Miners during the Gold Rush were not always yelling Eureka! It was downright hard work which was more times than not unsuccessful. While some men became successful merchants and "mined the miners" -- hiking up prices of common goods because demand was so high others found success in unconventional ways. Old Put arrived in California via an overland trip early in the Gold Rush, possibly around 1850. He tried his luck in the goldfields of the Sierra Nevada's but was more-or-less unsuccessful. Adopting the pseudonym of "Old Put" he began traveling the mining towns as a composer/minstrel. He achieved success quickly because he would adopt well known tunes and change the lyrics to reflect whathe witnessed among the mining towns. He formed a company of minstrels called The Sierra Nevada Rangers and received payment in the form of gold dust. In 1855 Old Put published the first of two books. Put's Original California Songster featured two-dozen of his songs as well as short quips and passages. His second book Put's California Golden Songster was published in 1858 and featured over 30 more of his works.
These songs reflect a very important time in California's history -- a time of great success and utter failure, of devastation and construction, of kind acts and greedy deeds. While the songs were "originally commenced to relieve the tedium of a lonely cabin life" Old Put has portrayed "Life in California at a time when the restraints of society had to some extend become released" (Golden, preface).
p.s. -- to the 49ers and the following onslaught of argonauts (gold miners), the phrase "Seeing the Elephant" meant going to the goldfields. In encompassed the cost of the endeavor - the expenses incurred to get there and leaving their family behind. It also symbolized all of the possibilities one could encounter on their journey to California. Above all, it represented the unequaled adventure every argonaut would get just making the trip.
The lyrics are the original printed versions and might contain obnoxious comments, outrageous remarks, derogatory phrases, and, in most cases, improper English. The Gold Rush took place during an era of time where there were distinct classifications of rank on the social ladder based on skin color, nationality, religion, etc. These lyrics are included for historical accuracy and do not reflect the opinions of Groundspeak, us, or any sane person.
Sources:
Silber, Irwin - ed. "Coming Around the Horn." Songs of the American West. 1st ed. N.p.: Dover Publications, 2012. 27-29. Print.
Stone, John A. Put's Golden Songster: Containing the Largest and Most Popular Collection of California Songs Ever Published. San Francisco: D. E. Appleton &, 1858. Print.
Stone, John A. Put's Original California Songster: Containing the Largest and Most Popular Collection of California Songs Ever Published. San Francisco: D. E. Appleton &, 1855. Print.
Crossing the Plains
[AIR—Caroline of Edinburgh]
Come all you Californians, I pray open wide your ears,
If you are going across the Plains, with snotty mules or steers;
Remember beans before you start, likewise dried beef and ham.
Beware of ven'son, d––n the stuff, it's oftentimes a ram.
You must buy two revolvers, a bowie-knife and belt,
Says you, "Old feller, now stand off, or I will have your pelt;"
The greenhorn looks around about, but not a soul can see,
Says he, "There's not a man in town, but what's afraid of me."
You should'nt shave, but cultivate your down, and let it grow,
So when you do return, 'twill be as soft and white as snow;
Your lovely Jane will be surprised, your ma'll begin to cook;
The greenhorn to his mother'll say, "How savage I must look!"
"How do you like it overland?" his mother he will say,
"All right, excepting cooking, then the devil is to pay;
For some won't cook, and others can't, and then it's curse and damn,
The coffee-pot's, begun to leak, so has the frying-pan."
It's always about th eteams, and how we ought to do,
All hands get mad, and each one says, "I own as much as you:"
One of them says, "I'll buy or sell, I'm d––d if I care which;"
Another says, "Let's buy him out, the lousy son of a b–––."
You calculate on sixty days to take you over the Plains,
But there you lack for bread and meat, for coffee and for brains;
Your sixty days are a hundred or more, your grub you've got to divide,
Your steers and mules are alkalied, so foot it—you cannot ride.
You have to stand a watch at night, to keep the Indians off,
About sundown some heads will ache, and some begin to cough;
To be deprived of health we know is always very hard,
Though every night some one is sick, to get rid of standing guard.
Your canteens, they should be well filled, with poison alkali,
So when you get tired of traveling, you can cramp all up and die;
The best thing in the world to keep your bowels loose and free,
Is fight and quarrel among yourselves, and seldom if ever agree.
There's not a log to make a seat, along the river Platte,
So when you eat, you've got to sit or stand, or sit down square and flat;
It's fun to cook with buffalo wood, take some that's newly born,
If I knew once what I know now, I'd a gone around the Horn!
The desert's nearly death on corns, while walking in the sand,
And drive a jackass by the tail, it's d––n this overland;
I'd rather ride a raft at sea, and then at once be lost,
Says Bill, "Let's leave this poor old mule, we can't get him across."
The ladies have the hardest tine, that emigrate by land,
For when they cook with buffalo wood, they often burn a hand;
And then they jaw their husbands round, get mad and spill the tea,
Wish to the Lord they'd be taken down with a turn of the di-a-ree.
When you arrive at Placerville, or Sacramento City,
You've nothing in the world to eat, no money—what a pity!
Your striped pants are all worn out, which causes people to laugh,
When they see you gaping round the town like a great big brindle calf.
You're lazy, poor, and all broke down, such hardships you endure,
The post-office at Sacramento all such men will cure;
You'll find a line from ma' and pa', and one from lovely Sal,
If that don't physic you every mail, you never will get well.
Path is on a busy street, please exercise caution when going for the caches. There is NOparking along the route. Best to walk or use your bike.