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.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] Four Months Among the Gold Finders of California, by J. Tyrwhitt
Brooks, M.D.
[7] Personal Adventures in Upper and Lower California, by William
Redmond Ryan.
[8] Sights in the Gold Region, or Scenes by the Way, by Theodore T.
Johnson.
[9] Four Months Among the Gold Finders of California, by J. Tyrwhitt
Brooks, M.D.
[10] Six Months in the Gold Mines, by E. Gould Buffum