History of California, Volume VI, Part 41

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 816

USA > California > History of California, Volume VI > Part 41

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

367

VARYING DISTRIBUTION

The southern gold region, below El Dorado, as I have said before, is marked by a less regular distribu-

set out by sea in Dec. 1849, and found the bay after much search. Pac. News, Apr. 26, 1850, etc. Disappointment in the course of the Trinity tended to disperse the gold-seekers, and to promote the opening of other districts, swelled by the inpouring mass from the Sacramento Valley. Crossing from the Trinity, prospectors, led by Rufus Johnson, found in June 1850 rich bars on Salmon River, especially at the forks and up the north branch. Thence they crossed to the Klamath and followed it up to Shasta River, where Gov. Lane had just been making a fairly successful test in July-August. Inexperience with the ground and with mine indications stamped most efforts in this sec- tion during the year, and Yreka Flat and other rich places were then de- clared worthless. Nevertheless several precious spots were found, such as Scott Bar, from which Scott was driven by Indians, in August, although others followed and sustained themselves. Pac. News, Aug. 22, 1850, has contradic- tory reports, with best yield at 10-15 cents per pan, but later accounts-Id., Oct. 18, Nov. 1, Sac. Transcript, Oct. 14, Nov. 10, 1850, Cal. Courier, July 1, 1850, and Alta Cal., June 7, 1850, etc .- gave such glowing accounts that a rush set in during the winter. The smallest average was an ounce, while many took out $100 daily. Early in Feb. 1851 a thousand miners passed through Sacramento for the north. Sac. Transcript, Feb. 14, 28, 1851; Pub. Balance, Jan. 25, 1831; Cal. Courier, etc. The chief allurement was Yreka flat with its coarse gold, opened in the spring of 1831, which lured 2,000 men within a few weeks to build Yreka, first called Thompson Dry Diggings, then Shasta Butte City. Frogtown, or Hawkinsville, near by, became the centre for Long, Rich, Canal, and Rocky gulches. Humbug Creek, 10 miles below, belied its name by a profuse yield, which in 1853 occupied 1,000 men, and gave rise to Freetown, which died in 1834, Riderville which revived in 1859 as Plugtown, Mowry Flat, or Frenchtown. McBride Gulch was well known, and beyond Joe Lane Bar, near the month of Yreka Creek, Greenhorn Creek gave many a fortune after 1850. Still more renowned was Cottonwood, on the creek of that name, later Henly, with a number of tributary channels, gulches, and flats. Southward, below Shasta River, were Hamburg and Oak bars of 1850, and Virginia. On Scott River, famed for its coarse gold and nuggets, Scott Bar long sustained itself, closely rivalled by Junction, Slapjack, Lytte, Poorman, French, and Johnson bars. Near the latter rose in 1854 Simonville. The three-year-old Deadwood on McAdam's Creek then received a decided advance, but declined after 1858. Hardscrabble and Oro Fino were minor neighbors. Mugginsville, or Quartz Valley, experienced a quartz excitement in 1852, which later bore fruit in two mills. Rough and Ready unfolded into Etna, and Thompson Creek added its quota. Below Scott River rose a num- ber of bars, as Mead, China, Masonic, and Fort Goff. Gen. Lane gives his experiences here in 1850-1. Narr., MS., 108-12; also, Anthony's Rem. Siskiyou, MS., 6-14; Siskiyou Affairs, MS., 10; Yreka Union, June 5, 1869, etc .; Ashland Tidings, Aug. 9, 1878. Barry, Up and Down, 125-30, mentions some rich throves; Hearn's Cal. Sketches, MS., 3. Steele refers to the Yreka discovery in Or. Jour. Council, 1857-8, ap. 42-3; Placer Times, Nov. 15, 1851, etc.

At first, miners on Scott River were restricted to pan and knife working, and the usual pickings returned nothing less than pieces varying from $2.50 to $900. Sac. Transcript, Jan. 13, Feb. 1, 14, 28, 1851. Some accounts are contradictory, yet the yield continued large, with new developments reported every now and then till 1855, at Pinery, which were the last important dig- gings of Siskiyou, says Yreka Union, June 5, 1869, although the old points widely sustained themselves, aided by quartz and a little hydraulic work. Indian Creek was famed in 1855-6. S. F. Bulletin, Mar. 3, 1856. Poverty Gulch gave $4 per bucket, etc. Sac. Union, Nov. 10, 1854; June 15, July 19, 1855; Alta Cal., 1851-6, passim; Hist. Siskiyou Co., 29, 59, 210 et seq. Quartz leads were found on Humbug Creek and in Scott Valley as early as 1851, and

368

UNFOLDING OF MINERAL WEALTH.

124

123

Smit

Crescent City

Cott

arg

Oak

Bar

Gold Bluffs

Scott Bar

Klamath

Joe Lane's Bar

Greenhorn

Yreka Flat

L. Shasta

Bar

Scott R.

Shasta

Tindo Trinidad

Sawyer's Bar

Gullion Bar-Q

Bestvill

Negro Elat&umas

Bay Eureka's

urk

Soda Springs

EHumboldt Burnt Ranche

Manzanita Bar

Cape

Bar

adel

Mendocino

Cooper

's Bar

Pit R.

south Pk.

ville

Realling's Bar

Cla

Emin Shastaº

41-

Cottonwood Cr.

Battle Cr

South

Red Bank Or.

Toomes

Elder Cr.

Mill Or.

Tehama €

Cr.

Deer

Smith's Bar Rich Bar

Junction Bar

Feathe

Monroeville

Yankee Hill

Raphy Bar

Sailor Bar Digging

Rich Gulch LOW

Stringtown

Cregon City

State Range Bar

Jon BAr

Jeney Flatt

Eureka Sagt

PSierra

City

uke

THE BUSTES Barton'

Swiss Baro

Bar MA

Malay Camy

c Cherokee

ERice's Cros

"Randolph

Linda

Rose Bar ore

Plumes

Kelly's Hard

Frytown

Aubugac

Ford'

Bluffe

Vernon

Condemund Bar- Negro Hill

chelsey

Greenwood

Cacheville

Alabama Bar Negro Bar

c Cold Spr

Naja

AmericanR.

Grizzly Elat

Sonoma

Indian Digginge

Diak ' Bat

AT TAVA

Fiddletown

Bar

San-T

Dry Or.

Sanzalito

Lafayette

Martinezuu

New York

Calaveras

Stockton

French Camp

Slough

Stanislaus

San

120

121

Michigan

Bic Bar

Rich Bar

Mokelumne

Uniontown

Hangtown

Dogtown 39

Buon Bnve Estoro Americano

Dismond

Iowaville

Brighton

'Mormor Island - Long Bar

Salmon Fally

Ss Murderer/ Bar

c.CA

Find's Store

. Canon

Horse-shoe Bar Doton's Liar

Coregun Bar Georgetown · Bar

Choms

Freestonemn

Putah Cr.

Landing

Wearney

Ft. Ross

NAcolauy

Camp Far

Fremont

Washington Sacramento

ond Springe

Sutterville

Cosumnes

Yeomet

Cook's Bar

Benicia

Wisconsin Bar

San Francisco

MT.DIABLO

of the Pacific

NORTHERN MINES, 1849-50.

Sacramento

Eraus fil c Bidwell's

WyAndotte

Bar

St.

Honcut C

Mt.Hope

Rock Is Bar

Colusa

Feathertont

Ohio Fiatc

N. York Fiatc

Oregon Billo

Pregun Bar

Foster Bar

Lazard Flat Indians Campi

Marysville

Bridgeport.

Kanker lit& #2

Todd's VANU

Vulcano Humbug

El Dorado bity

Cache

Hamilton o

Long's Bar, 2 Potter's Bar

Forbestos n " Rabbit Cr I

Cut Eye Foster's Bar

O' Donnell's Flat

Pt.Arena

Clear I

Russian

Danville

Thomes

Benton

Stony Cr.

Mud

Chico

X. Fork of

Nelson

Briggsvil

Middle Horsetown

Churn Or

5 Buckspor

Cedar Flat

Big Flát

Vance s Bar

Orleans

Salmon

Hunharge Uniontown

Van Dusen

Eel R.

Ophir

Tuba Cz

Eliza

Poverty Bar

Michigan

Joaquin

Klamath

369

IN THE SOUTH.

Sun Prolo

129

American

Mormon

121

Bowl

sun

138º

New York

of the Pacific

L'in Miento

Cosunnes

Par

La Fayette

Lower Rancheria

Fiddletown F

Yeomet

Mt.Diablo

Mokelu

Lancha Plang

Amador

dickson

Calaveras

stockton Mormon S

22º Double Springsem?mw

o Murphy's Camp

122

Sun

Stanislaus

Knight's

Gold Springa D

Columbia Brown's Flat

San Joaquin City

Ferry

James-

Wood's Crossing

Adamsville

Hawkins Bar &Chinese Camp

Grayson

Empire

Tuolumne

Pedro=

Joaquin

Merced

Bear

Buro

Mariposa

Chowchilla

Fresno

San Jouyuin

Salinas

R ..

Tulare

Lake

.35

Santa

Maria

Buena Vista L.

Kern L.

120

Sta. Ynez

Sta. Barbara

117

Sam Buenaventura

Seap

Sta.

Clara

3.4

119

35. 117

SOUTHERN MINES, 1849-50

HIST. CAL., VOL. VI. 24

S. Fork of American

Drytown ?

Pt. John

Volcano

emne Poverty Bar

Winter's Bar

Big Bar

Mokelumne Hillsstate

French

Freuch Camp

Camp Si

Sonora

.Tuolumne

City

town

Poverty Hill

Jartobe'Ile

La Grange

City

Morgan barg non Ria De Flat

Dry

Michigan

Martinez o

Island

Kings'

Kern R.

San Francisco Cr.

370

UNFOLDING OF MINERAL WEALTH.

tion of placer deposits, which occur chiefly in patches and pockets in coarse form, rendering the search more

several companies formed in 1852, Siskiyou Affairs, MS., 22 -- 3; but high prices and wages, and difficulty of introducing machinery, added here to the general obstacles in this branch in early days, and it received a long-enduring check, till 1862, when Humbug rose into prominence. The first ditch, the gross 2} miles, was constructed in 1852 from Rancheria Creek in Cottonwood, and several others were added by 1856, notably the Shasta River canal, 80 miles, completed in the spring of 1856, at a cost of $200,000. Sac. Union, Dec. 14, 1854; Feb. 2, Apr. 14, May 11, July 6, 1855; Alta Cal., Feb. 5, July 19, 1856; S. F Bulletin, Feb. 11, 1856. Below, on the Klamath, were several bars and creeks of note, which added to the wealth of Del Norte county, as Indian Creek, and the adjoining well-sustained Happy Camp, with subsequent hy- draulic works. Wood and Wingate were among the main river bars below. Elk Creek yielded well, and around Crescent City sprang up a flourishing district, with Bald Hills, which gave rise to the ephemeral Vallardville, and to more enduring hydraulic claims, and with the Smith River mines, notably Myrtle Creek, which paid from $5 to $25 per day. Van Dyke's Stat., MS., S; Sac. Transcript, Jan. 14, 1831. There were also French Hill, Hayne Flat, and Big Flat, the latter with extensive gravel beds. Bledsoe's Del Norte, 10, 21, 39 et seq .; Crescent City Herald, Nov. 29, 1854; Hist. Humboldt Co., 121, etc .; Suc. Union, Dec. 14, 1854; June 15, 1855; and references above. Klam- ath county shared also in the gold tribute of Klamath River, and Orleans Bar, which became the county seat in 1856, dates since 1850 as her first placer field. Her largest yield came, however, from the Salmon River fork, with Gullion Bar, Negro Flat, Bestville, and Sawyer Bar as leading places. On Frost Bar, a large party made from $2,000 to $6,000 each within two months. Sac. Transcript, Oct. 14, Nov. 14, 1850; Feb. 1, 14, 28, 1851. Early in 1851, about 1,000 persons left Trinidad for that river, paying from $1 to $225 a pound for packing food. Two men had come down from Salmon River with 90,000, the result of three weeks' work. The stream continued to yield well, and in 1855 the miners were making from $6 to $50 per day between Best- ville and Sawyer. At Sawyer it was proposed to exclude Chinese. Alta Cal., Apr. 2, Aug. 7, 1854; Apr. 21, May 25, 1855; July 26, 1857; S. F. Bul- letin, Mar. 11, 1837; Aug. 4, 1856; Sac. Union, Feb. 15, Apr. 2, May 10, Aug. 17-18, 1855. Humboldt county could show little of mineral resources beyond her share in the scanty Gold Bluff production. The interior of Trinity county absorbed the main sources from this coast region by occupying the headwaters of Trinity River. Reading's Bar of 1848-which worked in 1849-51, revived in 1852-had been followed in quick succession by a series of diggings, as Evans', dating since 1849, with the first log cabin, and with a ditch in 1851. In 1850 the number of camps multiplied, including Red, Whetstone, Slate, Pike County, and other bars. Steiner flat, or ville, lasted many years. In 1831 rose Trinity Center, long prosperous, Eastman, Bolt, and Deadwood ciggings, Arkansas Dam, twice dammed in 1834 at a cost of $45,000. Point, Polka, and Poverty bars, and Miners, or Diggers, ville followed, the latter on Stewart Fork, where in 1835 rose Ridgeville, or Golden City, with 700 inhab. in 1856, though it soon declined. One of the most prosperous places was Weaverville of 1850, which became the county seat in IS51, and claimed at one time 4,000 inhabitants. It lay on Weaver Creek, which was pros- pected in 1849. Canon Creek had two prominent camps in Mill Town and Canon City, the latter dating since IS31, and having in 1855 fully 400 inhab- itants. It revived in 1858. Below Cooper, Big Bar, with first female settler, Mrs Walton, and Manzanita, were among the bars opened in 1849, fol- lowed in 1850 and later by Big Flat, which counted 250 persons in 1855, Vance Bar, North Fork, important in 1852, and Taylor Flat. On the lower Trinity were Cedar Flat and Burnt Ranch. The Sac. Transcript, Apr. 26, Oct. 14, 1850, Feb, 14, June 15, ISSI, reports that one man

371

CALAVERAS AND TUOLUMNE.

precarious, but also more fascinating by the larger rewards for the fortunate miner. This applies like- wise to gravel beds. Quartz on the other hand pre- sents itself in more defined outline. An auriferous belt of earth and rock extends along the foot of the Sierra Nevada, from Sacramento county where it lies, only six to eight miles in width, upon the eastern border, through Amador and Calaveras, gradually expanding till in Tuolumne it reaches a width of 25 miles. In Mariposa it again tapers, dropping away in the districts southward. The western edge con- tains the productive veta madre, with its line of representative quartz mines, which in Mariposa splits into two branches. 32 Its eastern line is bordered by a heavy limestone belt, met in Amador by the granite formation from the north, and covered by volcanic masses. 38

This county received its share of alluvial wealth from the Cosumnes and Mokelumne twin rivers; and although ranking rather as a halting-place for the mi- gration to and from the southern field, a series of bars and camps sprang up, which were especially numerous along the tributaries of the latter stream. Most prominent was Dry Creek, with the branch creeks, Sutter and Jackson, the latter with the county seat. On the headwaters lay Volcano, famed for its rich

made $11,000 in eleven days; on Campbell Creek miners averaged $10 a day. Placer Times, Feb. 2, Apr. 22, May 3, 22, 27, 1850, adds that Bowles' party averaged $50 daily per man in 1849. Below Big Canon, a man took out 22 lbs a day for some time. Big Bar had 600 miners in the spring of 1850, average $25 to $50 each daily. One man had 200 Ibs of gold, but few had great success. Diarrhoea, etc., frightened away many. Pac. News, Apr. 27, May 2, 9, 18-23, Ang. 22, 24, Sept. 7, 1850; Cal. Courier, Sept. 28, 1850; Polynesian, vii. 34; Van Dyke's Stat., MS., 3; S. F. Picayune, Dec. 18, 1850. By 1854 Cañon Creek Water Co. and two other partics were doing fluming on a large scale, and others followed the example elsewhere. Ridge- ville occupied 1,000 men in 1855. At Oregon Gulch three men made $300 per day for some time. Sac. Union, Nov. 28, 1854, Apr. 19, June 7, 26, 1855. West Weaver paid $10 to $30 to the hand. S. F. Bulletin, Feb. 2, 1856. The yield for the year to 2,600 miners was $2,500,000. Alta Cal., Oct. 26, 1856; Bar- stow's Stat., MS., 4-5, and above general references.

32 At Volcano a recent formation of quartz veins is revealed in the gravel.

33 In Calaveras the limestone has been worked, near Murphy's, for placer gold. It has also here and in Amador imbedded quartz veins, with a little cinnabar.

372

UNFOLDING OF MINERAL WEALTH.

deposits and its gravel beds, the latter in due time inviting the hydraulic process, which also found an ample field in Jackson, French Camp, and other dis- tricts. Quartz veins were unfolded early in 1851 on Amador Creek, with several points rich enough to sustain themselves under early adverse circumstances, till improved methods brought forward a long line of permanent mines on both sides of the veta madre, among which Jackson marked the western and Volcano the upper edge. 34

34 Amador shared in the wealth of the Cosumnes at a number of bars along its main and south fork, whereof Yeomet, or Saratoga, at their junction, long maintained itself a promising town. Below, on the divide, rose Ply- inouth, one of the earliest quartz mining places, which absorbed the interests of the adjoining Pokerville Camp, and gradually overshadowing Fiddletown of 1849, which had received a decided impulse in 1852. The richer section of the county bordered upon Mokelumne River and its tributaries, notably Dry Creek, where Drytown sprang up in 1848, and flourished till 1857. At Amador, on the creek of that name, the placer mining of 1848 early gave way to quartz. Its branch, Rancheria Creek, stood since 1848 in good repute with its deep and slate gulches, which brought the tributary population of Lower Rancheria at one time to 600. Irish Hill has sustained itself till recent times. Muletown, on Mule Creek, was famed for its productive ravines, to which hydraulic methods were applied in 1854 with continued success. Fort John, on the north fork of Dry Creek, promised in 1849-50 to become a leading town, but declined rapidly; yielding the honors to Volcano, which opened in 1848. Here were some remarkably rich deposits, one in gravel, which must have yielded $1,000,000 in the course of 30 years. At Indian and Soldier gulches, a pan of dirt could frequently give several hun- dred dollars, many readily obtained $1,000 a day. In 1853 ditches were con- structed for working less rich deposits, and quartz mining was added to sustain the production. Russell Hill and Aqueduct City proved ephemeral. Other noted points on Sutter Creek were Ashland, Grizzly Hill, Wheeler Diggings, and several gulches and flats toward the headwater. The Ione City of 1850 developed into a permanent settlement, and Sutter Creek, opened in 1848 by the historic Swiss, developed after 1851, with quartz mining, into one of Amador's leading towns. Another prominent tributary of Dry Creek was Jackson Creek, with Jackson, the county seat, founded in 1848 by Mexicans as Botellas, and sustained by a wide gold-field, embracing The Gate of 1849, Ohio Hill, Squaw Gulch, and Tunnel Hill, with rich gravel, tunnelled in 1852, and with hydraulic works in 1858. The more distant Slab- town and Clinton proved less valuable. Encounters with Indians and native Californians gave rise to such names on Dry Creek as Murderer's Gulch of 1849, and Blood Gulch. There were also Rattlesnake gulch and flat. The Mokelumne was found very productive, especially at James Bar, in 1849, and the gulches known as Rich, Murphy's, Black, and Hunt. Butte City was once a rival of Jackson. Lancha Plana, opened by Mexicans in 1848, flour- ished in 1850, and received in 1856 fresh impulse from bluff mining, particu- larly on Chaparral Hill, which rapidly raised the population to 1,000; but after a decade it declined. The adjoining Puts Bar, while not rich, had after 1855 several hundred miners, mostly Chinese; and so with Camp Opera, which flourished between 1853-7. French Camp was marked by heavy tun- nel operations in the gravel range for some time after 1856. Contreras was a favorite place for Mexicans. The first quartz vein discovery is here attrib-

373

TABLE MOUNTAIN.

South of Mokelumne River the rich patches mul- tiply, first at Mokelumne Hill, a veritable gold moun- tain, which from slopes and gulches and adjoining flats yielded fortunes in rapid succession for many years. Even more extensive were the glittering deposits on the Stanislaus, especially round the celebrated dry diggings of Sonora, with their pockets and streaks of coarse gold and nuggets, caught by the riffle crevices of the limestone bed. Woods Creek which traverses this district may be classed as probably the richest stream of its size. The more regular strata of the north afforded no doubt greater satisfaction to the toiler with their fairer average returns, but lucky find- ings and sudden fortunes caught the visionary and the speculator, and procured a glowing record for the south, which brought to it an early population par- taking of the capricious mining feature in its striking propensity for gambling and excesses.

The Stanislaus formed the boundary between Cala- veras and Tuolumne counties, which stood linked as leaders of the southern field by the remarkable Table Mountain, once the lava filling of an ancient river-bed,

uted to Davidson, a Baptist preacher, in Feb. 1851, on the south side of Amador Creek. The original Amador mine, on the north side, was located about the same time. After clumsy attempts at crushing with crude engines, a German from Peru introduced the arastra, and with this improvement a num- ber of parties were encouraged to open veins, only to receive, as elsewhere, the check from inexperience which only a few managed for the time to overcome. An instance of the hazardous nature of quartz mining is afforded by the Eureka or Hayward mine, which, opened in 1852, paid well for a year, and then declined; yet the energetic owner kept sturdily on though losing money for four years. After this a vein was struck which raised the mine to one of the richest. The east side of the belt was also lined by a number of mines which yielded well, especially at Volcano. In Calaveras the line grew less regular. By 1860 there were 32 mills crushing over 60,000 tons a year, and 600 miles of main ditches, the first conduit, at The Gate, being ascribed to Johnson early in 1851. Several were begun by 1852, and by 1861 there were nearly 30 in operation, one 66 miles long. Alta Cal., Dec. 18, 1850, Cal. Courier, Oct. 21, 1850, etc., allude to the wealth of different camps. Scattered de- tails in Alta Cal., 1851-6; Sac. Union, 1854-6; S. F. Bulletin, 1855-6; Woods' Pioneer, MS., 98-9; Hist. Amador Co., 90 et seq .; Frask's Geol., 23-4. Sac. Transcript, Feb. 14, 1851, alludes to a quartz blast producing $30,000. Placerville Democ., Aug. 19, 1876. In the east part of Amador were found indications of silver which in later years became the main wealth of Alpine county. The gold-bearing veins here were little worked, owing to need for deeper development, yet short adit levels would have sufficed and wood and water abounded.

374

UNFOLDING OF MINERAL WEALTH.

and now presenting in its raised isolation a conspicuous instance of surface remodelling by water currents. Ousted from their original channel, they here avenged themselves by washing away the lofty banks which formed the serpentine mould of the lava. The rich deposits in this subterranean bed, which raised such excitement in 1855, and led to a close line of tunnels under Table Mountain, explain in a measure the source for the surrounding wealth. The bars of the living streams also produced much gold, and camps were numerous along the banks, particularly near the trans- verse auriferous belt, and extending into the valley counties of San Joaquin and Stanislaus. San Andreas, Vallecito, and Angel Camp were centres of rich dis- tricts which in time revealed quartz to sustain their prospects. Carson Hill proved a minor Mokelumne. Sonora, the chief camp of the south, was surrounded in close proximity by a larger number of important towns and settlements than could be found elsewhere within the same area. Among them Jackass Gulch bore the palm for yield, and Yankee Hill for nuggets. Chinese Camp, started by an importer of mongol la- borers, was long the headquarters for this race. In both counties were stretches of gravel and cognate strata, which about 1855 began to attract attention for hydraulic operations, with ditches measuring 600 miles in length. The line of quartz veins, which soon became the main feature of mining, was bordered on the lower side by the towns of Angel, Carson, and Jamestown, and on the east by Soulsby, whose ledges are among the richest in the country.3 35

35 Even richer than the Amador section of Mokelumne River was that em- braced by Calaveras county, with the county seat for a time at Mokelumne Hill, which was discovered in 1850, and yielded fortunes for many years. Alta Cal., Feb. 13, 1851. Big Bar and Murphy Camp, of 1849, had a wide reputation, the latter with a population of 1,000 in 1855. Safford's Narr., MS., 21-2; Pac. News, May 10, 1850. Poverty and Winter bars lay near Lancha Plana. At Douglas Flat Table Mountain was first tapped. Vallecito formed the centre of a wide circle of places, such as French Camp. Angel Camp had fine placers, which soon led to equally promising quartz veins ex- tending beyond Cherokee Flat. Carson Hill created in 1851 great excitement; its discovery claim alone produced within 8 years about §2.000,000; an ad- joining claim gave half as much, and several others added to the total, with

375

STANISLAUS AND MARIPOSA.

Thus far extended the mining explorations of 1848, including the most valuable sections of the field.

simple methods. Wide-spread, though less glittering, were the flats and gulches round San Andreas, the county seat, which in 1856 managed to sus- tain a large population with the aid of three ditches and quartz development. S. F. Bulletin, Jan. 27, 1857. The eastern districts have less regular and re- liable quartz veins; yet at West Point they yield from $20 to $100 per ton. Gossan deposits exist at Quail Hill, Iron Mountain, and Robinson Ferry, the latter remarkable for rare telluret. Hydraulic operations found many open- ings in gravel and other suitable ground, near West Point, at Old and French gulches, etc. Upper Calaveritas was especially promising. Id. Several ditches were in operation, including that of the Mokelumne Hill Co., one of whose extensions in 1855 measured 12 miles, and cost $40,000. Sac. Union, Apr. 9, May 15-29, June 11, July 30, 1855. In 1855 there were 17 ditches, 325 miles long. Cal. Ass. Jour., 1856, p. 26. There were 16 companies with property worth $638,000. Alta Cal., Oct. 1, Nov. 4, 1855, etc. The weekly yield of gold in the county was estimated at $125,000 in May 1855. Some rich strikes mentioned in Id., Oct. 6, 1856; S. F. Bulletin, Mar. 25, 1856; which journal consult for scattered reports of progress, based partly on the Calaveras Chronicle, 1853 et seq. Earlier references in Pac. News, 1849-50; S. F. Herald, 1850 et seq. Taylor, Eldorado, i. 88, speaks of the rush to Lower Bar, where the two prospectors obtained 14 Ibs of gold in two days, including a 2-1b nugget. Campo Seco, Clay Bar, Chile Gulch, Jenny Lind, French Creek, the latter on Calaveras River, were among the early camps. Tuolumne county acquired fame in 1848 for its dry diggings and coarse gold. Gov. Riley pronounced the placers on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne as among the richest in California. Report, Aug. 30, 1849. The region round Sonora was especially rich in pockets with nuggets. Placer Times, Apr. 6, 1850, alludes to a piece of 64 1bs. But the river bars were also rich with more regu- lar strata. A claim was not considered worth working then unless it yielded one or two ounces per day. Some secured four times that amount. Sutton's Stat., MS., 11; Hancock's Thirteen Years, MS., 136. Dean, Stat., MS., 3, obtained several ounces daily on the Stanislaus. Men are making as high as 5 lbs daily at Peoria. Cal. Courier, Nov. 21, 1850; Ryan's Pers. Adven .; Frost's Cal., 62-73. They make 3 ounces and more daily below Keeler's Ferry, and old dirt rewashed yielded as much as SI to the pan. Son. Herald; Sac. Transcript, Feb. 14, 1851. And so on the Tuolumne, one of the richest streams. One small party took out daily $1,500, and even 28 Ibs. Id., Nov. 14, 1850; Hewlett's Stut., MS., 4 et seq .; Barstow's Stat., MS., 2; Woods' Six- teen Mo., 100; Randolph's Stat,, MS., 5. A Mexican took out 75 lbs in a short time. It is a common thing for two partners to divide 40 or 50 Ibs per week. Pac. News, Aug. 27, Jan. 1, May 9-10, 1850; Cal. Courier, Aug. 9, 17, Sept. 9, Oct. 21, 28, 1850. A German obtained 40 lbs in 2 hours at Sullivan's. Woods' Sixteen Mo., 139; Cal. Past and Pres., 109-12; Cal. Courier, Aug. 26, 29, July 11, 24, Sept. 2, 16, 1850; S. F. Picayune, Aug. 31, Sept. 2, Oct. 1, 19, 1850; Pac. News, Dec. 22, 1849; Jan. 1, May 8-14, 24, Aug. 1, Sept. 7, Oct. 15, 19, 29, 1850; Alta Cal., Aug. 2, May 24, Aug. 4, 1850, and 1851-6, passim; Present and Future, July 1, 1853; Son. Herald, 1851-4, passim; Colum- bia Clipper, Id. Gaz., Dec. 2, 9, 1854, etc .; Hayes' Mining, viii. 217 et seq. Some Mexicans who struck a decomposed quartz lead near Curtisville gave some shares to Mayor Dodge and others for securing them against American rowdies. They frequently obtained $10,000 a day. Alta Cal., Mar. 1, 1853. There was excitement in Sonora in 1854, when a party sought to mine the creek through the town. Id., Jan. 3-4, 1854. Sonora, the county seat, and long the headquarters for the southern mines, was opened in 1848 by Sonorans, and counted in the following year several thousand inhabitants. The foreign miners' tax gave it a blow, yet in 1856 it had 3,000, with support from a wide circle of camps. Woods Crossing, when the southern mines were first opened

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History of California, Volume VI, Part 41

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe Publication date: 1885-1890 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers Number of Pages: 816

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 816