It is now nearly two years since the discovery of the gold mines in
the country, and yet it is for the first time, we can say, that we are
able to give a correct account of them, an account that can be relied
upon. Heretofore we have heard nothing but Arabian Nights stories about
the gold region, drawn, if possible, with more vivid colors than even
the Asiatic fancy could conjure up. The whole civilized world became
electrified with these surprising stories and set in motion, and every
day brings strangers to our shore from the most distant regions of
the earth. So far so good; but it may not be so, much longer, when
crowds from Europe will begin to pour upon these shores. We feel
it our duty, in view of bad consequences that all exaggerations do
produce, to contribute our share towards rectifying the impressions
that went abroad upon the subject of the mines of this country. Even
our government at home had not received an official account from its
subordinates here, that represent the truth in its simple garb. In a
word, there has been no thorough investigations of the subject; but
people on all sides, simple citizens as well as government officers,
were content to seize upon a few remarkable cases, that were made more
so by passing through many lips, and represent them abroad as of
common occurrence. Hence much disappointment followed to hundreds who
came here to shovel in, as they thought, the precious dust and be off
for their respective homes in the twinkling of an eye.
It is not to be understood that we are going to decry the prunes; no,
far from it; we mean to divest them of the mantle which heated fancy
cast about them; and represent the simple truth without any poetic
ornaments.
On the outset we wish it to be understood that we speak advisedly; we
have surveyed, so to speak, the length and breadth of the mines by
personal inspection and observation, at a great expense of our time,
money and labor, and besides we claim the right to presume somewhat
upon the authority of science.
The region which here is known as the gold mines, is closed on the
east by the _Sierra Nevada_, or Snowy Mountains, running nearly north
and south. Two large streams descend from the Sierra Nevada, one at
the north called the Sacramento river, the other on the south known
as San Joaquin. These two streams run, as if purposely to the apex of
the triangle they enclose, there to meet and make a common and united
irruption upon the waters of San Francisco Bay. In this triangle thus
formed by these two rivers with the Snowy Mountains are numerous
streams; but they all are tributaries either of one or the other of
these two rivers; the largest of them are at the north and empty
themselves into the Sacramento. The surface of the country, looking
westward from the ridge of the Snowy Mountains, which are more than
seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, is broken up into
ridges, giving direction to the streams that separate, some west by
north, others west by south, and gradually growing smaller, they get
confused into hills, till finally soften into the plains enclosed by
the two above mentioned rivers. The plains, generally speaking, are
covered with luxuriant grass skirted along the rivers with the oak.
As these hills rise, vegetation becomes scantier. The range of
mountains in which gold is found is distinguished by a uniformity of
its vegetable kingdom, which is neither meagre nor very abundant. The
oak predominates here, only now and then relieved by several varieties
of the pine family. As the gold disappears, the reign of the pine and
the granite extends. The depositories of gold look universally more
smiling to the beholder than their barren neighbors; the former always
have the figure described by the line of beauty, viz: the curved line,
be they ever so precipitous as they frequently are; a distinction
never to be lost sight of. The extent of these auriferous hills is
greater than the public know or imagine, but not in the direction it
is supposed. They extend beyond the Sacramento and even San Joaquin,
northwest of the former and southwest of the latter, bending round
the sea coast. Nay, the same formation, with more or less difference,
runs along the whole Pacific shores, till it is lost in the southern
portion of the Chilean republic, but gold has not been, nor probably
will be found anywhere in equal abundance, as in Upper California. This
abundance is much, however, exaggerated by the heated imagination of
the public. It is not in the nature of placer gold to be durable long.
A very few years when there will be many arms at work, will exhaust
it; its origin will be the guarantee of this fact. The breadth of this
auriferous region limits itself within the lines running north and
south from forty to sixty miles from the ridge of the Sierra Nevada;
and on the west, as the hills begin to soften into the plains.
At some remote period in the history of the globe, the same internal
convulsions that heaved up the Sierra Nevada, have also upheaved the
auriferous hills, which at first presented a naked surface to the
atmospheric changes, by the influences of which, the quartz constantly
breaking up, left free the precious metal on its surface. In the
progress of time, the same atmospheric influences caused to accumulate
on these hills soil which grew deeper with every decay of vegetation
till it grew strong enough to support the majestic oak. The freed
particles of gold thus became covered by the soil and mixed up with
it, and the process of the separation of the metal from the stone was
arrested. How gold was injected into the veins of quartz is more than
we can say, but the fact that it was so in a liquid state, is beyond
question, as we see it adapt itself to the sides of the stone in all
imaginable forms, from the finest filament to the largest lump ever
found, with a most varied indented surface, filling up, completely,
the crack of the stone, always tending to a rounded tear-like
appearance, as is the case with all melting substances. When freed,
external friction of course modifies its appearance more or less; hence
we find it in rivers particularly, in fine flakes, but when it is in
larger bulk, it puts on plate-like appearance as if it were hammered
out by the hands of an artisan--as really it is by the frequently
enormous weight of stones under which it is deposited. Water, that
universal carrier, washing the sides of the hills, brought the gold
from their surface into the ravines and rivers, to which its own weight
facilitated the process.
According to the strength of the current of water, the weight of the
particles of gold, and the obstacles in the way, it is deposited in
one or another spot, the lighter particles of course floating away the
farthest from their original bed. As this process of gold deposition
has taken place in some remote period of the earth’s existence, hence
we find all these deposites, generally speaking, covered with greater
or smaller depth of soil, sand, gravel and stones. Strictly speaking,
gold does not belong to the rivers--it was washed into them from the
hills; hence it is useless to look for gold at the head of these
streams, when the neighboring hills are not of the auriferous nature;
and we find this fact corroborated by our personal examination of the
heads of the streams of the gold region. The same rule holds good, for
the same reasons, in regard to the lower portion of a gold carrying
stream, except that it is limited by the fact that light particles of
gold may be deposited a considerable distance below their original
source.
The mode of deposit being made clear, it will be equally clear that it
is not on every spot in this very auriferous region that we must look
for gold, which fact experience proves to be true; or at least it is
not on every spot that we can find enough of it to make it an object
to bestow our labor on it. Hence it equally follows, the limitation
of the quantity of gold to be expected from the mines as a general
aggregate, however rich they may prove. The first comers had the best
chances to hit upon rich deposits; but as diggers multiply, the chances
of falling upon virgin deposits grow smaller, and they will have to be
content with what the others, through imperfection of their labor have
left; consequently the work becomes more heavy and less profitable,
although it may be yet sufficiently compensatory if the expenses of
living be not excessive. This is precisely already the case, the labor
is much harder this year than it was last. At present there are not
so many of those happy hits as formerly, although we yet hear now and
then of a lucky haul, which however, when it reaches the ears of the
public, becomes extremely distorted, and particularly so when companies
that have dammed some spots of some of the rivers wish to dispose
advantageously of their shares; these easily find ready letter-writers
who communicate the lucky event to the public through the press. The
accounts of successful digging in gold that went abroad never have
been accompanied with statements of hardships attending the process;
yet we are free to confess that there is no harder labor than that of
gold digging and washing; this species of labor requires the strongest
sinews enured to fatigue. Peculiar localities, together with general
discomfort attending upon the life in the mines, may make gold digging
particularly irksome. Yet all this can be borne, and one’s labor may
sometimes be crowned with a brilliant success. We have made the above
statement with the view of laying the subject before those who may yet
be novices in the matter, that they may understand their own case; we
are far from discouraging the new aspirants after the favors of the
dame fortune; we tell them, take your chance, it may be a very good
one, but such and such circumstances are attending this courtship.
Those from distant parts who on mere sound of the discovery of gold
in California, rush head-long, sometimes leaving very good business
and comfortable living, cannot but rue the day, if they put their sole
dependence upon their success in the mines. If they would come here
with an intention of following some patient calling, they could not but
grow rich with time. We have already plenty of miners; a larger number
of them only diminishes the profits of all. However, come they must,
for they are bent on it, be the consequences what they may.
When this gold mania ceases to rage, individuals will abandon the
mines; and then there will be a good opportunity for companies with
heavy capital to step in; there will be enough of profitable work for
them; and it is then that the country will enter on a career of real
progress, and not till then. Such companies, with superior mechanical
facilities to do much labor, in a short space, will be enabled to go
over the whole mineral field, although already dug over by individuals,
and reap yet a rich reward of their efforts. And when there will be
no more gold washing to be done, then a new era in the mining of the
country will commence--we mean a regular system of mining by sinking
shafts into the very bowels of the rocks will be entered upon. Spots
for this system of mining are to be found in the auriferous region.
(Since our return from the mountains our statement already is farther
corroborated, as we learn that Col. Fremont, who just arrived from
Stockton, has also found a regular vein of gold in the rock on the
river Mariposa, which he proposes to work in the regular mining
fashion, as it is a very promising one we understand.)
If we had a voice in the Legislative Halls of the Union, with the
knowledge of the whole country in general, and the mineral region in
particular, we have--seeking to gratify no men nor set of men--we would
say, divide the whole _elevated_ portion of the land enclosed by the
Sacramento and San Joaquin into a set of lots to be sold to mining
companies at a very moderate price. The low lands or the plains of the
same region should be divided into a separate set of lots, to be sold
to those only who wish to establish themselves as farmers. To avoid all
difficulty and confusion in giving boundaries to these lots, we would
adopt the following plan: In the mining district proper, the elevated
portion of the land, every lot should have for its centre the whole
extent of one of the streams that fall either into the Sacramento or
San Joaquin; the lateral boundaries of these lots would be the ridges
on both the north and south side, that turn the minor streams and
ravines into the principal ones selected as centres of the lots. These
lots, unless they are as large as this division would make them, would
not be worth the having; the land is worthless for any other purpose,
except mining; and if this even should fail, then the only means left
for the unfortunate buyers to save themselves, would be to turn their
attention to the making of turpentine, for which they would find an
extensive field. The other set of lots, comprising the low lands,
should have for their bases the banks of the streams that run through
the plains. There should be but two lots between two neighboring
streams, so that they would have the same line for their common
boundary while their respective bases, would rest on their respective
streams. The reason for such a division is, that the central portion
of the plain lying between two streams, generally is destitute of
timber and water; is exposed to the constant burning sun and scorching
wind, and consequently offering no spot for a farm house. For the same
reason this portion of the country admits only of a spare population,
whose principal occupation must be raising of livestock, as there is
plenty of grazing ground; each farmer, however, must have a bank of a
river to put his residence upon. In view of these circumstances these
lots should be made sufficiently large to enable the farmer to devote
his attention particularly to the raising of the livestock. By this
arrangement the whole country will be benefited; for the raising of
livestock will be daily less attended to in the country south of San
Francisco Bay, as the land there admits of smaller subdivisions for
agricultural purposes. And it is there that farmers will crowd, as its
climate and fertility of the soil are favorable to the maintenance of a
dense population.
By the above disposition of the mineral region, we conceive the country
will be greatly benefitted. The mineral region being under the sole
control of mining companies will exclude all private adventurers; thus
first benefiting the commerce by checking the now unavoidable desertion
of the crews of its shipping, which at this very moment amounts to
more than sixty thousand tons, of the finest ships in the world lying
in the harbor, and nearly all of them unable to proceed on an outward
voyage for want of hands on board--and secondly, preventing an influx
of all sorts of adventurers into the country, whose presence is more
of a nuisance than benefit to any country. Then a farming population,
cured of the gold mania, will seek to enrich itself by more sure means,
the product of the soil, and will crowd to the Pacific shores. The
arts will take a start--every species of industry will be called into
existence; the surplus capital of the commerce will be devoted to the
developement of internal resources of the country; nay, even capital
from abroad may find an employment here; the commerce of the country
will be put on a firm footing and will grow daily and steadily. Even
the government itself, thus rid of this bother of California gold,
will find more leisure to do its duty to this newly acquired territory.
In fine, the country will grow steadily in a permanent population, in
strength of order and law; and the business of life will unavoidably
fall into its natural and proper channels.
We flatter ourselves we have said enough upon the subject in hand to
clear up a little, the vision of the public that suffered itself to be
blinded by the brilliancy of the California gold.
As we have above referred to Mr. T. H. BENTON’S speech, delivered in
the Senate of the United States, January 15, 1849, on the subject
of land titles and sale of gold mines in New Mexico and California,
we give a place here to his substitute for the bill then before the
Senate, supposing it may be interesting to those who have not seen it.
It is fortunate for California to have such a defender of her rights as
the gifted Senator from Missouri. This is the substitute that defeated
the bill in question:
“To recommit the bill to the Committee on Public Lands, with
instruction to inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill for
ascertaining the public and unappropriated lands in the territory
of California, and for surveying and selling the same, and for
granting donations to actual settlers, and permits to work the gold
mines; and for that purpose to provide--
“FIRST. For the appointment of a recorder of land titles, who shall
have the custody of all the public archives in relation to the
disposition of the public lands, and shall record all the grants
and all claims that shall be discovered, made known to him, and
shall make two abstracts of the same, one to be sent to the General
Land Office in Washington city, the other to be delivered to the
Surveyor General of California, that he may lay down the grants and
claims on a map to be retained in his office, and of which map a
copy to be transmitted to the General Land Office, and another to
be filed with the recorder of land titles in California.
“SECOND. To provide for the ascertainment of invalid grants or
possessions, by authorizing a _scire facias_ to be issued from
the United States District Court against the party in possession
to come in and hear the objections to his claim and to show cause
why the grant should not be annulled, or the possession vacated in
every case in which the recorder of land titles, upon consultation
with the district attorney, or by orders from the General Land
Office, shall be so instructed, shall be of opinion that the same
is not valid under the treaty with Mexico, the law of nations,
and the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States--the
decisions of the district court to be final, if against the United
Stales, in all cases where the land in question shall be worth less
than five thousand dollars. But no _pueblo_ or rancheria Indians to
be disturbed in their possessions, without special orders from the
General Government.
“THIRD. To provide for the appointment of a surveyor general, and
for the establishment of three land offices.
“FOURTH. To provide for donations of land to actual settlers, heads
of families, widows, and single men over eighteen years of age, and
an allowance of land for children under eighteen years of age, and
for the wife in her own right, according to the provisions of the
bill proposing donations to the settles in Oregon, which passed the
Senate January 3, 1843.
“FIFTH. To provide for preserving order in working gold mines, by
appointing an agent to grant permits for working small lots, and
settling summarily, and on the spot, all questions of boundary or
interference among the diggers. The said permits to continue in
force while the lot is worked by the person receiving it, and to be
limited to ---- feet square.”
It is not necessary for us to offer here any comments upon this
substitute for the bill above alluded to, as we have already in
anticipation expressed our opinion in relation to the measures to be
adopted by the Government of the Union respecting land titles and gold
mines in California.