1849 The California Gold Rush

1849. The California Gold Rush. Written by Cynthia Kennedy Hensel. Focus Question. What was the effect of the gold rush on westward expansion?

1849年 加利福尼亚淘金热 辛西娅·肯尼迪·亨塞尔 著 思考问题 淘金热对西进运动产生了什么影响？

Gold It is January 1848. A man looks over the new mill his crew is building. In the mill's water he spots something shiny. He collects several pieces and shows his crew. They test the pieces. It's gold. The man shows John Sutter who owns the mill. Sutter doesn't want anyone else to know. They agree to keep the secret. Gold has been discovered in California.

黄金 时值1848年1月 一名男子正在查看工人们新修的磨坊 他在磨坊的水流里发现了闪闪发亮的东西 他捡了好几块，拿给工人们看 他们检测了这些金块 真的是黄金 这名男子把黄金拿给磨坊主约翰·萨特看 萨特不想让其他人知道这个消息 他们约定保守这个秘密 加利福尼亚发现了黄金

Keeping a Secret In 1848, the world was very different from today. There were no phones, TVs, or radios. There were no roads or railroads connecting California with the states back east. It took months to get a message from one coast to the Still, the secret got out when a man named Sam Brannan heard the news. He wasn't interested in mining. Instead, he bought all the shovels in San Francisco. He filled a bottle with gold dust. He ran through the streets, yelling about the great discovery. Then he sold his shovels for a lot of money.

保守秘密 1848年的世界和如今大不相同 那时没有电话、电视，也没有收音机 也没有公路和铁路连接加利福尼亚和东部各州 消息跨海岸传递需要数月，可秘密还是走漏了，一个名叫山姆·布兰南的人得知了消息 他对挖矿本身并不感兴趣 相反，他买下了旧金山所有的铁锹 他往一个瓶子里装满了金粉 他跑遍大街小巷，大声呼喊着这个天大的发现 之后他靠卖铁锹赚了一大笔钱

Panning. Unlike in most places, the gold in California was not locked deep under the ground. Erosion had long ago washed the metal down the mountains into the rivers. All people needed to mine it was a shovel and a flat pan. The prospectors stood in the rivers and shoveled gravel into their pans. They removed large rocks, then carefully swirled the pan. Gold is much heavier than gravel. The dirt and gravel spilled over the sides with the water. The shiny flakes of gold stayed at the bottom of the pan.

淘洗淘金法 和大多数地方不同，加利福尼亚的黄金并不深埋在地下 侵蚀作用早就把黄金从山上冲进了河流里 人们挖矿只需要一把铁锹和一个平底淘金盘 淘金者站在河里，把砾石铲进自己的淘金盘 他们捡出大石块，再小心晃动淘金盘 黄金比砾石重得多 泥土和砾石跟着水从盘边溢出去 闪闪发亮的金屑留在了淘金盘底部

People from along the West Coast soon showed up to work the rivers near Sutter's Mill. Next came prospectors from South America and Asia. At that time, it was easier to get to California from China than from the East Coast.

很快，西海岸各地的人们都赶来萨特磨坊附近淘金 接着，来自南美洲和亚洲的淘金者也纷纷到来 当时，从中国前往加利福尼亚比从东海岸到这里更方便

The 49ers. It took longer for people in the eastern states to hear about the gold. They didn't start coming west until 1849. That year, 90 ,000 people joined the gold rush. These were the 49ers. Nine out of ten of them were men. Many couldn't cook, wash a shirt, or build a shelter. Many left behind families. They planned to quickly make a fortune and come home. Around the Tip About half of the forty -niners went by ship. The tickets were expensive. The ships were crowded, the trip was boring, and many got sick. Ships took from 5 to 8 months to make the journey.

四九淘金者 东部各州的人们过了更久才得知黄金的消息 他们直到1849年才动身向西出发 这一年，共有9万人加入了淘金潮 这些人就是四九淘金者 他们十个人里有九个都是男性 很多人不会做饭、洗衣服，也不会搭住所 许多人把家人留在了老家 他们打算赚到大钱就尽快回家 绕路南行 大约一半的四九淘金者选择乘船出发 船票价格十分昂贵 船上拥挤不堪，旅途无聊，很多人还染了病 整个航程需要5到8个月的时间