"Mr. Neligh, an agent of Commodore Stockton, had been at work about three weeks in the neighborhood, and showed me, in bags and bottles, over $2000 worth of gold; and Mr. Lyman, a gentleman of education, and worthy of every credit, said he had been engaged, with four others, with a machine, on the American Fork, just below Sutter's mill; that they worked eight days, and that his share was at the rate of fifty dollars a day; but hearing that others were doing better at Weber's place, they had removed there, and were then on the point of resuming operations. I might tell of hundreds of similar instances; but, to illustrate how plentiful the gold was in the pockets of common laborers, I will mention a single occurrence which took place in my presence when I was at Weber's store. This store was nothing but an arbor of bushes, under which he had exposed for sale goods and groceries suited to his customers. A man came in, picked up a box of Seidlitz powders, and asked the price. Captain Weber told him it was not for sale. The man offered an ounce of gold, but Captain Weber told him it only cost fifty cents, and he did not wish to sell it. The man then offered an ounce and a half, when Captain Weber had to take it. The prices of all things are high, and yet Indians, who before hardly knew what a breech cloth was, can now afford to buy the most gaudy dresses.
"The country on either side of Weber's creek is much broken up by hills, and is intersected in every direction by small streams or ravines, which contain more or less gold. Those that have been worked are barely scratched; and although thousands of ounces have been carried away, I do not consider that a serious impression has been made upon the whole. Every day was developing new and richer deposits; and the only impression seemed to be, that the metal would be found in such abundance as seriously to depreciate in value.
"On the 8th of July, I returned to the lower mines, and on the following day to Sutter's, where, on the 19th, I was making preparations for a visit to the Feather, Yuba, and Bear Rivers, when I received a letter from Commander A. R. Long, United States Navy, who had just arrived at San Francisco from Mazatlan with a crew for the sloop-of-war Warren, with orders to take that vessel to the squadron at La Paz. Captain Long wrote to me that the Mexican Congress had adjourned without ratifying the treaty of peace, that he had letters from Commodore Jones, and that his orders were to sail with the Warren on or before the 20th of July. In consequence of these, I determined to return to Monterey, and accordingly arrived here on the 17th of July. Before leaving Sutter's, I satisfied myself that gold existed in the bed of the Feather River, in the Yuba and Bear, and in many of the smaller streams that lie between the latter and the American Fork; also, that it had been found in the Cosumnes to the south of the American Fork. In each of these streams the gold is found in small scales, whereas in the intervening mountains it occurs in coarser lumps.
"Mr. Sinclair, whose rancho is three miles above Sutter's, on the north side of the American, employs about fifty Indians on the north fork, not far from its junction with the main stream. He had been engaged about five weeks when I saw him, and up to that time his Indians had used simply closely woven willow baskets. His net proceeds (which I saw) were about $16,000 worth of gold. He showed me the proceeds of his last week's work—fourteen pounds avoirdupois of clean-washed gold.
"The principal store at Sutter's Fort, that of Brannan and Co., had received in payment for goods $36,000 (worth of this gold) from the 1st of May to the 10th of July. Other merchants had also made extensive sales. Large quantities of goods were daily sent forward to the mines, as the Indians, heretofore so poor and degraded, have suddenly become consumers of the luxuries of life. I before mentioned that the greater part of the farmers and rancheros had abandoned their fields to go to the mines. This is not the case with Captain Sutter, who was carefully gathering his wheat, estimated at 40,000 bushels. Flour is already worth at Sutter's thirty-six dollars a barrel, and soon will be fifty. Unless large quantities of breadstuffs reach the country, much suffering will occur; but as each man is now able to pay a large price, it is believed the merchants will bring from Chili and Oregon a plentiful supply for the coming winter.
"The most moderate estimate I could obtain from men acquainted with the subject, was, that upward of four thousand men were working in the gold district, of whom more than one-half were Indians; and that from $30,000 to $50,000 worth of gold, if not more, was daily obtained. The entire gold district, with very few exceptions of grants made some years ago by the Mexican authorities, is on land belonging to the United States. It was a matter of serious reflection with me, how I could secure to the government certain rents or fees for the privilege of procuring this gold; but upon considering the large extent of country, the character of the people engaged, and the small scattered force at my command, I resolved not to interfere, but to permit all to work freely, unless broils and crimes should call for interference. I was surprised to hear that crime of any kind was very unfrequent, and that no thefts or robberies had been committed in the gold district.
"All live in tents, in bush arbors, or in the open air; and men have frequently about their persons thousands of dollars worth of this gold, and it was to me a matter of surprise that so peaceful and quiet state of things should continue to exist. Conflicting claims to particular spots of ground may cause collisions, but they will be rare, as the extent of country is so great, and the gold so abundant, that for the present there is room enough for all. Still the government is entitled to rents for this land, and immediate steps should be devised to collect them, for the longer it is delayed the more difficult it will become. One plan I would suggest is, to send out from the United States surveyors with high salaries, bound to serve specified periods.
"The discovery of these vast deposits of gold has entirely changed the character of Upper California. Its people, before engaged in cultivating their small patches of ground, and guarding their herds of cattle and horses, have all gone to the mines, or are on their way thither. Laborers of every trade have left their work benches, and tradesmen their shops. Sailors desert their ships as fast as they arrive on the coast, and several vessels have gone to sea with hardly enough hands to spread a sail. Two or three are now at anchor in San Francisco with no crew on board. Many desertions, too, have taken place from the garrisons within the influence of these mines; twenty-six soldiers have deserted from the post of Sonoma, twenty-four from that of San Francisco, and twenty-four from Monterey. For a few days the evil appeared so threatening, that great danger existed that the garrisons would leave in a body; and I refer you to my orders of the 25th of July, to show the steps adopted to meet this contingency. I shall spare no exertions to apprehend and punish deserters, but I believe no time in the history of our country has presented such temptations to desert as now exist in California.
"The danger of apprehension is small, and the prospect of high wages certain; pay and bounties are trifles, as laboring men at the mines can now earn in one day more than double a soldier's pay and allowances for a month, and even the pay of a lieutenant or captain cannot hire a servant. A carpenter or mechanic would not listen to an offer of less than fifteen or twenty dollars a day. Could any combination of affairs try a man's fidelity more than this? I really think some extraordinary mark of favor should be given to those soldiers who remain faithful to their flag throughout this tempting crisis.
"Many private letters have gone to the United States, giving accounts of the vast quantity of gold recently discovered, and it may be a matter of surprise why I have made no report on this subject at an earlier date. The reason is, that I could not bring myself to believe the reports that I heard of the wealth of the gold district until I visited it myself. I have no hesitation now in saying that there is more gold in the country drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers than will pay the cost of the present war with Mexico a hundred times over. No capital is required to obtain this gold, as the laboring man wants nothing but his pick and shovel and tin pan, with which to dig and wash the gravel; and many frequently pick gold out of the crevices of the rocks with their butcher knives, in pieces of from one to six ounces.
"Mr. Dye, a gentleman residing in Monterey, and worthy of every credit, has just returned from Feather River. He tells me that the company to which he belonged worked seven weeks and two days, with an average of fifty Indians (washers,) and that their gross product was two hundred and seventy-three pounds of gold. His share (one seventh,) after paying all expenses, is about thirty-seven pounds, which he brought with him and exhibited in Monterey. I see no laboring man from the mines who does not show his two, three, or four pounds of gold. A soldier of the artillery company returned here a few days ago from the mines, having been absent on furlough twenty days. He made by trading and working, during that time, $1500. During these twenty days he was travelling ten or eleven days, leaving but a week in which he made a sum of money greater than he receives in pay, clothes, and rations, during a whole enlistment of five years. These statements appear incredible, but they are true.
"Gold is also believed to exist on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada; and when at the mines, I was informed by an intelligent Mormon that it had been found near the Great Salt Lake by some of his fraternity. Nearly all the Mormons are leaving California to go to the Salt Lake, and this they surely would not do unless they were sure of finding gold there in the same abundance as they now do on the Sacramento.
"The gold 'placer' near the mission of San Fernando has long been known, but has been little wrought for want of water. This is a spur which puts off from the Sierra Nevada (see Fremont's map,) the same in which the present mines occur. There is, therefore, every reason to believe, that in the intervening spaces, of five hundred miles (entirely unexplored) there must be many hidden and rich deposits. The 'placer' gold is now substituted as the currency of this country; in trade it passes freely at $16 per ounce; as an article of commerce its value is not yet fixed. The only purchase I made was of the specimen No. 7, which I got of Mr. Neligh at $12 the ounce. That is about the present cash value in the country, although it has been sold for less. The great demand for goods and provisions, made by this sudden development of wealth, has increased the amount of commerce at San Francisco very much, and it will continue to increase."
The Californian, published at San Francisco on the 14th of August, furnishes the following interesting account of the Gold Region:
"It was our intention to present our readers with a description of the extensive gold, silver, and iron mines, recently discovered in the Sierra Nevada, together with some other important items, for the good of the people, but we are compelled to defer it for a future number. Our prices current, many valuable communications, our marine journal, and other important matters, have also been crowded out. But to enable our distant readers to draw some idea of the extent of the gold mine, we will confine our remarks to a few facts. The country from the Ajuba to the San Joaquin rivers, a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles, and from the base toward the summit of the mountains, as far as Snow Hill, about seventy miles, has been explored, and gold found on every part. There are now probably 3000 people, including Indians, engaged collecting gold. The amount collected by each man who works, ranges from $10 to $350 per day. The publisher of this paper, while on a tour alone to the mining district, collected, with the aid of a shovel, pick and tin pan, about twenty inches in diameter, from $44 to $128 a day—averaging $100. The gross amount collected will probably exceed $600,000, of which amount our merchants have received about $250,000 worth for goods sold; all within the short space of eight weeks. The largest piece of gold known to be found weighed four pounds.
"Labor has ever been high in California, but previous to the discovery of the placera gold, the rates ranged from $1 to $3 per day. Since that epoch common labor cannot be obtained, and if to be had, for no less price than fifty cents per hour, and that the most common. Carpenters and other mechanics have been offered $15 a day, but it has been flatly refused. Many of our enterprising citizens were largely engaged in building, and others wish to commence on dwellings, warehouses, and the like, but all have had to suspend for the lack of that all important class of community, the working men."
The following extracts from the published journal of a physician in California, give accounts of the reception of the news of the gold discovery in San Francisco, with its consequent effects.
"May 8th.—Captain Fulsom called at Sweeting's to-day. He had seen a man this morning, who reported that he had just come from a river called the American Fork, about one hundred miles in the interior, where he had been gold washing. Captain Fulsom saw the gold he had with him; it was about twenty-three ounces weight, and in small flakes. The man stated that he was eight days getting it, but Captain Fulsom hardly believed this. He says that he saw some of this gold a few weeks since, and thought it was only 'mica,' but good judges have pronounced it to be genuine metal. He talks, however, of paying a visit to the place where it is reported to come from. After he was gone, Bradley stated that the Sacramento settlements, which Malcolm wished to visit, were in the neighborhood of the American Fork, and that we might go there together; he thought the distance was only one hundred and twenty miles.
"May 10th.—Yesterday and to-day nothing has been talked of but the new gold 'placer,' as people call it. It seems that four other men had accompanied the person Captain Fulsom saw yesterday, and that they had each realized a large quantity of gold. They left the 'diggings' on the American Fork, (which it seems is the Rio de los Americanos, a tributary to the Sacramento) about a week ago, and stopped a day or two at Sutter's Fort, a few miles this side of the diggings, on their way; from there they had travelled by boat to San Francisco. The gold they brought has been examined by the first Alcalde here and by all the merchants in the place. Bradley showed us a lump weighing a quarter of an ounce, which he had bought of one of the men, and for which he gave him three dollars and a half. I have no doubt in my own mind about its being genuine gold. Several parties, we hear, are already made up to visit the diggings; and, according to the newspaper here, a number of people have actually started off with shovels, mattocks, and pans, to dig the gold themselves. It is not likely, however, that this will be allowed, for Captain Fulsom has already written to Colonel Mason about taking possession of the mine on behalf of the government, it being, as he says, on public land.
"May 17th.—This place is now in a perfect furor of excitement; all the work-people have struck. Walking through the town to-day, I observed that laborers were employed only upon about half-a-dozen of the fifty new buildings which were in the course of being run up. The majority of the mechanics at this place are making preparations for moving off to the mines, and several hundred people of all classes—lawyers, store-keepers, merchants, &c.,—are bitten with the fever; in fact, there is a regular gold mania springing up. I counted no less than eighteen houses which were closed, the owners having left."
The mania continued to increase, and within a few months all the principal towns were nearly emptied of their population. Gold was the universal object, and splendid and rapid fortune the universal hope. No occupation seemed to offer such a prospect as that of digging gold, and, accordingly, those who were not able to bear the fatigues of such work, or were at the head of any sort of business in the different towns, had to pay enormous prices for the labor of subordinates who performed the meanest services. The prices of all agricultural and manufactured products became treble the previous rates.
Soon came the first waves of the tide of emigration that was to flood the placers of the gold region. The first influx consisted of Mexicans of the province of Sonoma, Chilians, and some few Chinese. These, principally took possession of the southern mines, or those on the San Joaquin and its tributaries. Some few stopped at San Francisco, and secured lots of ground which they knew would become very valuable in a short time, and erected temporary stores and dwellings. This gave the impulse to the progress of the town, and it soon advanced rapidly in size and population. Then came the emigration from the Atlantic States of the Union, and the whole territory felt the progressive and enterprising spirit of the gold-seekers. The Americans generally took possession of the mines upon the northern tributaries of the Sacramento River; but as their numbers increased they pushed towards the southern mines, and frequent collisions with the foreigners were the consequence. Finally, a great number of the latter were compelled to leave the country.
CHAPTER VII.
ADVENTURES OF SOME OF THE MINERS, AND INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MINING.
The adventures of the eager gold-seekers in the region of their hopes, among the washings and the diggings of the placers, cannot but be interesting. The toil to which the men have to submit if they would obtain any thing like a satisfaction to their desires, is of a very irksome character. In the summer season, the heat is intense, and the principal part of the labor of washing and digging must be performed exposed to the full blaze of the sun. In the "dry diggings," the miners suffer greatly from the want of water. Most of the provisions having to be transported from the towns on the Sacramento and San Joaquin, soon grow unwholesome from exposure to the sultry air of the day and the damp air of the night. This diet, conjointly with the exposure of the miners, tends to produce intermittent fever and dysentery. The miners generally reside in huts of a rude construction, or in canvas tents, which afford but poor protection from the changes of the weather.
The most prominent man in the neighborhood of the "diggins," is Captain Sutter, the Daniel Boone of that part of the country. He was formerly an officer in the Swiss guards of Charles X. of France. After the revolution of 1830, in that country, he came to the United States. Emigrating to California, he obtained a grant of land from the Mexican government, and founded the settlement known as Sutter's Fort. Upon his land, the first discovery of the richness of the soil was made, and his house and the settlement around it has been, ever since, the resort of persons going to and from the placers, and a depot for provisions and articles used by the miners. Stores and workshops have been established, and a considerable amount of business is transacted there. Captain Sutter is held in very great respect by the people of the settlement and those stopping at his house on the road to the placers. Several versions of the account of the discovery of the gold mines have been circulated, but the true one, in the Captain's own words, is given in a work recently published.[6] The account is here inserted, both on account of the interest connected with the discovery, and in order to correct wrong versions of the matter.
"I was sitting one afternoon," said the Captain, "just after my siesta, engaged, by-the-bye, in writing a letter to a relation of mine at Lucerne, when I was interrupted by Mr. Marshall—a gentleman with whom I had frequent business transactions—bursting hurriedly into the room. From the unusual agitation in his manner, I imagined that something serious had occurred, and, as we involuntarily do in this part of the world, I at once glanced to see if my rifle was in its proper place. You should know that the mere appearance of Mr. Marshall at that moment in the fort was quite enough to surprise me, as he had but two days before left the place to make some alterations in a mill for sawing pine planks, which he had just run up for me, some miles higher up the Americanos. When he had recovered himself a little, he told me that, however great my surprise might be at his unexpected reappearance, it would be much greater when I heard the intelligence he had come to bring me. 'Intelligence,' he added, 'which, if properly profited by, would put both of us in possession of unheard-of wealth—millions and millions of dollars, in fact.' I frankly own, when I heard this, that I thought something had touched Marshall's brain, when suddenly all my misgivings were put an end to by his flinging on the table a handful of scales of pure virgin gold. I was fairly thunderstruck, and asked him to explain what all this meant, when he went on to say, that, according to my instructions, he had thrown the mill-wheel out of gear, to let the whole body of the water in the dam find a passage through the tail-race, which was previously too narrow to allow the water to run off in sufficient quantity, whereby the wheel was prevented from efficiently performing its work. By this alteration the narrow channel was considerably enlarged, and a mass of sand and gravel carried off by the force of the torrent. Early in the morning after this took place, he (Mr. Marshall) was walking along the left bank of the stream, when he perceived something which he at first took for a piece of opal—a clear transparent stone, very common here—glittering on one of the spots laid bare by the sudden crumbling away of the bank. He paid no attention to this; but while he was giving directions to the workmen, having observed several similar glittering fragments, his curiosity was so far excited, that he stooped down and picked one of them up. 'Do you know,' said Mr. Marshall to me, 'I positively debated within myself two or three times whether I should take the trouble to bend my back to pick up one of the pieces, and had decided on not doing so, when, further on, another glittering morsel caught my eye—the largest of the pieces now before you. I condescended to pick it up, and to my astonishment found that it was a thin scale of what appears to be pure gold.' He then gathered some twenty or thirty similar pieces, which on examination convinced him that his suppositions were right. His first impression was, that this gold had been lost or buried there by some early Indian tribe—perhaps some of those mysterious inhabitants of the West, of whom we have no account, but who dwelt on this continent centuries ago, and built those cities and temples, the ruins of which are scattered about these solitary wilds. On proceeding, however, to examine the neighboring soil, he discovered that it was more or less auriferous. This at once decided him. He mounted his horse, and rode down to me as fast as it would carry him, with the news.
"At the conclusion of Mr. Marshall's account," continued Captain Sutter, "and when I had convinced myself, from the specimens he had brought with him, that it was not exaggerated, I felt as much excited as himself. I eagerly inquired if he had shown the gold to the work people at the mill, and was glad to hear that he had not spoken to a single person about it. We agreed," said the Captain, smiling, "not to mention the circumstance to any one, and arranged to set off early the next day for the mill. On our arrival, just before sundown, we poked the sand about in various places, and before long succeeded in collecting between us, more than an ounce of gold, mixed up with a good deal of sand. I stayed at Mr. Marshall's that night, and the next day we proceeded some little distance up the South Fork, and found that gold existed along the whole course, not only in the bed of the main stream, where the water had subsided, but in every little dried-up creek and ravine. Indeed, I think it is more plentiful in these latter places, for I myself, with nothing more than a small knife, picked out from a dry gorge, a little way up the mountain, a solid lump of gold which weighed nearly an ounce and a half.
"On our return to the mill, we were astonished by the work-people coming up to us in a body, and showing us small flakes of gold similar to those we had ourselves procured. Marshall tried to laugh the matter off with them, and to persuade them that what they had found was only some shining mineral of trifling value; but one of the Indians, who had worked at the gold mine in the neighborhood of La Paz, in Lower California, cried out, 'Oro! oro!' We were disappointed enough at this discovery, and supposed that the work-people had been watching our movements, although we thought we had taken every precaution against being observed by them. I heard, afterwards, that one of them, a sly Kentuckian, had dogged us about, and that, looking on the ground to see if he could discover what we were in search of, he had lighted on some flakes of gold himself.
"The next day I rode back to the Fort, organized a laboring party, set the carpenters to work on a few necessary matters, and the next day, accompanied them to a point of the Fork, where they encamped for the night. By the following morning I had a party of fifty Indians fairly at work. The way we first managed was to shovel the soil into small buckets, or into some of our famous Indian baskets; then wash all the light earth out, and pick away the stones; after this, we dried the sand on pieces of canvas, and with long reeds blew away all but the gold. I have now some rude machines in use, and upwards of one hundred men employed, chiefly Indians, who are well fed, and who are allowed whisky three times a day.
"The report soon spread. Some of the gold was sent to San Francisco, and crowds of people flocked to the diggings. Added to this, a large emigrant party of Mormons entered California across the Rocky Mountains, just as the affair was first made known. They halted at once, and set to work on a spot some thirty miles from here, where a few of them still remain. When I was last up to the diggings, there were full eight hundred men at work, at one place and another, with perhaps something like three hundred more passing backwards and forwards between here and the mines. I at first imagined that the gold would soon be exhausted by such crowds of seekers, but subsequent observations have convinced me that it will take many years to bring about such a result, even with ten times the present number of people employed.
"What surprises me," continued the Captain, "is, that this country should have been visited by so many scientific men, and that not one of them should have ever stumbled upon the treasures; that scores of keen eyed trappers should have crossed this valley in every direction, and tribes of Indians have dwelt in it for centuries, and yet that this gold should have never been discovered. I myself have passed the very spot above a hundred times during the last ten years, but was just as blind as the rest of them, so I must not wonder at the discovery not having been made earlier."
The plan of operations adopted by most of the miners who were not Indians or Californians, was to form bands of three, five or ten, under the command of one of the number, whose name the party took, and by which it was afterwards known. Some larger companies were formed in the United States, and repaired to California, and their operations were of course, on a more extensive scale; they having all the necessary equipments of gold-washers and miners. Written rules were generally drawn up for the government of the parties, varying in particulars according to the peculiar views of the framers. These rules provided for the modus operandi of procuring the gold, supplying the party with necessaries, attending to the sick, and the division of the fruits of their labor.
One of the most frequented placers of California is called the Stanislaus mine, situated near the Stanislaus River. It was one of the first places worked to any extent by the gold-seekers, but not satisfying the expectations of some of the most greedy, it has since been partially abandoned. A description of this mine, and of the living and operations of its workers in the winter of 1848-49, will give a good general idea of the toils and privations endured by the early gold-seekers in that region, and, also, of their mode of procuring the precious metal at most of the mines. We extract from a recently published work, distinguished for minuteness of detail and accuracy of description.[7]
"The mine was a deep ravine, embosomed amidst lofty hills, surmounted by, and covered with pine, and having, in the bottom itself, abundance of rock, mud, and sand. Halliday and I encamped at the very lowest part of the ravine, at a little distance from Don Emanuel's party; a steep rock which towered above our heads affording us shelter, and a huge, flat stone beneath our feet promising a fair substitute for a dry bed. Here then we stretched our macheers and blankets, and arranged our saddles and bags, so as to make ourselves as comfortable and warm as possible, although, in spite of our precautions and contrivances, and of a tolerably good fire, our encampment was bitterly cold, and we lay exposed to a heavy dew. We had given up our horses into the charge of the Indians, and I saw to their being safely placed in the cavallard, whilst Halliday went to chop wood; a task I was too weak to perform. I cannot say we slept; we might more correctly be said to have had a long and most uncomfortable doze, and when morning broke, we were shivering with cold, and shook the dew in a shower from our clothes. I consulted with my companion, and urged upon him the prudence of our setting to work to construct ourselves a sort of log cabin; otherwise I felt certain, from the experience of the past night, our sojourn at the mines would be likely to prove fatal to one or both of us. He was, however, far too eager to try his fortune at digging to listen to my proposal, at which he even smiled, probably at the bare idea of weather, privation, or toil, being able to affect his powerful frame. I saw him presently depart up the ravine, shouldering a pick, and glancing now and then at his knife, whilst I proceeded in search of materials for constructing a temporary place of shelter.
"As my strength was unequal to the task of felling timber, I endeavored to procure four poles, intending to sink them into the ground, and to stretch on the top of them a bed-tick I had reserved for the purpose. The contrivance was a sorry one at the best, but shelter was indispensable; and great was my disappointment—though I procured the timber after a painful search—to find that the rocks presented an insuperable obstacle to my employing it as I intended. My efforts to sink the poles proved utterly futile, and I was at last compelled to renounce the attempt in despair. I then packed up our goods into as close a compass as possible; and, having requested one of the Spaniards in Don Emanuel's party to keep watch over them, departed to explore the ravine.
"Within a few paces of our encampment there was a large area of ground, probably half a mile square, the surface of which consisted of dark soil and slate, and was indented with innumerable holes of every possible dimension, from six inches to as many feet or more, wide and deep. In all of these lay abundance of water, of which large quantities are to be found a little beneath the surface, the ravine being supplied with it in great abundance by the rains that pour down from the hills during the wet season. To the extreme right of our camp, the ground assumed a more rocky character; and, from the vast deposit of stagnant water, did not seem to offer many attractions to the miners. Yet there was scarcely a spot in any of these places where the crow-bar, the pick, or the jack-knife, had not been busy: evidence that the whole locality must have been extremely rich in the precious metal, or it would not have been so thoroughly worked.
"In crossing the ravine, I was obliged to leap from one mound of earth to another, to avoid plunging ancle-deep in mud and water. It was wholly deserted in this part, though formerly so much frequented; and, with the exception of a few traders, who, having taken up their station here when times were good, had not yet made arrangements for removing to a more productive place, not a soul was to be seen.
"I walked on until I reached the trading-post of Mr. Anderson, formerly our interpreter in the Lower Country, whom I felt delighted to meet with again. His shed was situated in one of the dampest parts of the mine, and consisted of a few upright poles, traversed by cross-pieces, and covered in with raw hides and leaves, but yet much exposed at the sides to the wind and the weather. He had a few barrels of flour and biscuit, which he retailed at two dollars a pound; for he made no difference between the price of the raw and the prepared material. The flour would go further, it was true; but then the biscuit required no cooking on the part of the miner, whose time was literally money, and whose interest therefore it was to economize it in every possible manner. He also sold unprepared coffee and sugar at six Yankee shillings a pound; dried beef at one dollar and a half; and pork, which was regarded as a great delicacy here, at two dollars for the same weight. The various articles of which his stock-in-trade consisted he had brought all the way from Monterey at considerable labor and expense; but, by the exercise of extraordinary tact, perseverance, and industry, he had succeeded in establishing a flourishing business.
"I discovered, however, that he possessed another resource—by which his gains were marvellously increased—in the services of seven or eight Indians, whom he kept constantly at work, in the rear of his shed, digging gold, and whose labor he remunerated with provisions, and occasional presents of articles of trifling value to him, but highly esteemed by the Indians. They were watched by an American overseer, who was employed by him, to assist in the general business, particularly in slaughtering; for, as beef was scarce, he used to send his man in quest of cows and oxen; which he killed, cut up, salted and dried, in his shed, and watching the most favorable moment for the operation—namely, when meat could not be procured at the 'diggins'—never failed to realize his own price for it.
"Proceeding higher up the ravine, I observed a large tent erected on the slope of a hill, within a few yards of the bottom, where the gold is usually found. It was surrounded by a trench, the clay from which, as it was dug up, had apparently been thrown out against the canvas, forming a kind of embankment, rendering it at once water and weather-proof. I ventured into it, encountering on my way an immense piece of raw beef, suspended from the ridge-pole. Upon some stones in front, inclosing a small fire, stood a frying-pan, filled with rich looking beef collops, that set my mouth watering, and severely tested my honesty; for, although acorns are all very well in their way, and serve to stay the cravings of the stomach for awhile, I did not find my appetite any the less sharp, notwithstanding the quantity I had eaten. But I resisted the temptation, and penetrated further into the tent. At one side of it lay a crow-bar, and an old saddle that had seen rough service; yet not a soul appeared, and my eyes were again ogling the collops, whilst an inward voice whispered how imprudent it was to leave them frizzling there, when, all at once, a little man, in a 'hickory shirt,' with his face all bedaubed with pot-black and grease, darted out of some dark corner, flourishing in one hand a long bowie knife, and in the other three by no means delicate slices of fat pork, which he at once dropped into the frying-pan, stooping down on one knee, and becoming immediately absorbed in watching the interesting culinary process then going on in it.
"I came up next with a group of three Sonomeans, or inhabitants of Sonoma, busily engaged on a small sandy flat—the only one I had observed—at the bottom of the ravine. There was no water near, although I noticed several holes which had evidently been sunk in quest of it. These men were actively pursuing a process that is termed 'dry-washing.' One was shovelling up the sand into a large cloth, stretched out upon the ground, and which, when it was tolerably well covered, he took up by the corners, and shook until the pebbles and larger particles of stone and dirt came to the surface. These he brushed away carefully with his hand, repeating the process of shaking and clearing until the residue was sufficiently fine for the next operation. This was performed by the other men, who, depositing the sand in large bowls hewn out of a solid block of wood, which they held in their hands, dexterously cast the contents up before them, about four feet into the air, catching the sand again very cleverly, and blowing at it as it descended. This process being repeated, the sand gradually disappeared, and from two to three ounces of pure gold remained at the bottom of the bowl. Easy as the operation appeared to me to be, I learned, upon inquiry, that to perform it successfully required the nicest management, the greatest perseverance, and especially robust lungs. The men I saw had lighted upon a productive sand; but very often, indeed, those who adopt this mode of gold washing toil long at barren soil before they discover the uselessness of laboring thus arduously.
"I noticed, that although the largest proportion of the gold obtained in this manner presented the appearance of a fine powder, it was interspersed, here and there, with large scales of the precious deposit, and with a few solid lumps. The metal was of a dingy hue, and, at a cursory view, might easily have been mistaken for particles of yellow clay, or laminæ of stone of the same color. The Sonomeans placed the product of their labor in buckskin bags, which were hung around their necks, and carefully concealed inside of their shirts. They work in this fashion at the mines in their own country; but I doubt if any other than a native constitution could very long bear up against the peculiar labor of 'dry-washing' in such a climate and under such difficult circumstances. I felt half tempted to try the process myself, for the surface of this sandy bed was literally sparkling with innumerable particles of the finest gold, triturated to a polish by the running of the waters—as I conjectured; but I soon discovered how fruitless my efforts would be. Had I possessed any chemical agents at hand, however, I might soon have exhausted the bed of its precious contents, and should, doubtless, have realized an immense weight of the metal of the very purest quality.
"I may as well mention here, that of the various new machines manufactured and sent out to California for the purpose of digging and washing gold, the great majority have been found quite useless. There are two or three of them, however, that have been employed with great success. I have made a sketch of those most in use amongst the diggers, as my readers may feel desirous of acquainting themselves with the latest improvements introduced in the art of mining, as practised in this country. They consist, in the first place, of the washing-rocker, or 'cradle,' which has, in numerous instances, formed the model for ruder machines, constructed by the miners themselves, whilst in the mountains. The lid, at the bottom of which lie the holes through which the gold and soil pass, is fastened by hinges at the back, in order that it may be raised up, the more readily to throw off, from time to time, the stones that accumulate. Three men are required to work this rocker with success, and there are few processes in which a smaller number could operate without extraordinary labor. One person throws the soil upon the lid, another pours on the water, whilst a third is engaged in rocking the cradle by the handle attached to it for the purpose. In this way these men keep each other constantly employed; and, indeed, this cradle, like its prototype, has often proved the bond of union between individuals who would otherwise have separated, for this simple reason, that one man could not work it half so profitably alone. The cross pieces, observable at the bottom, serve to intercept the gold as it flows towards the smaller end of the machine, whilst the dirt is carried off by the admixture with the water produced by the continual 'rocking.' As the earth becomes thoroughly dissolved, the gold naturally gravitates to the bottom; and thus it is impossible for any but the very finest particles of the ore to escape.
"The second machine, in importance, is the gold-borer. It is particularly useful in examining the bottom of streams, and consists of a short conical cylinder at the end of a long handle, containing inside, at its lower extremity, a valve, arranged so as to admit the earth and gold, and prevent their escaping when the receptacle is full. This instrument is used in the same manner as an augur. The third machine, the pan, is also of late introduction, but has been found rather too deep for the purpose for which it is intended.
"Notwithstanding the success which seemed to attend the labors of the Sonomeans, I subsequently discovered that the entire quantity of gold thus painfully obtained, disappeared at the gambling-stalls. They were generally clad most wretchedly, many of them wearing nothing more than a dirty shirt, a pair of light pantaloons, and the wide sombrero peculiar to the inhabitants of this country and Mexico. Some few sported a serapa, but they were men of superior native rank, of which this garment is a distinctive characteristic.
"Continuing my route up the ravine, I met a man named Corrigan, galloping along with two fine horses, one of which he was leading. He stopped as soon as he recognized me, and we were soon engaged in a very interesting conversation respecting the doings at the 'diggins.' The substance of his information was, that he had made a great deal of money at the mines by digging, but infinitely more by speculation. He thought of buying a ranché, marrying, and settling down. He was then going to seek for pasture for his horses; and, bidding me a hasty good-bye, galloped off, and soon disappeared.
"As I advanced, the ground became drier and more sandy, rock and slate of various kinds abounding; some quite soft and friable, yielding readily to the pickaxe or the crowbar; and, in other places, so hard as to resist the utmost strength of the miners. Several of the diggers were perseveringly exploring the localities where the rotten sorts of slate were found in the largest quantities, and I saw them pick out a good deal of gold with their jack-knives. Their principal aim was to discover what they termed 'a pocket,' which is nothing more than a crevice between the blocks of slate, into which a deposit of gold has been washed by the heavy rains from the higher districts, and which, soon accumulating, swell into rapid torrents, which rush down these ravines with extraordinary swiftness and force, sweeping every thing before them.
"There did not appear to be many mining parties at the Stanislaus at this particular period, for the encampments were generally from two to five miles apart, the space between them increasing the higher you advanced towards the mountains, to the foot of which the ravine extended—altogether, a distance of many miles. The lower part of the mine, I concluded from this fact, to be by far the richer, simply from the circumstance I have mentioned; richer, comparatively, because here the deposits of gold are more easily found and extracted; not richer, in reality, as the metal must exist in immense quantities in the upper regions, from which it is washed down by the rains and floods into the lower districts. The virgin deposit would, doubtless, be difficult to come at; but, if sought after at all, that it is to be sought in the mountains and high lands, I feel persuaded.
"I turned back, after prosecuting my excursion until the ravine became almost too rocky to allow me to proceed, and until I saw that the 'diggins' diminished materially in number. On clambering the hills at the side, I beheld abundance of pines, oak, cedar, and palm; but no grass, nor vegetation of any other kind, save prickly shrubs, with here and there a patch of extremely dry moss. On my way back, I passed several tents and huts erected by the miners, all of the very poorest and most wretched description.
"I found Van Anker's party at dinner, in front of their tent. Van showed me a leathern bag, containing several pounds' weight of very pure gold, and which was carelessly tossed about from one to the other for examination. It was the produce of his morning's work, he having fortunately struck upon a large pocket.
"On inquiring whether, as there existed such strong temptation, robberies were not very frequent, I was informed, that, although thefts had occurred, yet, generally speaking, the miners dwelt in no distrust of one another, and left thousands of dollars' worth in gold dust in their tents whilst they were absent digging. They all felt, intuitively, that honesty was literally the best policy, and a determination to punish robbery seemed to have been come to by all as a measure essential to the security and welfare of the mining community, independent of any question of principle.
"Gambling and drinking were carried on, I found, to a most demoralizing extent. Brandy and champagne, whenever they were brought to the 'diggins,' realized enormous prices, varying from sixteen to twenty dollars a bottle; and some of the men would, after accumulating some hundred dollars, squander the whole in purchasing these beverages. Believing the supply of gold to be inexhaustible, they persisted in this reckless course, and discovered only when it became too late to redeem their error, that even here gold cannot always be procured. They went on until the placers failed to yield, and were then reduced to great extremities.
"The miners were by no means averse to lending 'dust' to those who required it, notwithstanding that the lenders often experienced some difficulty in getting back the advance. One of Van's party, for instance, lent another six ounces of gold, which not being returned at the stipulated period, nor for some time afterwards, he dunned his debtor every meal, until the latter, who had quietly submitted to the importunity, begged him to 'just wait ten minutes, and time it.' He shouldered his pickaxe, as he said this, and going out of the shed, returned within the time, bringing back more than sufficient to liquidate the debt. This little incident created much amusement."
The whole of the gold region lies between the San Joachin and Sacramento Rivers and the California range of mountains. The principal mines are the Towallomie, the Stanislaus, the Macalamo, the Merced, Fremont's Diggings, or Mariposa, the Calaveras, the Macassime, the South, Middle, and North Forks, Bear Creek, Yuba, Feather River, and the Sacramento. The mines are nothing more than so many ravines, which run across from the range of mountains, and are flooded by the torrents which pour down from the upper region during the rainy season, and which have been supposed to bring the gold down with them.
The Macalamo Dry Diggings is considered one of the richest placers in the gold region. It is a long ravine, the soil of which is red, and sometimes blueish in places, sand predominating. The blue clay is thought to be the richest by the diggers. The sides of the ravine are so steep and irregular, that the miners are troubled to find resting places of a night. The gold taken out of this mine runs large; the average size of the lumps being that of a pea. Pieces have been taken out of it that weighed above two pounds.
Instances of robbery and murder have not been few in the gold region, as might be conjectured from a knowledge of the motley character of the miners, and the temptations offered to avaricious spirits. Yet, all things considered, the number of instances will not appear so very extraordinary. Lynch law, the only resort of the wronged in pocket, or the friends of the murdered, exercised its terrible power, and tended to prevent the crimes that would, otherwise, have been frequent. An instance of this summary justice we here relate, to illustrate the means by which the miners protected their lives and property.
"A sailor, a deserter from the Ohio, took it into his head, one night, to rob one of the volunteers, who had set up a drinking store. He had already got two bags, containing about five thousand dollars' worth of gold; but, not satisfied with them, grasped at a third, half full of dollars in silver. The jingling of the coin awoke the owner, who, springing up, gave the alarm, and, after a hot pursuit, the thief was captured, and bound to a tree until morning. At about nine, a jury of twelve miners sat to consider the case, a volunteer named Nutman officiating for Judge Lynch. Of course, he was found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged; but, some opposition being raised to depriving him of life, and a milder punishment suggested; it was finally determined that he should receive a hundred lashes on his bare back, have his ears cut off, and his head shaved, so that he might be every where recognized in the mining districts. This sentence gave general satisfaction. The poor wretch was at once fastened by his hands to the branch of a tree, and the fellows proceeded to shave his head, whilst some sailors of the party set to work manufacturing cats. His feet were then tied together to the foot of the tree, and when his head had been shaved, a doctor lopped off his ears. He bled a good deal; but, when the blood was staunched, they set to flogging him, and they didn't spare him either. After this, they kicked him out.
"Well, he went off, and when he was about half a mile away, stole a mule, and rode over to the 'Calaveras' diggins, where the animal was claimed by the owner. He was thereupon tried for mule-stealing, and sentenced to receive another flogging; but when the miners came to strip him, they found his back so shockingly cut up, that they took compassion on him, and contented themselves with driving him out of the district, where he never appeared again."
During the summer season, when exposure and labor in the mines, together with unwholesome food, produce a great prevalence of fever and dysentery, the native Californians make use of a singular remedy. It is called the temascal; being a sort of hot air bath, shaped something like a sentry-box. It is built of wicker-work, and afterwards plastered with mud until it becomes air tight. The mode of application of this remedy is as follows:—A large fire is built close up to the door of the structure—a narrow aperture, just large enough for a man to squeeze through. This is allowed to burn itself out, having while burning, heated to a very high degree the air in the interior of the box. Into this the patient screws himself, and there remains until a profuse perspiration is produced, which is checked suddenly by a plunge into the chilly waters of the river. This is of the nature of a Thompsonian remedy.
The absorbing interest with which the gold-seekers proceed in their work is admirably depicted by one of the adventurers, in a book published after his return.[8]
"Arriving on the bar, the scene presented to us was new indeed, and not more extraordinary than impressive. Some with long-handled shovels, delved among clumps of bushes, or by the side of large rocks, never raising their eyes for an instant; others with pick and shovel worked among stone and gravel, or with trowels searched under banks and roots of trees, where, if rewarded with small lumps of gold, the eye shone brighter for an instant, when the search was immediately and more ardently resumed. At the edge of the stream, or knee deep and waist deep in water, as cold as melted ice and snow could make it, some were washing gold with tin pans or the common cradle rocker, while the rays of the sun were pouring down on their heads, with an intensity exceeding any thing we ever experienced at home, though it was but the middle of April.
"The thirst for gold and the labor of acquisition overruled all else, and totally absorbed every faculty. Complete silence reigned among the miners; they addressed not a word to each other, and seemed averse to all conversation. All the sympathies of common humanity, all the finer and noble attributes of our nature seemed lost, buried beneath the soil they were eagerly delving, or swept away with the rushing waters that revealed the shining treasure."
This extract is suggestive of considerable reflection. The same amount of attention given to any pursuit must produce results equally as satisfactory as that given to gold-seeking. But gold carries with it such obvious enjoyments to the grosser minds, that the pursuit of it alone can attract their attention sufficiently to effect any thing considerable. Could the pure enjoyments connected with the practice of virtue be made as obvious to all minds, the result would be something at which the philanthropist might rejoice.
The extremes of heat and cold, during the summer, in the valleys and cañons of the gold region, are very remarkable. From nine o'clock in the morning till five in the afternoon, the heat is almost intolerable. The sun's rays pour down through an atmosphere clear and dry, and their power is increased by reflection from the sides of the cañons and mountains, and from the surface of the streams. During the night, the air becomes so cold as to render blankets very serviceable. This is caused by the waters of the different streams rising during the night, their volume being increased by the melting of the snows of the Sierra Nevada, by the heat of the previous day.
Thousands of Indians, belonging to the Snake, Shoshonee, and Crow tribes, are at work at the mines. They are generally employed by some of the wealthy white men, and are paid in provisions and a sort of liquor made from California grapes, called pisco. What money or gold they get for themselves is spent in gambling—a vice to which they are most excessively addicted. Instances are not few of their having staked the produce of their labor during some weeks subsequent to the game. Many of the Indians desire no other pay than as much pisco as they can drink, with a little acorn bread.
The native Californians form a goodly proportion of the gold-seekers. Many of the men are accompanied by their wives, who are attended by Indian girls. The graceful Spanish costume of the Californians adds quite a feature to the busy scene at the mines. There may be seen the long, lank forms of the Yankees, with their wide white trousers and straw hats; the half-naked Indians; the native born Californians, with their dusky visages and lustrous black eyes. The latter are generally clad in a short, tight jacket, with lace trimming, and velvet breeches, with a silk sash fastened round the waist. With regard to the appearance of the women, and, also, for the sake of the description of one of the evening entertainments in the gold region, we quote from a recent tourist, to whom we have been indebted before.[9]
"The appearance of the women is graceful and coquettish. Their petticoats, short enough to display in most instances a well-turned ankle, are richly laced and embroidered, and striped and flounced with gaudy colors, of which scarlet seems to have the preference. Their tresses hang in luxuriant plaits down their backs; and in all the little accessories of dress, such as earrings, necklaces, &c., the costume is very rich. Its distinguishing feature, however, is the reboso, a sort of scarf, generally made of cotton, which answers to the mantilla of Old Spain. It is worn in many different and graceful fashions—sometimes twined round the waist and shoulders; at others, hanging in pretty festoons about the figure, but always disposed with that indescribable degree of coquettish grace which Spanish women have been for ages allowed to possess in the management of the fan and the mantilla. Since these arrivals, almost every evening a fandango is got up on the green, before some of the tents. The term fandango, though originally signifying a peculiar kind of dance, seemed to be used here for an evening's dancing entertainment, in which many different pas are introduced. I was present at a fandango a few nights ago, when a couple of performers were dancing 'el jarabe,' which seemed to consist chiefly of a series of monotonous toe and heel movements on the ground. The motions of the foot were, however, wonderfully rapid, and always in exact time to the music. But at these entertainments the waltz seems to be the standing dish. It is danced with numerous very intricate figures, to which however, all the Californians appear quite au fait. Men and women alike waltz beautifully, with an easy, graceful swinging motion.
"It is quite a treat, after a hard day's work, to go at nightfall to one of these fandangos. The merry notes of the guitar and the violin announce them to all comers; and a motley enough looking crowd, every member of which is puffing away at a cigar, forms an applauding circle around the dancers, who smoke like all the rest. One cannot help being struck by the picturesque costume and graceful movements of the performers, who appear to dance not only with their legs, but with all their hearts and souls. During the interval between the dances, coffee is consumed by the senoras, and the coffee with something stronger by the senors; so that, as the night advances, the merriment gets, if not 'fast and furious,' at least animated and imposing."
The dangers which the adventurers are subjected to encounter are often increased by the hostility of the Indians. These, however, only molest those who are daring enough to frequent the outskirts of the gold region. There the Indians are treacherous, and will attack small parties, even after smoking the pipe of peace with them. Their principal weapons are bows and arrows; for though many of them have guns in their possession, the scarcity of ammunition prevents them from using them to any purpose. The following description of an encounter with them by a small party, encamped in the valley of the Bear River, then seldom frequented by white men, will give an idea of their mode of attack:
"We were just on the point of returning to the camp to dinner, when Dowling, who was standing near some sage bushes at the upper part of the ravine, heard a rustling among them, and on moving in the direction of the noise saw an Indian stealthily creeping along, who, as soon as he perceived he was discovered, discharged an arrow which just missed its mark, but lacerated, and that rather severely, Dowling's ear. The savage immediately set up a most terrific whoop, and ran off, but tumbled before he could draw another arrow from his quiver, while Dowling, rushing forward, buried his mattock in the head of his fallen foe, killing him instantaneously.
"At this moment we heard the crack of a rifle in the direction of the camp, which, with the Indian's whoop at the same moment, completely bewildered us. Every man, however, seized his rifle, and Dowling, hastening towards us, told us of what had just occurred. All was still for the next few moments, and I mounted a little hill to reconnoitre. Suddenly I saw a troop of Indians, the foremost of them on horseback, approaching at full speed. I hastily returned to my companions, and we sought shelter in a little dell, determined to await there, and resist the attack, for it was evident that the savages' intentions were any thing but pacific.
"It was a moment of breathless excitement. We heard the tramp, tramp of the horses coming on towards us, but as yet, they and their riders were concealed from our view. I confess I trembled violently, not exactly with fear, although I expected that a few moments would see us all scalped by our savage assailants. It was the suddenness of the danger which startled me, and made my heart throb violently; but at that moment, just as I was reproaching myself with the want of courage, a terrific yell rung through the air at a short distance from us, and forty or fifty warlike Indians appeared in sight. My whole frame was nerved in an instant, and when a shower of arrows flew amongst us, I was the first man to answer it with a rifle-shot, which brought one of the foremost Indians off his horse to the ground. I instantly reloaded, but in the mean while the rifles of my companions had been doing good service. We had taken up our position behind a row of willow trees which skirted the banks of a narrow stream, and here we were protected in a great measure from the arrows of our assailants, which were in most cases turned aside by the branches. A second volley of rifle-shots soon followed the first; and while we were reloading, and the smoke had slightly cleared away, I could see that we had spread consternation in the ranks of the Indian warriors, and that they were gathering up their wounded preparatory to retiring. I had my eye on an old man, who had just leaped from his horse. My finger was on the trigger, when I saw him coolly advance, and, taking one of his wounded companions, who had been shot through the leg, in his arms, place him on a horse, then mounting his own, and catching hold of the other animal's bridle, gallop off at full speed. Although I knew full well that if the fortune of the day had gone against us, these savages would not have spared a single man of our party, still I could not find it in my heart to fire on the old chief, and he carried off his wounded comrade in safety.
"In a few minutes the hill-sides were clear, and when we emerged from our shelter, all that was visible of the troop of warriors was three of them weltering in their blood, a bow or two, and some empty quivers, and a few scattered feathers and tomahawks, lying on the ground."
The grizzly bear is also one of the terrors encountered by the gold-seekers. This animal grows to the size of four feet in height and six in length. It is one of the most ferocious animals of North America. Mules and cattle of various kinds, and even men, are attacked by it, and its great strength generally enables it to come off with its prey. Great quickness and courage are absolute essentials of those who hunt these animals, or encounter them accidentally. An adventure of two or three gold-seekers, on their road to the mines, accidentally meeting with a grizzly bear, is thus shortly detailed in the journal of a returned adventurer.[10]
"About half way from the rancheria a loud braying, followed by a fierce growl, attracted our attention, and in a few moments a frightened mule, closely pursued by an enormous grizzly bear, descended the hill-side within forty yards of where we stood leaning on our rifles. As the bear reached the road, Higgins, with his usual quickness and intrepidity, fired, and an unearthly yell from the now infuriated animal told with what effect. The mule in the interval had crossed the road, and was now scampering away over the plains, and Bruin, finding himself robbed of his prey, turned upon us. I levelled my rifle and gave him the contents with hearty good will, but the wounds he had received only served to exasperate the monster, who now made towards us with rapid strides. Deeming prudence the better part of valor, we ran with all convenient speed in the direction of the camp, within a hundred yards of which my foot became entangled in the underbrush, and I fell headlong upon the earth. In another instant I should have fallen a victim to old Bruin's rage, but a well-directed ball from my companion's rifle entered his brain and arrested his career. The whole party now came to our assistance and soon despatched Mr. Grizzly. Dragging him to camp, we made a hearty supper from his fat ribs, and, as I had probably been the more frightened of the two, I claimed as an indemnity his skin, which protected me afterward from the damp ground many a cold night. He was a monstrous fellow, measuring nearly four feet in height, and six in length, and a stroke from his huge paw would, had he caught us, have entirely dissipated the golden dreams of Higgins and myself."
The same writer gives quite a graphic description of an attack of the scourge of the miners, the disease called scurvy. He says:
"I was again dreaming of fortune and success, when my hopes were blasted by an attack of a terrible scourge that wrought destruction through the northern mines during the winter of 1848. I allude to the land scurvy. The exposed and unaccustomed life of two-thirds of the miners, and their entire subsistence upon salt meat, without any mixture of vegetable matter, had produced this disease, which was experienced more or less by one-half of the miners within my knowledge. Its symptoms and progress may not be uninteresting. It was first noticed in the 'Dry Diggings,' where, about the middle of February, many persons were rendered unable to walk by swellings of the lower limbs, and severe pains in them. It was at first supposed to be rheumatism, and was treated as such. But it withstood the most powerful applications used in that complaint, and was finally decided to be scurvy. So long as the circumstances which caused it continued, the disease made rapid progress. Many, who could obtain no vegetables, or vegetable acids, lingered out a miserable existence and died,—while others, fortunate enough to reach the settlements, where potatoes and acids could be procured, recovered. I noticed its first attack upon myself by swelling and bleeding of the gums, which was followed by a swelling of both legs below the knee, which rendered me unable to walk; and for three weeks I was laid up in my tent, obliged to feed upon the very articles that had caused the disease, and growing daily weaker, without any reasonable prospect of relief. There were, at that time, about eight hundred persons at work on the river, and hoping to get some medicine, I despatched one of my companions one morning, with instructions to procure me, if possible, a dose of salts, and to pay for it any price that should be asked. He returned at night with the consoling news that he had failed, having found only two persons who had brought the article with them, and they refused to sell it at any price.
"I was almost in despair; with only a blanket between myself and the damp, cold earth, and a thin canvas to protect me from the burning sun by day, and the heavy dews by night, I lay day after day enduring the most intense suffering from pain in my limbs, which were now becoming more swollen, and were turning completely black. Above me rose those formidable hills which I must ascend ere I could obtain relief. I believe I should have died, had not accident discovered the best remedy that could have been produced. In the second week of my illness, one of our party, in descending the hill on which he had been deer hunting, found near its base, and strewn along the foot-track, a quantity of beans which sprouted from the ground, and were in leaf. Some one, in descending the hill with a bag of them on his back, had probably dropped them. My companion gathered a quantity and brought them into camp. I had them boiled, and lived entirely on them for several days, at the same time using a decoction of the bark of the spruce tree. These seemed to operate magically; and in a week after commencing the use of them, I found myself able to walk,—and as soon as my strength was partially restored, I ascended the hill, and with two companions walked into Culoma; and by living principally upon a vegetable diet, which I procured by paying three dollars per pound for potatoes, in a very short time I recovered."
Thus life in the gold region is made up of variety and contrast. Sometimes the diggers and washers pass weeks busily engaged at their toilsome occupation, without the monotony of the time and scene being disturbed. Again, adventures and exciting incidents will be plentiful and various. At one time, pleasant weather and fandangos offer easy enjoyment; at another, extremes of weather, hard work, and bad food render the life of the miner almost intolerable. Frequently, the gold-seeker chances to meet spots that yield ample reward for his toil; and often he works beneath the fierce rays of a broiling sun, while his legs are in chilly water, and his day's toil scarce yields more than enough to pay for his living. The trading-posts, situated at and near the mines, do a far more certain and an equally profitable business. They are generally the establishments of shrewd, speculating Yankees, who know what sort of labor is requisite to make a gold-seeker successful, and prefer to trust to the profits of bargaining in provisions and mining necessaries for gold.
That the country is pregnant with an enormous quantity of the precious metal is unquestionable. But that severe and weakening labor, together with tough constitutions, are indispensable requisites for procuring it, scarcely admits of a doubt. Very few spend any considerable time in working at the "diggings," who do not suffer from exposure, and lose a portion of their constitutional stability. So far, all attempts at the construction of machines for washing the gold from the sand, have been of little avail. Machines have been invented and carried out to the gold region by some of the numerous companies, which, upon trial, have soon been abandoned for the "cradle," and common wash pan; but still, the field for invention is open, and the labor now necessary for procuring the gold is susceptible of considerable diminution. Of course, the means of transporting provisions and other necessaries to the mines are constantly improving, as the country is becoming settled; and thus, one great source of privation and disease is rapidly diminishing.