from Ancestry's free database: A shoemaker in the central Ohio community of Lancaster, Samuel McNeil left his business in January 1849 seeking his fortune in the gold fields of California. He returned home the next year, with his accumulated gold. This database was published in 1850 and recounts his travels throughout 1849. He describes the shipwreck that forced McNeil and his compatriots to travel overland from Texas to Mazatlan, where they obtained passage to San Francisco. Also included are his descriptions of prospecting on the North Fork of the American River, Bear River, and Weaver's Creek. For researchers attempting to better understand the life of a typical California prospector, this can be a useful source of information. McNeil's travels in 1849, to, through and from the gold regions, in California. Mc'NEILS TRAVELS page 31 In walking through the town I saw people from all quarters of the globe, showing that San Francisco had already become the landing of the world, viz:--Americans, Englishmen, Hibernians, Scotch folks, Chinese, Sandwich Islanders, South Americans, New Granadians, Mexicans, Polanders, Sonorians. I saw anchored in the harbor about five hundred vessels belonging to different nations, about one hundred at Vernicia, and two hundred at Sacramento City, making in all 800 vessels, the sailors had all ran off to the mines, averaging at that time but one man to a vessel to take care of them. Some of the vessels were rotting, and I suppose the majority of them would be destroyed by the N.W. hurricanes. I saw Col. Fremont, Col. Weller, and Ex-Governor SHANNON there. I conversed with them about the gold and state of the country, as to its soil and political interests. I saw about three hundred gamblers in the city, acting like land sharks, entrapping the foolish gudgeons who were swimming about their establishments. This state of society reminded me of two kinds of ducks I saw at the east, and which I have seen swimming together. One of them is a small duck, having a diving disposition. The other is large and indolent, but always fat, and avoids the trouble of diving. When the small one dives to the bottom, and brings up the luscious grass, the large duck artfully swims to it, and, grasping the grass, eats it at leisure. I compared the gambler to the large duck and the honest hard-working miner to the little one, the gambler being always fat in the pocket, and the miner proportionally poor in the same. This would also apply to many in the United States.