Story Sample
Course Description
- One day the city is full of comotion. People excited about the gold discovery in Ca.
- Gino asks Joe is he wants to go and his father is willing to pay for him.
- They buy tickets on a steam ship and go around Cape Horn with a stop in Rio.
- From San Francisco they get Passage to Sacramento then to Dead Mans Gulch.
- Mining is hard and they run low on money, things are expensive.
- The miners love Ginos food and soon he is making a lot of money cooking for them.
- They move back to Sacramento buy some land and the two make a very profitable resturant
The Golden Baker
The afternoon air was filled with the sounds of the city. Inside the stable the restless animals stirred while a young man shoveled out a horse’s pen. With a sudden crash the back door flew open and startled a young colt that bucked, almost kicking the dark haired boy in the head. "Steady Rue, you almost took my head off, you daft horse." The young man complained as he looked up to see who had come in.
A well-dressed boy wearing a white apron ran to the stall, panting out of breath and yelled, " What are you doing shoveling horse dung, when you could be digging for gold?"
Gino had always had a way of making grand entrances, but this time he was forgiven because the two young men were partners heading to California to strike it rich. Joe was never bothered by Geno’s wealth and Gino never made Joe feel poor. They were just friends and together they were going on the adventure of a lifetime.
Gino's father owned a popular restaurant and he had bought the two young men tickets aboard a brand new steamer called the Argonaut. It was a grand vessel whose smoke stacks scrapped the sky. On board the passengers busily stowed their cargo and prepared for the long voyage to California.
"Look at all these people Gino. That's a lot of competition." Joe commented.
"Ya, and they’re going to have to compete with us, the way I see it it’s not a fair match." Gino spoke confidently. He was always so sure of himself. That's one of the reasons Joe liked him so much. As far as Gino was concerned the gold was theirs and the rest of them could pick up their scraps.
The decks were crowded with people of all descriptions but not one woman amongst them. Their room was cozy and small but Joe was used to that. Two bunks lined the walls and a small porthole let in some light. It smelled musty and was damp. A large man with a beard entered and suddenly the room was packed, His name was Zebadiah, he was a Yankee Trader, and we were to find out he snored like thunder. Our next bunkmate was a slim man, thank goodness, and he was a preacher. He was to keep us entertained the next few months with his endless stories of the Bible and his travels.
Life at sea is an idle life, boring and dull. Not a thing to do but wake, sleep and eat. The food was always the same tiresome fair. Some sort of hard biscuit and mush like cereal.
"How can you eat this slop?" Gino complained.
"I've had worse." Joe responded.
After a month and a half winter turned to summer and summer back to winter as the ship approached the notorious Cape Horn.
Joe was on deck when the first wave crashed over the hull. He was standing in ice cold water up to his knees and was almost swept over the side as the ocean retreated. After that everyone, but the crew remained below decks. And so began the never ending battle between the ship and the sea. Gino hit his head against a table leaving him with a nasty bump and the preacher broke his arm. No one was spared from a sea sickness and the frigid cold that would not end for some 37 days. But end it did just as sudden as it began and the sun once again shone on the battered vessel. The Argonaut had survived the deadly Cape.
The ship thrashed on day after day through the endless sea. One day was the same as the last. Gino kept watch from the ships crow’s nes,t spying nothing but the vast horizon. Joe scurried up the rat lines to reach his friend in his usual spot.
" You can't see anything through this fog? Why don't you come down? Its scary up here." Joe said as he looked down at the deck far below them.
" I like it up here. I saw a whale this morning and some dolphins too." Gino replied as he pointed. "What's that?" It looks like... land. Land Ho!" He shouted.
Not long after that the fog lifted and revealed a golden gate that opened between two mountains welcoming the Argonaut to California. The weary travelers had arrived.
San Francisco seemed like a city that had been built over night. There were tents and shacks and even a few ships that had been dragged up on shore and turned into hotels. The muddy streets were filled with people of all descriptions. There were auctioneers selling all manner of goods and barkers calling you to their hotels.
"Come to the Admiral. Finest hotel in San Francisco gents!" Called one. "Nonsense, the finest hotel is The Grand Hotel. Clean rooms and fresh water folks!" Called another.
Gino and Joe made their way to the Grand Hotel. It was a proper building with red brick walls and a heavy oak door. When we entered the lobby it was anything but clean. The floor was covered in mud from all the miners dirty boots. The two companions checked in, dropped off their luggage, and went back out on the town to see about getting to where the gold could be found.
A tall man with a bushy beard was tending to his burro. He looked like a man who had been to the mines. Gino approached the man and asked, " Excuse me sir, could you tell us how we might find our way to the gold " The man let out a hearty laugh, " You a city slicker fella? Why if I knew where the gold was I'd be there right now. But if'in you want to go up to them there mountains you might get lucky and find yourself some." He said pointing in the direction of the mountains in the distance.
Turns out he was a good guy, Yankee Jim, was his name. He was one of the first miners to reach the gold fields. He told us that we would have to take a riverboat to a town called Sacramento and from there we could take our pick of places to dig for the yeller, he called it. They thanked their new friend and set about securing tickets on the boat.
Their ride on the river took the better part of a day. It was uneventful and the scenery was beautiful. Gino and Joe had never seen mountains before and their size and majesty left them in awe. The country before them was wild and to Joe's surprise he saw Indians along the shore who waved as they past. The sun began to set when they arrived in the dusty outpost called Sacramento. Although it was smaller than where they had come from, it was just as busy with the hustle and bustle of miners hoping to strike it rich.
Gino pushed his way through the crowded streets and approached a man that had the look of a veteran miner. He wore a dusty hat, his nose was smudged with dirt and the rest was hidden by an unruly beard. He was muttering to himself when Gino interrupted. " I beg your pardon sir, but you look like a man who might know a thing or two about mining."
The man stopped and stared at us, then burst out laughing. “Why I sure do. You two young ins look like you was just birthed with your shinny clean clothes and all. If its color you be looking for its all around. Hard part is finding it." He said as he laughed again.
“Would you be so kind as to suggest where we might go to start our venture?" Gino asked trying not to show how annoyed he was with the stranger.
”I’ve been working color out of Dead Man's Gulch. It's about a two day trek from here or half a day on a stage if'in you got the money. Heading there myself just as soon as I beef up my grub stake." The miner said as he spit some chewing tobacco on the ground. “Name’s Sammy Shoe String and I'd be right happy to take you there if you don't mind walking. Got me a mountain canary to haul my supplies."
Joe didn't mind the walk. The forest was beautiful and the smell of pine trees filled the air. They climbed their way over rocky trails and green meadows gaining altitude all the while. The prospector's burro's name was Sancho and it was clear to see how important it would be to have a pack animal to carry all your belongings in such difficult terrain.
On the second day when the sun was directly overhead the weary travelers rounded a bend in the trail on top of a hill that overlooked a small town along the river.
"There she is boys, Dead Man's Gulch. Aint she pretty?" Sammy smiled as he lead the beast of berdan and all his supplies down the steep trail to their destination.
"You call that a town? Doesn’t look like much." Gino said looking at the assortment of tents with only a couple log cabin that looked like shacks.
The town stopped when the travelers entered and shouts went out welcoming Sammy back to town. He was clearly well liked and the two boys felt comfortable in their new home. Joe noticed a miner holding a horse's leg. The animal looked in distress. "What's the matter mister?" Joe asked knowing a thing or two about horses from working in the stables back in New York since he was a child.
"Awe shucks, my horse has done gone lame, Afraid I'm going to have to put'em down," The man said with sadness in his eyes. Joe asked to take a look and calmly reassured the horse he meant no harm, by stroking his long shinny neck. He lifted up his leg and noticed a sliver of hoof was poking into the soft tissue. He asked the man for his knife and he skillfully removed the object.
"Now that ought to do the trick. Just let him rest a day or two and he'll be good as new." The horse doctor said. The man was so grateful he pulled out his gold pouch and offered him a gold nugget. Joe said it was nothing but the man insisted. Before he knew it other miners were bringing their animals from far and wide. News traveled fast and Joe was gathering gold dust faster than the best of any miners.
Unfortunately for Gino he felt that Joe was letting him down and he went to work on Sammy's claim. The work was hard. Harder than anything he had ever done in his life, and with very little to show for it. While he was breaking his back to get by, Joe was getting rich working on the miners animals. So he decided to help his friend build a small structure to function as his stable and vet hospital.
Now that he wasn't working so hard mining, he offered to make a fancy meal for his friend. The smell of garlic and tomato sauce filled the camp and the locals started to gather around with their mouths watering. Gino sensed an opportunity and offered the miners dinners. He made his families secret pasta recipe that back home sold for 50 cents and he was charging 5 dollars and the 49ers were happy to pay it.
Together the two friends became the wealthiest men in town. Soon there were many buildings; a general store, (2) hotels, (3) saloons, a jail, a stable with an animal hospital and one of the best restuarants in the county, Gino's.
The two friends from the east coast had not found much gold but they were wealthy non the less. Joe's stable had a blacksmith shop and boarded many of the towns horses. He built a big house on top of a hill that overlooked the town.
Gino's resturant was so good people came from far and wide to eat his Italian cooking. His repuitation became legendary and he opened a resurant in San Francisco too. When he finally retired he owned several restuarant and a hotel and many other properties. He was a rich man but not from discovering gold. He built a house next to his friend Joe's on the hill above town. The same hill they had first spotted the ugly little town that was now prosperouse and beautiful.