Explore "The Gold Seekers of '49" by Kimball Webster on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
I was satisfied that I could make the work pay me some profit, but it was not a very desirable contract. Still, if I refused to accept this offer from Colonel Gardiner, I could not afterwards consistently ask him for a better contract. If I should accept it and finish the work, I might later be in a position to receive a better offer from him. The most desirable country in Oregon, lying west of the Cascade mountains, had already been surveyed, or was under contract.
At first I was undecided which course to pursue. It seemed to be a turning point in my life. Should I engage to do the work, I might perhaps remain in Oregon for years to come, and possibly never return home. At that time it was about five years and three months since I had left home, and I had learned that the longer the absence was continued, the less strong my desire to return. But I soon came to a decision to go back to my old New Hampshire home, if for nothing more than a visit.