Chrysti The Wordsmith: Goldrush - 4

Greetings This is Christie the wordsmith. Recently on this series we've been looking at American English words and phrases originated by laborers and prospectors in the camps of the California gold rush of 1849 to pan out. Referring originally to the yield of gold in a miner's pan now means to work out or to succeed. Strike it rich was what a prospector did when he struck a bountiful seam of ore. But today anyone who comes into easy money strikes it rich in the California Gold Rush era. It wasn't just the prospectors who hoped to strike it rich. Those who supplied goods for the mining camps the blacksmith Tanner's butchers wagon makers and others profited indirectly from the abundance of West Coast gold. And so it was for a young Bavarian immigrant named Levi Strauss who came to California in 1853 with the waves of fortune seekers arriving by clipper ship in San Francisco with a load of canvas. Strauss hoped to supply miners with tent making supplies but he quickly realized that the prospectors also needed sturdy clothing for their hard work. So straw dyed

his white canvas indigo blue and fashioned paths for miners who soon began calling them Levis after Levi-Strauss the gold rush tailor. Today both the apparel and the brand name are essential components of American culture. I'm Christie the wordsmith. The theme music you hear every day on this series was composed and recorded by Montana guitarist Stuart Weber. You can link to more of his music at my website wordsmith radio dot org. Kristie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry Web dot com.