Note 100 — REMINISCENCES OF VILLAGE LIFE AND OF PANAMA AND CALIFORNIA. 1840-1850.

Prices fluctuated greatly in the years 1848-49-50, due to the inflexible rule of supply and demand. The highest prices appear to have been reached just before the first steamer arrived. Bancroft says flour sold as high as $800 a barrel. Sugar and coffee were $400 a barrel; a shovel, pair of boots or gallon of whiskey and many other things were $100 each. Eggs sold for $3 apiece. A doctor charged $100 or $50 or nothing for a visit. Cooks earned $25 a day. Butter was $6 a pound, and ale $8 a bottle. Mr. Pratt spent the winter of 1849-50 on the coast and gives figures to show the cost of living. He sold for $400 a cooking stove that cost him $60. A good workman could demand $16 a day. Boots that cost him $6 in New York would bring $100, and revolvers costing $20 would bring $150. A chicken could be sold for $16. Lumber brought $500 a thousand feet, but in the following year when mills had been started and the market overstocked he bought enough lumber to build a warehouse for the bare cost of freight.