1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 94 Playing with Fire?

Sacramento gold district.

The sudden rain made the whole of Sacramento cool.

For gold mining companies and teams with sufficient supplies, the first rain in early autumn is nothing.

But for the New York consortium who lack food and clothing, this is simply a nightmare.

The gold rush camp of the New York syndicate was located fifteen miles from Sacramento on the American River.

The machines they brought greatly improved the efficiency of panning gold.

The joy brought by the gold did not last long. Their camp was surrounded by old miners with extremely unfriendly attitudes. They had to guard day and night to prevent these barbaric miners from sneaking into their camp and robbing their gold.

This is Sacramento, and the people here treat them nobles and their pawns less politely than New Yorkers.

The local people in both Sacramento and San Francisco refused to sell them food, daily necessities, and gold mining supplies, even if they were willing to pay high prices.

John and Milners, two insignificant figures in the family, played the role of leader and savior at this critical moment.

The Astor family behind John was the most wealthy family in the New York consortium, while the Van Rensselaer family behind Milners was old enough.

The key is that these two people are not running dogs of the New York consortium, they are real family children.

The children of the noble family went to California to pan for gold in person. This courage alone convinced the lackeys of other families in the consortium and elected them to be the leaders of the team.

They hope that these two leaders can carry them through this difficult time.

I have to say that California is a place to train people. The setbacks and sufferings experienced in the past two months have smoothed John's edges and corners.

John wasn't as sharp-edged as he was when he first came to California.

He united the New York consortium and other state consortia who decided to fight Liang Yao to the end, and occupied a section of the American River for gold mining.

For the first time, John also took out some food supplies to share with these collaborators.

John's acts of generosity have earned him many accolades.

As for Milners, his personality is inherited from his family, and he has always been known for his calmness.

Milners was very prescient. He had a small steamer brought from New York. This small steamer named Occidental could sail on the navigable section of the American River.

This small steamer was responsible for the transportation of food supplies for the gold panning team of more than [-] people from the New York consortium.

Since Liang Yao claimed that the port of San Francisco belonged to him personally, they were forbidden to use the port of San Francisco.

Therefore, they could only use the small steamer to load the materials unloaded from the big ship in advance, and then the small steamer "Western" went upstream to transport them to their camp.

But today, Matthew, the captain of the Occidental, brought them terrible news.

"Mr. Milners, I have some sad news for you. The steam turbines on the Occidental have failed."

"Then fix it, don't we have the best mechanics in New York?" Milners said.

The steam turbines of this era were unreliable, which is why people distrusted ships.

To remedy this, almost every able owner would have a mechanic on his steamship.It's like having a mender on a sailboat.

"Yes, our mechanic is very good, and the fault of the machine has been found out, just..." Captain Matthew hesitated to speak.

"Just what?" Milners' face was as gloomy as today's weather.

"The spare parts we brought have all been used up. This kind of parts can only be bought in New York." Captain Matthew said truthfully.

Without parts, no matter how skilled a mechanic is, it is difficult for a skilled woman to cook without rice in the face of mechanical failure.

"Are you kidding? Captain Matthew, you have to find a way to fix him. Without the Western, we would all starve to death here!" Milners said, "Is there any other way to fix him?"

"Yes, the shipyard in San Francisco has a ship repair center, and they have the ability to repair small steamships." Matthew stopped.

Matthew has already made his words very clear, and Milners should understand what he means. The shipyard and ship repair center in San Francisco are [-]% owned by Liang Yao.

"You have to find a way to fix the Occidental yourself."

Milners dropped a word coldly and got into the warm tent behind him. He planned to drink a cup of hot coffee to warm his body, otherwise he would have a cold.

It is a very fatal thing to contract a small disease in such a ghost place.

Not far from the tent, there are workers recruited by their consortium from New York. They are braving the heavy rain to pan for gold in the icy river.

"It's just one bad thing after another."

Inside the tent, John, who was wearing a blanket, poured Milners a cup of hot coffee. He also had bad news for Milners.

"At least a quarter of the workers were infected with cholera-related malaria, and seven or eight workers died in the past two days, which dealt a considerable blow to our morale.

I heard that the doctors at the Sacramento Hospital are capable of curing these workers, but the Sacramento Hospital also belongs to Liang Yao. "

In order to stabilize the emotions of these workers, John even asked his own personal doctor to treat these workers.

Of course, just to see a doctor, as for those precious medicines, he refused to use them at all.

It's not that John has a good heart, but that John needs these workers to work for him, and he doesn't care whether these workers live or die.

"Sooner or later, I will bring this guy Liang Yao to court. The suffering we suffered in California cannot be in vain." Milners said angrily.

"The Occident should be repaired as soon as possible. The supplies I entrusted Aspinwall to buy from Oregon will arrive in San Francisco in a week. If there is no Occident, we can only send people to carry these things from overland to our camp. .”

Stressing the seriousness of not having the Occidental, John asked.

"Is there any news from Congressman Calhoun? As long as Congress passes the motion not to recognize the land grant from Mexico, we can end this hellish life and move to Liang Yao's coastal manor. I think the fireplace there must be very beautiful. warm."

Congress does not recognize the land grant from Mexico, and bids for land in the Sacramento area, which is the motivation and spiritual pillar for them to persist here for so long.

When it came to the Congress, the two distressed aristocrats cheered up in unison. They believed that the respected Mr. Calhoun would definitely surprise them.

"I think it's coming soon. I heard that California is about to become a state. I already have a suitable candidate for governor."

Milners said after taking a sip of steaming coffee.

"I also know a guy named Brandon, who used to be an officer. This guy almost killed Liang Yao. Now he has a team of more than [-] people." John said complacently, "When necessary , I will order him to provide us with some services, such as helping us get some food and warm clothes."

Liang Yao couldn't buy off the New York consortium that divided them into unity, and the New York consortium had nothing to do with the miners who were united as one.

But in the end, he, John, found a breakthrough, and that was Liang Yao's enemy.

Thinking of this, John couldn't help feeling a little proud.

"Brandon? Isn't this the wanted deserter? John, you are crazy, I have to remind you, you are playing with fire!"

Milners was born in a famous family, so he naturally disdained to associate with bandits. He put down the cup in his hand and reminded John.

It felt that doing so was a disservice to his reputation, and that working with a guy like Brandon was tantamount to stealing a tiger's skin.

"Milnas! Please lower your stance, living here is the most important thing!
Perhaps Brandon was once a villainous bandit, but as long as Liang Yao can be beaten as a criminal, it is not impossible to turn Brandon into a hero who fights against criminals.We have more and more sick and wounded numbers, and we need the help of some local armed forces, even bandits. "

John didn't take it seriously, he felt that this matter was very operable.

(End of this chapter)