Say, Don't You Remember Sweet Betsy From Pike?

     The American songbook contains many stories about the California Gold Rush of 1849. Like Sweet Betsy From Pike, they recount more about the hardships and disappointments rather than success stories of '49-ers striking it rich.

Oh don't you remember sweet Betsy from Pike,
Who crossed the wide prairie with her lover Ike,
With two yoke of oxen, a big yellow dog,
A tall Shangai rooster, and one spotted hog?

CHORUS:
Singing dang fol dee dido,
Singing dang fol dee day.

One evening quite early they camped on the Platte.
'Twas near by the road on a green shady flat.
Where Betsy, sore-footed, lay down to repose --
With wonder Ike gazed on that Pike County rose.

The Shanghai ran off, and their cattle all died;
That morning the last piece of bacon was fried;
Poor Ike was discouraged and Betsy got mad,
The dog drooped his tail and looked wondrously sad.

     That's not to say all efforts failed; far from it. By 1852 $81 Million had been taken from the ground, leveling off by 1857 to about $45 Million. Most of this gold was pulled by mining companies than individual stakes. Yet, men from the eastern United States left their wives and children behind to sail either to Panama or around Cape Horn to seek their fortunes based on the story of James Marshall, a shopkeeper and his bottle of gold dust he panned from the American River in 1848. It's noteworthy Marshall died on his claim in 1885 without enough money to pay for his funeral.

     Thanks to a letter written by S. Shurfelt, now in the Smithsonian, we have a first hand account of the details his journey from New York to San Francisco and the trials of panning for gold once he arrived. In it he lists his weekly earnings totalling $9342. For this he went temporarily insane due to malnutrition and nearly died.

     Today, we don't have to sail off into the sunset, purchase pack mules or oxen to carry equipment and provisions to be able to own gold. In 2016 we have the luxury of buying gold from several sources from the comfort of our home computers. 

     One of these is Karatbars, the only company who offers gold in affordable units of 1g, 2.5g, and 5g. As a customer, the full purchase price isn't required as the account offers a plan for weekly deposits until the purchase price is accumulated. Similar to the law-away plan at a retail store. As an affiliate, the savings plan is enhanced with the opportunity to earn additional gold when a referral signs up for the program. 

     We tell other people about restaurants and movies, so why not tell them about how you buy gold and get free gold for it? Certainly helping someone secure their financial future is more important than a night out, right? 

     So pop yourself some popcorn and watch these videos and then start saving with gold today!

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