282 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
preached in the mines. My present haste forbids my giving you at this time anything more than a brief outline of the state of things morally in the mines. A large majority in the part of the mines where I worked were from the Span- ish-American republics and soldiers and sailors, many! of whom had either deserted from our country's service or run away from merchant vessels. The various countries of Europe, the Pacific isles and China, as well as several states and territories of our own nation, were represented. Pro- fanity, Sabbath breaking, gambling and drunkenness reign unrestrained. Every trading shop within my knowledge sells intoxicating spirits, and most of them suffer gambling tables. Perhaps there is not a place on the face of the earth where gambling is conducted on so large a scale. It may be said in truth that thousands of dollars are some- times won at one table in a night. Many of the laborers dig through the day and at night change their gold into coin and gamble it away before they sleep. In short, the mines may, with some degree of propriety, be called the gamblers' and drunkards' heaven. And to crown the scene, the Chris- tians' Sabbath is the great day of trade and bull fighting and drunkenness and licentiousness. Professors of religion sell more ardent spirits and provisions on that than any other day in the week. I went to the mines principally to raise something to give my family the bare comforts of life, hop- ing, however, that I might in some measure unite bodily labor with duties of the ministerial office. God has merci- fully blessed me with about $1000 worth of gold, and to all probability, if I had stayed three or four months longer and had been blessed with a continuance of my health, I might have raised from $2000 to $4000 more. But an abiding con- viction of the duty I owe to the cause of Christ in Oregon has induced me to direct my attention to the appropriate field of my labors as soon as I could place my family above immediate want. I have been in this place ten days await- ing a vessel for Oregon. I shall sail tomorrow or next day.
