John Gilli, A Swiss Migrant in California
“1854, legend had it that gold had been found in California, lots of it, so much, so that one had only to bend down to pick it up in the street in unlimited quantities. If only this had been true. At least that’s what we thought, young fools, that we were.
Living conditions in our mountain valley in southeastern Switzerland were very difficult. Families were large, and food was scarce. We were eight children, without money, without a future. Neighboring Italy did not offer any opportunities either. For this reason, many young people left across the ocean hoping to make their fortune. A group from our village of Schons had already tried the experiment in 1848.
“…”
Determined to do the same, we left our families, friends, and region on June 8, 1854. We gathered in Ziran, all young and ready for the departure. We were all divided between the excitement of the trip and the sadness of being separated from our own.
It was not easy to travel in those days. And yet we soon found ourselves in Basel. It was there that we saw a train for the first time.
From there, we traveled to Le Havre in France. We could not believe our eyes. In the harbor, many sailing ships were ready for departure. We arrived at about 12 o’clock and could not board until about 10 o’clock. Our boat was huge…
