A Forty-Niner Named Wiggins

The word of discovery of gold in '49 in Californy raced across the nation! Why, it was said you could fill a bushel basket full with little botheration! This appealed to a young feller in Boston town named Clancy Wiggins, Who forthwith trailed the sun west to help himself to his share of diggin's! In them days to make the trek you had a choice of travelin' by land or sea. He chose the sea carin' not a whit for wagon trains or tanglin' with Cherokee! Clancy left his mom and dad, Spike his dog and Sarah Jane his fiancee, Fixin' to strike it rich, return safe and sound to marry-up with her one day! In March of '49 he boarded the ship Barnacle and sailed from the Boston quay. 'Twas cold and icy, the sea was rough, he was sea-sick, not a cheerful day. They tacked to and fro and three months later transited perilous Cape Horn! Four months later they reached San Francisco, both man and ship badly worn! Clancy bounded off the ship anxious to head fer them thar hills and streams. He bought the necessaries needed to accomplish his far-fetched dreams. Includin' shovels, boots, jeans and grub as well as a sassy mule named Fred, Plus pots and pans and a tent to 'batch' in to lower costs and overhead. Fer nigh on a year he panned, dug and sluiced searchin' fer that pot of gold, Sufferin' claim jumpers, cheatin' partners, floods, rain, snow and cold! Now and then he'd pan some dust or a nugget, but didn't amount to much; What he found he quickly blew on gamblin' whiskey, wimmin and such! His venture didn't 'pan out' like them lying Californy hucksters said it might. He sold Fred and his belongin's since his future as a miner didn't look bright. Clancy left Boston with 21 bucks and left Californy with 18 bucks in his jeans. It might be said that he didn't arrive back in Boston as a man of means!