They were mostly the original population,
who had come out either as pioneers or in the government service. They
included the discharged soldiers of Stevenson's regiment of New York
Volunteers, who had been detailed for the war but who had arrived a
little late, the so-called Mormon Battalion, Sam Brannan's immigrants,
and those who had come as settlers since 1842. They were a rough lot
with both the virtues and the defects of the pioneer. Nevertheless among
their most marked characteristics were their honesty and their kindness.
Hittell gives an incident that illustrates the latter trait very well.
"It was a little camp, the name of which is not given and perhaps is not
important. The day was a hot one when a youth of sixteen came limping
along, footsore, weary, hungry, and penniless. There were at least
thirty robust miners at work in the ravine and it may well be believed
they were cheerful, probably now and then joining in a chorus or
laughing at a joke. The lad as he saw and heard them sat down upon the
bank, his face telling the sad story of his misfortunes. Though he said
nothing he was not unobserved. At length one of the miners, a stalwart
fellow, pointing up to the poor fellow on the bank, exclaimed to his
companions, 'Boys, I'll work an hour for that chap if you will.
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