When gold was discovered in California, individuals and families traveled west, hoping they, too, could find great riches. Generally, travel was overland by wagon train. It was a daunting, difficult trip. Groups needed to be organized to travel together. There was no guarantee they would make it.
Not long ago, I was introduced to a book written by a woman who wrote about her childhood journey to California with her family. Her father succeeded in landing a gold claim, so he wanted the family to come West from Ohio by the route that would require the least amount of time.
The fasted way to travel was to travel to New York by train to board a ship that took them to the Isthmus of Panama. They could trim time off the trip by crossing at the isthmus, but in 1854, the railroad did not yet stretch all teh way across the 50-mile strip of land. Travelers took the train as far as they could and then traveled by mule for the final stretch to the Pacific Ocean. They then boarded another ship that took the family to San Francisco.
The book was written by Mary Jane Arnold. She was in her seventies when she realized she ought to document her story for her grandchildren. The book, Across Panama: New York to San Francisco in 1854—The Memoirs of Mary Jane Arnold, was published by the Paragon Agency. Author and publishier Douglas Westfall used the memoir as the cornerstone to the book. Throughout Arnold’s story, Westfall weaves additional information about the family, about life in the 1850s, and about Panama.
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Traveling West
Mary Jane Arnold, born Mary Jane Hill, and her family lived in Wheeler, Ohio in the 1850s.
As word spread across the country that gold was found in California, townsmen in many states decided to pack up and try to find some gold for themselves. Three of the men in Wheeler—her father, a neighbor, and her older brother—joined the California Gold Rush. For many, the gold rush was a fool’s errand, but these men were among the fortunate. They found gold in Calaveras County (east of San Francisco and near the center of “gold country”). Mary Jane’s father remained in California to maintain their claim; the other two members of the group returned to Ohio to bring back their families—the Hills and the Reddicks.
Choosing a Route
There were three routes to California at that time:
1. Overland by wagon train. This route was fraught with problems—a lack of roads, the perils of weather, and generally harsh travel conditions. Pioneers also wrote back about Indian attacks.
2. By steamship. The trip could be made fully via a water route, but the ships left New York and had to travel around Cape Horn. They then sailed north to San Francisco. This trip took 7-9 months.
3. A “combo” trip. This was the fastest route. After a group got to New York City, they boarded a steamship to Aspinwall (now known as Colon), on the northeastern side of Panama. A partially finished railroad could be used to travel inland as far as the rails were laid. Traveloers then transferred to mules to get across the 50-mile stretch of land that was the isthmus.When they reached the Pacific, passengers boarded another ship to go north to San Francisco. This trip took less time (2-3 months), but it was also more expensive.
Because Mary Jane Arnold’s father and friends found gold, the group decided the families shoud take more expensive but shorter option. Arnold’s memoir reflects the excitement of seeing an ocean for the first time. She also tells of the fear they felt about traveling by sea. Arnold writes of the rough seas they encountered. At various points, the entire shipboard population suffered seasickness. The author writes that they turned to God, holding special prayer services to ask the Almighty to save them.
Traveling Through the Isthmus of Panama
If travelers fully understood the perils of traveling the 50 miles across the Isthmus of Panama, they might have chosen a different route. Since the railroad was not yet finished, the train carried them for several days, but everyone still were forced to travel by mule. Finding places to sleep and food to eat was difficult at best. Panamanians were not prepared with any form of “hospitality.”
The mules were called the “ships of the desert,” but there was nothing easy about riding mules for several days at a time. The dangers were many. There were road pirates to worry about, and disease-carrying pests–fleas, ticks, chiggers, centipedes, and mosquitoes–were everywhere. There was also more and different animal life than Americans were accustomed to. The travelers saw snakes, rats, and aggressive monkeys in great numbers.
Arnold writes there were “…monkeys by the hundreds. They were my sister’s horror. As we rode under low limbs down they came snatching at everything. If they obtained a handkerchief or a glove they would form a rope of monkeys by clinging to each other’s tails and up they would go and inspect the article and chatter and laugh in frivolous gossip and repeat their pranks.”
There were large numbers of travelers on their way to California, but there were also good numbers of them returning to their former homes so the numbers of travelers criss-crossing the Isthmus was considerable.
On to San Francisco
When the travelers reached the southwest coast of Panama, they switched to San Francisco-bound ships. Not even that was easy. The water was too shallow for the ships to come close to shore, so they anchored three miles out. To reach the ships, natives helped carry passengers through the shallow water to small boats. The small boats took them out to their ships. Mary Jane’s family boarded one called the Golden Gate.
When the Golden Gate docked in San Francisco, the passengers saw that many ships were abandoned in the harbor. The crews also wanted to hunt for gold, so most ships stood in the harbor unmanned. Soon a purpose was found for them. San Francisco’s population in 1849 was 500. By 1854, there were 5000 people living there. Many of the abandoned ships were turned into hotels, stores, and brothels.
Not long after arriving in San Francisco, the Hills and the Reddicks made their way to the mining community of Mokelumne Hill. There they were reunited with Mary Jane’s father.
Later Life
Mary Jane Arnold lived for many years in Mokelumne Hill. She eventually attended the College of the Pacific in Sacramento. She married John Arnold and they lived in several locations in California before settling permanently in Lakeport, NY. Mary Jane Arnold died in 1936.
Publisher Douglas Westfall was given the memoir by family members who wanted the book published: Across Panama: New to San Francisco in 1854—the Memoirs of Mary Jane Arnold by James and Elaine Irvine.
Westfall has also published a book of photographs. The pictures were taken by James Irvine’s aunt before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The book that resulted is Two Weeks in San Francisco.
When pioneers traveled West for the gold rush, they also brought their pets. Here’s a story about them: Gold Rush Dogs Travel Via Shipboard.
Understand when I first started up reading this article I did not
know everything could be fairly likely that precisely what you described on this site really existed.
I am so thrilled to find this article. My great great grandmother came from Boston, across the isthmus of Panama on a mule just like the little girl described in this story sometime around 1850 or so, on her way to San Francisco. Her husband (who she later married in San Francisco came from Philadelphia, PA on a sailing ship around the horn of South America to San Francisco in 1850. They were married in 1854 in San Francisco. I actually have their bed which came on the sailing ship around the horn! My mother slept in it when she was a girl. My mother also was named the same name as my gggrandmother who came across on the mules – Mary Scott. Looking forward to purchasing this book. Thank you for publishing this article.
Dear Meredith,
What a great family story—and how wonderful that you have the bed. Furniture at that time was very well made so I can imagine it’s a beauty.
The story this book tells about traveling across the isthmus makes us appreciate how lucky we are today. She faced rough travel and lots of bugs…thank you for posting!
Kate
Having lived in Panama while in the Military and with an adventurous spirit to explore the history of Panama and the Canal Zone I was amazed at seeing the sights all along with the Zonnies who were kind to show much of their historical documents to me. To imagine how difficult it was prior to the canal being completed is quite a understatement. The numbers of deaths under the French operation were enormous as we’re the American & Panamanian operation until Dr. Finley medical research was taken seriously by Dr. Walter Reed and Dr Gorgas.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It must have been fascinating! And yes, the difficulty of getting through the area must have been enormous.