“Commercial Journal,” of Pittsburgh, some views on the subject
of the California gold region, which have been confirmed by
observations on the spot, published in the “_Alta California_,”
and by accounts still more recent from that country.
In order to understand the views referred to, it is necessary,
in the first place, to give a sketch of the geological features
of the country. A valley of six hundred miles in length, and
from fifty to a hundred in width, is formed by the Sierra
Nevada, or Snowy range on the east, and by the coast range on
the west. This valley is watered by two rivers, the Sacramento
and the San Joachim; one rising due north, the other due south,
and running towards each other; after uniting their waters they
enter the bay of San Francisco, which partly bounds the western
side of the valley. These rivers may be said to wash the base of
the Sierra Nevada, their waters being supplied, almost
exclusively, by streams which take their rise in that range of
mountains. In this manner they form a continued line although
coming from opposite directions, receiving the drainings and
detritus brought down by the innumerable torrents which cut the
sides of the Sierra. The alluvial and diluvial deposites are,
therefore, almost exclusively on the eastern side; and this
accounts, also, for the overflow of the river on that side. On
looking at the map of Colonel Fremont, I was struck with the
extraordinary number of these ravines. They look like so many
streaks on the map, or, rather, lines drawn by artificial
agency; but that agency is the sudden melting of the snows, and
heavy rains of that climate. One cause of this great quantity of
water discharged by the short mountain torrents, is the want of
sufficient elevation of the mountain, in that latitude, to
retain the snows until they can melt gradually, as is the case
of the Andes of Peru and Chili; and yet sufficiently elevated to
receive a great depth of snow. This, when melted by the rains,
rushes down with great force, carrying detritus along with it,
and cutting through all the incumbent strata, until it reaches
the level of the rivers, although still above the trap, or
granite, which forms the nucleus of the mountain.
As this detritus is carried down, it becomes more and more
disintegrated, until its further progress is arrested by the
course of the rivers before mentioned, and is at last deposited
in fine sand and gravel. The metallic threads are found,
probably, not less than one-third of the way up the mountain;
and if a shaft were sunk at the base of the mountain, it would
have to go a depth before reaching the vein, corresponding with
its present elevation above the original level. The metal,
therefore, will only be found in these alluvial deposites, not
beyond twenty or thirty feet in depth, formed in the course of
time by the descending torrents. The nearer the river, and the
farther from the seam, the finer will be the particles of gold;
and the higher up the coarser, and less separated from the
quartz in which it is detained. The most expensive part of
mining, reducing the quartz to sand by stamping, the amalgation
with quicksilver, and the separation of these by distillation,
is thus saved, and the gold obtained with comparatively little
expense. The stamping, or breaking up of the quartz, is
performed by the natural agency of the water, and by the rocks
falling upon each other in the course of their descent. Until
these deposites shall be partially exhausted, although a much
more precarious pursuit than regular mining, the latter will not
be generally resorted to. There is no doubt, also, that others,
with more perfect machines for washing and amalgamation, will
follow those pioneers, and wash the same earth and sand over
again, to as great profit as at the first operation. When I
examined the lead mines of Missouri, I found that those who came
after the regular smelters, took their scoria and leavings, and
extracted, by means of the ash furnace, about twenty-five per
cent., in addition to the fifty already obtained, but without
the expense and uncertainty of mining, which rendered it a sort
of gambling pursuit.
Having giving this brief description, I will now proceed to what
may be called theory—that is, _facts derived from induction_.
Let us suppose a series of horizontal strata, one above another,
but of unequal depth, incumbent on the original unstratified
mass, which forms the nucleus of the globe. According to
geologists, this was the natural position. Now, in consequence
of some powerful volcanic agency, the lower mass is thrown up
from below, and becomes the nucleus of a mountain, and that
which was before the lowest, now appears at the top, while the
various strata which lay flat upon it are tilted up on its
sides. These being cut through, in the manner described, there
is exposed to view in these cuts, the various strata and their
contents, in the same manner as if a shaft had been sunk through
them in their horizontal position. If there be any metallic
seams to the right or left of these cuts, they will be seen like
threads, and running lengthwise with the range of mountains. The
metals contained in the now vacant spaces of these ravines, have
been carried away and deposited below. The masses, thus broken
and separated, have been still further reduced in the manner
before stated, greatly diminishing the labor of mining. The
deposits of detritus intermixed with gold may be the work of
thousands of years; but the quantity may be estimated by the
number and width of the natural cuttings through the gold seams
now disconnected. It is certain that the amount of gold at the
bottom cannot exceed the amount carried down from these original
deposites. Without assuming that the amount of gold deposited in
the Sierra Nevada is actually greater than in the same range
further south, its peculiar geological and geographical
character, may be a reason why gold may be _found_ in California
in greater abundance than in any other part of the world. It is
found along this whole range from Sonora to Chili, although in
greater or less abundance; and there is no doubt that a variety
of other metals will be met with, perhaps as valuable, when the
passion for gold washing shall have somewhat abated. It is
remarkable that gold has been found almost invariably on the
western or Pacific side of the great range, while silver,
copper, and lead are discovered on the eastern side, and at a
much greater elevation. It is probable that, instead of gold;
silver and copper exist on the eastern side of the Sierra
Nevada, towards the great Basin. What a field for the
mineralogist!
But, by what process, or operation of nature, came these seams,
or veins of gold or other metals, to be thus deposited? Was it
by the agency of fire, or by water and alluvion? I think it
probable that both may have been at work, being the two greatest
solvents in nature, and, at the same time, the greatest
chrystalizers. Perhaps metallic _ores_ may be the work of
alluvion, and the production of pure _metallic_ substances—that
of heat. With respect to gold, I think the latter theory is the
more reasonable, as it is always found in a pure state, while
the quartz (or pure silex) in which it is contained may be
alluvial, and one pf the earliest deposites from the
decomposition of the ancient unstratified mass. But where shall
we seek for the original supply of the precious metal? How is it
formed, or whence has it been extracted by the agency of heat?
It is not enough to say that, like other metals, it is found
diffused throughout all nature, for an appreciable quantity of
gold has been extracted from violets. In my opinion, it exists
on the original unstratified mass, in imperceptible proportions;
but those proportions varying a different places, other metals
being more or less abundant. The greater proportion of our
soils, according to Sir Humphrey Davy, is formed by the
decomposition of the original granite; and this accounts for
diffusion of gold in minute particles, which may be taken up by
plants, and enter into the composition of organized bodies. If
then, the unstratified rock is the original seat of the metal,
but in particles infinitely minute, it may have been separated
by a very high degree of heat, by which it would be sublimated
or volatilized, and thus carried upwards by chemicoelectric
force, by a process resembling distillation. In this way, it
would penetrate the quartz rock, or be condensed in the spaces
of the laminated strata, such as the talc, schist, or mica
slate. Such is the theory of Trimmer, Buchland, and other modern
mineralogists. Lyall says—“granite, syenite, and those
porphyries, which have a granite form structure, in short all
plutonic rocks (rocks having undergone the action of heat) are
frequently observed to contain metals, at or near their junction
with stratified formations. On the other hand, the veins which
traverse stratified rocks are, as a genera] law, more
metalliferous near such junctions, than in other portions. Hence
it has been inferred that these metals may have been spread in a
_gaseous form_, through the fused mass, and that the contact of
another rock, of a different state of temperature or sometimes
the existence of rents in other rocks in the vicinity, may have
caused the sublimation of the metals.”
One thing is certain, as may be at once seen by those who have
examined the larger masses of gold brought from California, that
the finer particles of gold have been run together, by a second
operation of heat, sufficient only to fuse them and separate
them from the quartz. The first was distillation, the second
smelting, or rather simple fusion. It is possible that these
great operations of nature have been repeated at different
intervals, and different seams of quartz and gold, may be found
in ascending the ravines; the lower, more completely scattered
(but in finer particles) through the quartz, and the higher
having afterwards undergone simple fusion.
I think it premature to offer any conjecture as to the amount of
gold which may be expected from California; but I cannot but
think that it will be sufficient to produce a perceptible effect
on its commercial value. According to Mr. PRESCOTT, the sudden
influx of gold from Mexico and Peru reduced its value, as
compared to commodities, about two-thirds in the course of
twenty years. A new stimulus has been given to the pursuit of
gold mining throughout the world, in consequence of the
discoveries of our enterprising countrymen in California. The
extraordinary increase of gold in the Bank of England may be an
indication that its value is decreasing as compared to silver,
and therefore less desirable for hoarding. It it certain that it
is a less perfect standard of value than silver, the latter
being also a scarce metal, compared to other metals, but a
better representative than gold, of the labor and capital
expended in its production, while gold has been repeatedly
thrown into circulation in sudden and unlooked-for quantities, I
would instance the amount of gold found in Calcutta on its
capture by Clive—an amount, although imperfectly known, admitted
to have been immense. We may expect that the gold mines of
Siberia, of Brazil, of Mexico and Southern America, of the
eastern and even western parts of Europe, Hungary, Transylvania,
Silesia, of Spain, and even of Norway and Sweden, as well as of
the Appalachian, in our southern States, will awaken new efforts
of combined skill, labor, and capital.
H. M. BRACKENRIDGE.
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THE EARLY DISCOVERIES OF THE SPANIARDS IN NEW MEXICO.
MESSRS. EDITORS: One of the most difficult things I ever
undertook has been to trace the different journeys of discovery
of the Spaniards, in the country to which they gave the name of
New Mexico; and it would have been impossible to have
accomplished this undertaking, but for the assistance of that
extraordinary and invaluable collection of maps and books on the
subject of America, made with great expense and labor, by Mr.
Force, of Washington. Of these difficulties no one can form a
just idea who has not made the attempt. It may be proper to
state, that the whole country, from the mountains east of the
Rio Grande to the Pacific—from about 32° south to 37° north—in
consequence of these discoveries, and on account of its great
cities, and its numerous and civilized population, was called
New Mexico in reference to old Mexico, as New Spain was named in
reference to Old Spain. My principal source of information is
the work of Gomara, and Hackluyt’s collection of voyages; but I
was obliged to consult many other works.
In some of the oldest maps, the Colorado of California is called
the _Rio Grande del Norte_, and is represented as taking its
rise in a great lake to the north east; while the _Rio Grande of
the Gulf_, or, as it was called, the North Sea, does not appear.
It will be readily seen that this was sufficient to account for
much of the confusion and mistakes of the early writers, and of
the fruitless attempts to trace the early journeys of discovery.
The first journey was that of Marco de Nicia, a friar,
accompanied by a small party. He set out from Pitatlan, on the
Gulf of California, in latitude 24°, in the year 1539, about
twelve years after the conquest. I shall not enter into details.
After some days’ travel to the north, through populous
countries, he came to Vacupa, where he first heard of populous
countries to the north, of the province of Cibola, and of the
seven great cities. After reaching, as he supposed, latitude
26°, he found Indians who had no knowledge of christians. He was
then about fifty leagues from the Gulf of California. He was
informed by these indians of a great plain, about thirty days’
further travel to the north, inhabited by people living in large
towns, built of stone and lime, who wore cotton garments, and
possessing abundance of gold and turquoises, sometimes called
_emeralds_, from the affinity to that precious stone.
Advancing still further, he sent a negro and some indians to see
and report to him on their return, while he followed them
slowly. Some of these indians returned, and informed him that
they had reached Cibola, but had been badly treated, and the
negro killed. Nicia, on his return, wrote his account which is,
in many respects, exaggerated and fabulous; it gave rise,
however, to an expedition under Vasques de Coronado, in 1540.
Coronado was greatly disappointed, and freely gives the lie to
the accounts of Nicia. He went as far as the cities of Cibola,
which he described as consisting of five small towns, of five
hundred houses each, well-built of stone, He heard of populous
provinces to the north, and of cities on a great salt lake, to
the northwest, where there was an abundance of gold. The lake
was probably the Pacific Ocean. It is remarkable that nearly all
the tribes on the Atlantic slope had a vague notion of the
Pacific, and supposed it to be at a short distance from them. He
returned with the intention of making another expedition, but
which he never accomplished. The towns which he saw, were, no
doubt, near the Gila, and south of that river, while the great
province of Cibola lay to the north between that river and the
Colorado. The unfavorable report of Coronado, and the failure of
Cortez in his northern explorations, had the effect, no doubt,
of discouraging further discoveries in this direction.
No further attempts were made to explore the country for nearly
forty years. In the mean time, the Spanish settlements had
advanced from Guadelahara to New Biscay, and the valley of St.
Bartholomew, or Chiwawa. In the year 1583, a well prepared
exploring expedition was set on foot, under the command of
Antonio de Espejo. It proceeded north to the Conchas and
Pasaguetas, numerous tribes, who had no previous knowledge of
the christians. Their course was along the Conchas.
They followed the river to the Tobosos and Jumanos, where they
found large towns, with flat roofs, built of stone and lime, and
regularly laid out in streets. They now reached the _Rio Grande
of the Gulf of Mexico_—here is a point of departure about which
there can be no mistake. They proceeded about twelve days up the
river, and came to another great nation. The inhabitants wore
mantles of cotton with blue stripes, of handsome fabric. I have
no doubt this was the present _Paso del Norte_. After leaving
this, they travelled fifteen days up the river, through a
country not admitting of population, and this is its present
character, until they came to what may be called the valley of
Santa Fe. They found towns with houses four and five stories
high, warmed by stoves, and ladders to ascend from one story to
the other. They proceeded thence to Tiguasi, where they found
sixteen towns. Here they learned that the eastern part of Cibola
bordered on this province, the western border of which had been
visited by Coronado. They speak of eleven other towns containing
forty thousand inhabitants. Whether they meant families
(vicinos) or _souls_, I am unable to say. They proceeded up the
Rio Grande to Cia, or Zia, the largest town they had seen,
containing twenty thousand inhabitants and eight market-houses.
The houses were plastered and handsomely painted, and the people
civilized. At this place, hearing of a great province to the
northwest, they took that direction. They heard of seven large
towns, but did not go to see them. Fifteen leagues further,
still going west, they came to a great town called Acoma,
situated on a high rock, accessible only by a way cut in the
rock. The inhabitants were supplied with water by cisterns.
Twenty-four leagues further, they came to the province of Zuni,
called by the Spaniards Cibola, where the inhabitants had
information of the visit of Coronado. They were informed that,
at the distance of eighty leagues, there was a great lake, many
large towns, and plenty of gold—probably California. The main
party now returned towards the Rio Grande, while Espejo and nine
companions went further west. After travelling twenty-eight
leagues, they found a great province, containing fifty thousand
inhabitants, called Zaguato. They heard much of the cities of
the Great Salt Lake, the Pacific and their wealth, gold, &c.
Espejo made an excursion of forty five leagues to the northwest,
where it was said there were silver mines, and which he found
very rich. This was near two rivers of _reasonable_ size,
probably the Colorado and the Jaguisita. I am satisfied that the
country thus explored lay between the Gila and the Colorado.
On the return of Espejo, the main party determined to return to
New Biscay, or Chiwawa, but he resolved to ascend higher up the
river. The only mention of degrees of latitude is on one
occasion, when they speak of having reached the 37th degree; but
this was probably mere guess-work.
Espejo now ascended the river sixty leagues to Quires; thence,
going east, he came to Hubites, containing twenty-five thousand
inhabitants, and he heard of the Tamas, containing forty
thousand. Whether these were towns or provinces is not stated.
All the places visited had gold, and turquoises, and
manufactured fine cotton cloths. The myriads of buffalo, or
crooked backed oxen, which covered the whole face of the country
were mistaken for domestic herds; no country on the globe was
ever so abundantly supplied with the means of subsistence
through this animal, as were the aborigines of the interior of
North America. So that particular districts might be most
thickly populated, while vast unoccupied regions lay around
them, swarming with the buffalo, or rather the bison, which is
the true name of that animal. Their skins were elegantly dressed
by them; and, for the finer kinds, the mountain sheep, or goat,
or chamois, as the Spaniards called it, furnished an abundant
supply. Espejo resolved to return by a different course, and was
conducted by the Indians down the _Rio de las Vacas_, which he
followed 120 leagues, meeting with no inhabitants, but vast
numbers of _cattle_. But without seeing any habitations, the
herdsmen appearing to live among their herds. The use of
fire-arms has no doubt rendered them more shy, and at one time
they literally blackened the face of the western prairies. Their
range was limited both to the south and north. He then struck
across to the Rio Grande, and came to the Conchas, by which he
returned to New Biscay. The Rio de las Vacas is evidently the
Rio Puerco, or Pecos. Here closes the expedition. Having the
point of departure fixed, and at the same time the point of
termination equally ascertained, I think the whole mystery of
these expeditions has been cleared up.
The question will naturally present itself, what has become of
the millions of civilized people who occupied New Mexico? I will
ask, what has become of the millions of Yucatan, of Chiapas, and
of Old Mexico? The reduction to slavery, their wars, and other
causes, are not sufficient to account for the disappearance of
the great nations of the west, or of the Atlantic slope. In
looking for a cause, I have found one fully adequate, in that
horrid plague and scourge, the small-pox. Let any one read the
accounts of McKenzie, Carver, and Catlin, and I think he will
seek no further for it. To the indian it is peculiarly fatal,
not only from his want of skill in treating it, but from his
physical organization; his skin is so remarkably thick that the
pustules cannot break through it, and the disease is almost
always fatal. When among the Arikaras, I was informed by them
that they were but the remnant of seventeen towns lower down the
river, and I traced their former abode for seven miles. The
Arikaras and Mandans have since disappeared from the earth.
After the greater part had been carried off by the small-pox,
the survivors abandoned these towns and fled, covering their
trails as they went, as if pursued by an enemy; but that mortal
foe still followed them to annihilation. I have not been able to
find any account of the nations of New Mexico from the year 1583
until 1698; and it is perhaps during that interval, that the
rapid destruction of the American tribes and nations took place,
while there was no one to record the desolation of the provinces
of Cibola, or the country of the Buffaloe, which is the meaning
of the word. The ruins, of cities on the Gila, and between it
and the Colorado, remain to prove the fact that they once
existed. Yet, there are some remnants of their former
civilization in the Nabahoes, and the Pumas one on the Gila, the
other on the heads of the Colorado, who still live in well-built
houses, and manufacture their beautiful blankets. The suggestion
I have made might be extended to the old world, and its ruined
cities of Asia and Africa.