| GOLD RUSH, GHOST TOWNS AND THE RAILROAD Now, where the trappers once tread and the traders did follow Came the stream of new settlers to each prairie and hollow, Whistling that tune of the 19th century: "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." And in 1849 after Californians struck gold, With pick-axes and shovels and their belongings all rolled Came there wave upon wave of prospecting men As the glitter of fortune did gleam once again. And the mere rumor of metal could make pulses pound, After the Comstock Lode saw there silver now found! And the news to the world like a flash of wild fire, Brought scores of new folks touched by greed and desire. Yes, from Mexico and Ireland, from China and France, To the West, to the Gold, they came for the chance To tap the next vein, to lay claim the next lode, -- Towns boomed with new business; they did nearly explode! As jobs sprouted like clover, like poppies and weeds, To cater to miners, to their wants and their needs. -- Alas, great riches were rare and mines quickly ran dry. And boomtowns turned to ghosts, tumbleweeds rolling by. Ah, but those slivers of silver, those glimmers of gold Brought more and more reason to stretch the railroad Throught the forests and plains, through mountains and streams, To fill the landscape with the roar of engines. Indeed, the grand race of the day in 1869: To see a transcontinental railroad on line. And so the land put her muscle to lay tracks of steel, From one coast to the other, and so the country did feel That her wheels chugged and churned to a future so bright, Hitched along to the marvels of great progress and might. And with a final gold spike at Promontory Point, A new sense of union did the great trainride anoint... |
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| Worksheet # 78 |
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