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Th-century Gold Rushes

In 1848 a major gold strike occurred in the Sacramento Valley, in California. Word soon got out, and a steady migration of settlers rushed to establish their claims. By the following year, California was besieged by tens of thousands “forty-niners” – fortune-seekers who came from all parts of the world. California’s population increased from about 26,000 in 1848 to about 380,000 in 1860. Farmers abandoned their lands, sailors jumped ships, soldiers deserted the army – just to make the trek to seek their fortune in gold. Some were described as being “bloodthirsty rogues”. With this melting pot of humanity came a wave of crime and violence. Those caught up in the lure of gold but not willing to work for it turned to robbery, pillaging stagecoaches and trains.

In 1851, on the heels of the California gold rush, came the news that large deposits of gold were being discovered in Australia. “The yield was truly fantastic” was the report. For a short time, Australia became the greatest producer of gold in the world. Some who had migrated to California soon packed their bags and descended on the land down under. The population of Australia skyrocketed – from 400,000 in 1850 to over 1,100,000 in 1860. Farming and other work came to a virtual standstill as many rushed to find their fortune in gold.

Toward the end of the 19-th century, the mad stampede to find gold moved to the Yukon and Alaska, following the discovery of gold in those areas. Thousands of people made their way to the Far North, to the Klondike region and Alaska, fighting the bitter cold to stake their claims on land rich in gold.

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From “Fresh from the Country” by M.Reed

 

While Anna prepared herself to meet her class of forty-six lively and inquisitive children her landlady was busy preparing the high tea for her husband and the new lodger.

She had screwed the old mincer to the kitchen table and now fed it with rather tough strips of beef, the remains of the Sunday joint. There was not much, to be sure, but Mrs.Flynn’s pinch-penny spirit had roused to meet this challenge and a heel of a brown loaf, a large onion, and a tomato on the table were the ingredients of the rest of the cottage pie.

“If I open a tin of baked beans,” said Mrs.Flynn aloud, “there will be no need for gravy, I shan’t waste gas unnecessarily!” She pursed her thin lip with satisfaction, remembering, with sudden pleasure, that she had bought the beans at a reduced price as “This Week’s Amazing Offer” at the local grocer’s. She twirled the handle of the mincer with added zest.

Yesterday’s stewed apple, she thought busily, could be served out with a little evaporated milk, in three individual dishes. A cherry on top of each would make a nice festive touch, decided Mrs.Flynn in a wild burst of extravagance. She straightened up from her mincing and opened the store cupboard where she kept her tinned and bottled food. In the front row a small jar of cherries gleamed rosily. For one long minute Mrs.Flynn studied its charms, torn between opposite forces of art and thrift. Victory was accomplished easily. “Pity to open them,” said Mrs.Flynn, slamming the cupboard door and returned to her mincing.



Text 16

From “The Ideal Man” by J.O’Hara

 

Breakfast in the Jenssen home was not much different from breakfast in a couple of hundred thousand homes in the Great City. Walter Jenssen had his paper propped against the vinegar cruet and the sugar bowl. He read expertly, not even taking his eyes off the printed page when he raised his coffee cup to his mouth. Paul Jenssen, seven going on eight, was eating his hot cereal, which had to be sweetened heavily to get him to touch it. Myrna Jenssen, Walter’s five-year old daughter, was scratching her towhead with her left hand while she fed herself with her right. Myrna, too, was expert in her fashion: she would put the spoon in her mouth, slide the cereal off, and bring out the spoon upside down. Elsie Jenssen (Mrs. Walter) had stopped eating momentarily the better to explore with her tongue a bicuspid (êîðåííîé çóá) that seriously needed attention.

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Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1077


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