In the course of an hour the smoke of a steamer was seen down the river, and this beat out the runners who now offered passage for half an ounce.
At this time there was no telegraph and the delay was a lucky one for us.

We took passage and went to San Francisco that night, where we put up at a cheap tavern near where the Custom House now stands.
Here we learned that we would have to wait two days before a ship would sail for Panama, and during this time we surveyed the town from the hill-tops and walked all over the principal streets.

It was really a small, poorly built, dirty looking place, with few wharves, poor, cheap hotels, and very rough inhabitants.

There were lots of gambling houses full of tables holding money, and the rooms filled with pretty rough looking people, except the card dealers, most of whom wore white shirts, and a few sported plug hats.

There was also a "right smart sprinkling" of ladies present who were well dressed and adorned with rich jewelry, and their position seemed to be that of paying teller at the gambling tables.
The buildings seemed to be rather cheap, although material was very expensive, as well as labor, mechanics of all sorts getting as much as ten or twelve dollars per day for work.