserved a good meal. I spent
hours looking for a decent restaurant. I did not find anything but saloons.
Soon, I was on my way back to camp. I didn’t get anything to eat. On my way
back I met a man named Tom Horn. We talked, but a few minutes later the
sheriff had my new “friend” in handcuffs. “What did he do?” I asked,
in shock. “He mistreated his horse,” the sheriff answered sternly.
So, Tom was arrested. He seemed nice, or he was just a good actor, I was
back at camp happily eating some nuts I brought with me from Ohio. I was
dead asleep by what seemed to be 9:30.
The next morning I thought I would skip breakfast and go straight to
Bonanza. I gave my horse a drink and a groom, no food because she did not
seem to be hungry, then left. I dug and dug and dug until I could dig no
more. I sighed, sat down, and drifted off to sleep….when I woke up I was
refreshed and I, of course, dug! Suddenly, I saw a sparkle. It was a nugget!
“Eureka!” I shouted happily. When I left the mine I went straight to the
bank. The nugget was worth ten dollars.
On my way back, I grabbed a newspaper. One article’s headline read, “Horn
Dead.” I read on, “Tom Horn burnt down county jail. He died doing so. All
other prisoners escaped!”
When I got back to my tent, I saw a miner who also lived in my camp using a
devise to crush rocks, powered by horse. “It’s called an arrasta,” he said
matter-o-factly.
I thought the arrasta was a interesting devise. When I got in my tent
tosleep I said to myself “Tomorrow, I’ll use an arrasta.” That was the end
of my favorite day in California.
I woke up to shouts in the middle of the night. In all the commotion I heard
that dreaded word: fire. “Fire!” I cried and ran to help. About twenty
people were scrambling out of houses. Twenty more were trying to put the
fire out. The rest were panicking and running around. I ran to help. I was
amazed how they put out fires. They used gravity to pull the water to the
fire, and it was all powered by humans. In about an hour the fire was out
and I was in bed.
I was awake at sunrise and mining an hour later. This “drill” continued for
months. I sometimes used an arrasta. Months past and I was heading home to
Ohio. I was richer than I was before, and I had a wild time!
A year later I was married and had two children, Katie and Ben. I sometimes
told them stories about California. And guess what, this is their favorite.
(Samantha is a fourth grade student at Belleview Elementary…all
spelling/grammar errors left in, nothing has been changed…Samantha’s teacher
is Nancy Hoyt..) Any question, email Susan Thompson at
sthompson@tchistory.org.
Essays were submitted by students at Belleview Elementary and Curtis Creek
Elementary. The top 12, 7 from Belleview and 5 from Curtis Creek will be on
display at the Tuolumne County Fair. Samantha’s essay will also be featured
on the Sonora City Web site and the Tuolumne County Historical Society Web
site…
2nd place, Danah Gissler, Belleview
3rd place Min Go Kerr, Belleview
Honorable Mention
Joseph Frank Montelongo, Belleview
Lexi Perry, Curtis Creek (teacher Kathy Anguiano)