The Argonauts of California: being the reminiscenses of scenes and incidents that occurred in California in the early mining days

CHAPTER I.

THE NEWS--LOOKING FORWARD--THE START.

In the winter of ’48 I resided in New Bedford, Mass. I had a chum. What boy has not? My chum’s name was Bill. He had been absent from New Bedford for a few months, and on meeting him, a few days after his return, I greeted him with:

“Hello, Bill! Have you heard the news?”

“No; what is it?”

“Well; while you were...