On the 25th July 1850 Gold was discovered in Oregon (Rogue River), here is a poem written about American Gold Mining.

Photo Wikimedia Commons

The Happy Miner

I am a happy miner,
I love to sing and dance;
I wonder what my love would say
If she could see my pants.
With canvas patches on the knee,
And one upon the stern;
I’ll wear them while I’m digging here,
And home when I return.

Chorus:
So I get in a jovial way
I spend my money free;
And I have got a-plenty,
So come drink lager beer with me!
They wish to know if I can cook,
And what I have to eat;
And tell me, should I take a cold,
Be sure to soak my feet.
But when they talk of cooking,
I’m mighty hard to beat;
I’ve made ten thousand loaves of bread
The Devil couldn’t eat.

by Archer Butler Hulbert