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Show 130 PERSO:NAI.J ADVENTURES ,vith their winnings, and doubled and trebled them in a very short time. Another of the strangers whom I n1ore par-ticularly remarked, 'vas a tall, fair-haired Yankee, who went by the name of John as a surname, being always called Mr. John. l-Ie started one of the new Yankee gambling· banks, as I have reason to remen1ber, having been tempted, by the force of the general ex· ample and of farniliar associations, to try my chances at his table. That day I won twenty· five dollars at 1nonte, all of which I lost on the morrow, with ten dollars more. I thereupon resolved not to play again; a resolution which, as I subsequently discovered, was far easier to c01ne to than to keep, so strong 'vere the incentives to this species of indulgence, and so contaminating the influences by which I was surrounded. The California remained five days in the roadstead, during which time I ascertained that the etnigrants-who were bound to San Francisco-were, the majority of them, professed gamblers from the Southern States, IN CALIFORNIA. 131 particularly fro In N e'v Orleans : a singular class of men to settle a new country. When they were gone, the town resumed its wonted dullness and tranquillity. At this period, gold of the finest quality fetched only eleven dollars per ounce, so that I lost considerably in converting mine in to coin. The people expressed their anxious desire to see a United States' Mint established ' but Congress moved but tardily in the con-sideration of Californian affairs ; and, failing this very necessary protection, the miners were left entirely at the mercy of the grasp in 0' cupidity of the traders- a state of thing~ which gave rise to n1uch discontent. As n1y means were no'v rapidly diminishing, I found myself obliged to turn my attention to some practical occupation, by pursuincr ~h!ch-in accordance with the spirit of a:. ttvtty that prevailed amongst the great mass • of the people-! n1ight hope to earn a livelihood. Portrait-paintin cr- in which I had attained some proficien:y by years of study and practice- was out of the question, a , |