Soon after the Civil War ended in 1865, thousands of Americans began to move west to settle the land. The great movement of sett

Soon after the Civil War ended in 1865, thousands of Americans began to move west to settle the land. The great movement of settlers (36) continued for almost 40 years. The great (37) empty West,in time,became fully settled. The (38) discovery of gold had already started a great movement to California.
    Men had (39) rushed to the gold fields with hopes of becoming rich. A few found gold. The others found only hard work and high prices.
    When their money was gone,they gave up the (40) search for gold. But they stayed in California to become farmers or businessmen or (41) laborers.
    Some never gave up the search for (42) riches. They moved back toward the east, searching for gold and silver in the wild country between California and the Mississippi river.
    Each new gold rush brought more people from the east. Mining (43) camps quickly grew into towns with stores, hotels, even newspapers. (44) Most of these towns, however, lived only as long as gold was easy to find. Then they began to die.
    In some of the gold centers, big mining companies bought up all the land from those who first claimed it. (45) These companies brought in mining machines that could dig out the gold from deep underground and separate it from the rock that held it.
    The great wealth taken from the gold and silver mines was usually invested in other businesses; shipping, railroads, factories, stores, land companies. More jobs were created in the West. And living conditions got better. (46) More and more people decided to leave the crowded East for a new life in the West.