Disease laid hold of them. Four thousand died from
cholera during the first year, and many more for lack of suitable food. In
some cases they had to kill and eat their mules, and at times they lived
on rattlesnakes. The scattered bones of men and beasts marked the trail;
for in the frantic desire to reach the diggings the wayfarers would not
always stop to bury their dead.
When the gold region was reached, tents, wigwams, bark huts, and brush
arbors served as shelter. The men did their own cooking, washing, and
mending, and food soared to famine prices. A woman or a child was a rare
sight in all that eager throng, for men in their haste had left their
families behind.
It was a time of great excitement. Perhaps you have a grandparent who can
tell you something of those stirring days. The gold craze of '49 is a
never-to-be-forgotten event in our history. As the search for nuggets and
gold-dust became less fruitful, many of the men turned homeward, some
enriched and some--alas!--having lost all they possessed.
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. What kind of boy was Houston? What kind of man? What did he do for
Texas?
2. Tell about David Crockett's heroism at the Alamo.
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