Much of Roughing It is filled with conversations and speculation about gold or silver. These precious metals symbolize The Volatile Economies of the West, luring migrants from all over America and the world, driving economic booms that frequently end in catastrophic busts. By the time of Twain’s journey in 1861, the Gold Rush in California has long ended. However, this doesn’t prevent him from combing the same ground to pocket mine for gold when poverty overtakes him.

Gold mining and milling can ravage the landscape as mines are dug or blasted. Forests are felled to create support beams for mine tunnels. They are also needed to build houses in the boom towns that spring up in California and just as quickly disappear once the rush ends. Twain writes, “The men are gone, the houses have vanished, even the name of the place is forgotten. In no other land, in modern times, have towns so absolutely died and disappeared, as in the old mining regions of California” (414).

In contrast, the silver rush is still at its peak in Nevada. Virginia City sits atop the Comstock Lode so that this bustling metropolis surmounts an equally bustling metropolis below ground. Because the location is so inhospitable, the community is entirely dependent on silver to run its economy.