USA > California > Yuba County > History of Yuba County, California, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, residences, public buildings, fine blocks and manufactories > Part 39
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"Some difficulties arose, from the irregular motion eaused by the " labor of the dredge among the boulders, in our washing the elevated " dirt, as quicksilver required a regular movement and an even keel " to enable it to take up all the gold. After abont twenty days, dur- "ing which the whole reach had been prospected, and finding many " Companies that had drained rivers whose beds did not contain the " rich deposits supposed, it was thought proper to abandon the dredg- " ing and commence washing dirt, to be brongbt from the shore, npon " which laborers were at work, earning from five to ten dollars to the " hand. Thus, gentlemen, this enterprise of dredging was not aband- " oned because it failed in its mechanical capacity, nor ou acceuut of
1.0.0.F
1879.
HOTEL
C L. SMITH & COLITH GARLAND CAL
I VELISHED BY THOMPSON & WEST .
BROWNSVILLE HOTEL KNOXDALE INSTITUTE, MARTIN KNOX. PROPRIETOR, BROWNSVILLE, NEW YORK TP. YUBA CO. CAL.
135
HISTORY OF YUBA COUNTY CALIFORNIA.
" pecuniary embarrassments, but because the bank of the river pre- " sented greater prospects, aml gave imlucrments of more certainty in " application of our power, washing and pumping. The machinery " was afterwards set to work rmming a number of quicksilver " rockers."
Y In the early years there were two kimls of mining, river and placer, or surface. The first was carried along in the bottoms of rivers and along the banks, the water being carried off' by means of dais, flumes and ditches. This method was in most places confined to a small pur- tion of the year, during tho dry season. After the first rains the water rose, frequently carrying away the mining appliances aml im- provements without any warning. During the winter aml rainy months, work was therefore abambmed, aml tho miners fell back into the ravinos. Hore they mudo from sixtcon to twenty-five dollars per day, a rosnit not at all satisfactory in those days, but enough to pay oxpenses, With the return of Iry weather the miners went back to the river, only to be driven ont in tho winter. This was kept up until about 1860, when the rivers became pretty well oxlmustel, Not sat- isfied with the ravines, tho ininers prospected among the hills in winter, doing a little surfaco work hore and there, and thus many rich placor and hill diggings woro dovelopol.
The rivors begimming to fail, it was necessary that attention should be directed to some other kind of mining, and in 1855 hydraulic min- ing began to be used in the hills. The debris washed down from the mountains by this system of mining, has settled on the bottoms of the rivors, and coverod up the old " diggings " to such a dopth that it would be futile to attempt now to work them. An expensive and fruitless attempt was made in this direction last year, near Long Bar, whore somo parties thought they could run a tunnel in to a spot that had nover beon workod ovor. Tho only kinds of mining carried on now to nny extent, are quartz und hydraulic, of which we will speak later.
Whilo fortunes were being mado on tho bars, the proprietors of stores, saloons, hotels and gambling houses, were speedily becoming rich. Gambling was a mania in tho mining towns, and many a bard- working miner lost in a few moments at tho gaming table, that which he had toiled months to accumulate. Drinking was also a universal practice, and thousands of dollars annually went into the pockets of the men who sold vile cigars and viler whisky, and " their name was legion." Tho grent majority of the people were single men and large numbers of them boarded nt hotels, of which there were from one to a dozen in evory mining town, coining money for their proprietors. But the merchant was the man who, with good judgment and pru- dence, was able to accumulate wealth the most rapidly. Every min- ing town had its stores, and every few miles, wherever people were
at work, could be found the trailing post. Goals were brought in large quantities, and consumed, wastel, or destroyed rapidly. field was plentiful, prices were high, and tlw trader lived incluver. Jonas Spect had a store at Rose Bar, in the fall of 1845, at which he charged the following prices :- Shirts 86; hats $10; cotton pants $16; blankets (serapes) 880; white beads sold to Inhans for their weight iu gold, abort $250 per ponud. The following hills illustrate the wholesale prices of articles in 1545-9, to which the trader added a liberal per cent. when he sold them to the consumer :-
GOODS BOUGHT OF SAMUEL BRANNAN.
1848-Dec. 3d. 2 doz. handkerchiefs, at $13 pwr doz .8 26 00
4 pair shoes, at $8 per pair. .. . 32 00
= 4 Uniform jackets, nt $32 cach 128 00
. 24 Flannel shirts, at $5 each . . 192 00
6 pairs of pants, at $18 each . 108 00
= 3 yurds blue cloth, nt $12 per yard 36 00
5 lbs. thread, nt $1 per lb 5 00
4 pairs double-soled boots, at $24 per jo 96 00
=
= 6 pairs Uno blankets, $25 per pair. 150 00
=
3 pes. cotton fancy print, nt 822,50 per ju". 67 50
Total $840 50
NILL OF GOODS BOUGHT OF SAMUEL BRANNAN & CO.
1849-Jme 19th. 1 caso Mexican hats $268 00
3 chests of ten, at $30 per chest . 90 00
-
1 keg mackerel 20 00
10 tins crackers, at $5,50 per tin 85 00
1 ten set 24 00
16 1 dozen sauce pans. 60 00
3 sheets copper, at $8 per sheet 24 00
2 dozen cotton hose, at $12 per dozen. 24 00
=
1 pair boys' shoes 8 00
6 gross coral leads. 192 00
=
1 box chocolate. 40 00
The Gold Lake excitement, a description of which has been given in a previous chapter, caused great commotion among the miners and many changes in their locations. Every day or two exciting news came to the old mining camps. A mau, thinking that he had found au imusually rich place, would start off secretly at night, using every means to avoid detection and pursuit. The mountains were full of these prospectors, aud the excitement led to the discovery of numerous miues, such an Canyou creek, Slate creek. Rabbit creek, and other trib- utaries of the Yuba. Sometimes provisions would become scarce
at these little camps and sell for two and one half cents per pound. Traders and packers in other parts of the region would hear about it and all start for the same locality, mul the first to mirno would sell his wares at a high tigure. The demand being satiation, the market full and all sub. seprent onuers were compelled to sell their goals at a great sacrifices, in order to get rid of them. No man weight aus thing for the future, consequently, as soon as the supply on hand was consumed, no other traders having visited the place meanwhile, prices thing in case goods, fruits, vegetables, meats, were from Et to $10 per can.
tin the tenth of April, 1849, the miners ni Rose Bar bell a met ing to make laws and regulations by which their mining outraines should to governed. Hon. Jonas Spect procente to the meeting a code of mining laws which were adopted. Mr. Speet claims those to be the first mining laws framed in the State, and that the legislatino in enacting laws for the goverment of mining claims followed thewu laws very closely.
Hydraulic mining was first inaugurated in this county on a small scale, in the: hill claims near Timburton, in 185]. At that time there was no Timbuctou nor Smartsville, both of those towns lwing the ont. growth of the hill mining. In its infancy hydraulie mining was lost a pany business, and gave little promise of its prosent giant proper. tions. The carly method was to drift inte the hill and thou perforate it with cross drifts, until the hill was left standing ou jallurs about six or eight fert square. Then a stream of water was directed on to it until it crumbled und was washed awny. The pipo first used was a two inch canvas duck, with n nozzle scarcely an inch in diameter. This was soon increased to a four inch pije; with a two inch nozzle. Improvements have been gradually made in size and material, until nd present the pipe: is of heavily ribbed bailer iron, eightorn inches in diameter, and the stream, usually almit seven inches, is thrown through a machine that admits of management by ony man with per- feet rase, and can be moved from side to side, depressed or elevated with great realiness. A few nozzles in use are of nine inch diameters. The great quantity of water used is brought in ditehex from reeks and rivers sometimes a distance of over twenty iniles. The water ix let down into the mines in these heavy boiler iron pipes, aml the pres ure of the fall is the only force used in throwing the stream. A fall of two hundred fect will throw a stream with terrific force a distance of one hundred and seventy five feet. It is only of late years that powder has been used to loosen the dirt. The method in use now is to tunnel into the hill and make cross and lateral drifts until enough
1
136
HISTORY OF YUBA COUNTY. CALIFORNIA.
room is made for the amount of powder designed to be used. Then kegs of powder are placed in the drifts, the month of the main tunnel stopped up with saud, leaving a train of powder to its month. A fuse is placed in it, lighted und then the workmen seek places of safety. Soon a dall, heavy report is heard, the hill raises up and settles, stones are sent flying about and the thing is over. The stream is turned on, and the dirt is washed down through the tunnel. In a good blast about five hundred kegs of powder ure used. The largest ex- plosion at Smartsville was twouty-two hundred kegs.
"T'ho tunnels are sometimes very long, und are the most expensive wiljunets of hydraulic mining, varying from five hundred to four thou- Hand fort. in length, and costing from twelve to over fifty dollars por foot. The tunnel is cut through the bedrock from the river or creek into which the " tailings" nro to be discharged, slanting upward so as to give n fall to the water, and opening at the bottom of the mino. They ure large enough for a man to walk through. Tho bottom is boxed in water tight and paved with rock. At the end of the tunnel in a flume for discharging tho " tuilings" into the river. The flume lins " rilllos " in it, and here und in the tunnel is scattered the quick- silver that gathers up the gold as it is carried along in the mud and water. The Blue Gravel mine near Smartsville is said to be the rich- ost in the Stato. The yield from March, 1864, to August, 1866, was $599,948. Hydraulic mining is being carried on at the range along Timbuctoo, Smartsville and Sucker Flat, also near Camptonville, Sienrd Flat, Browuville, and other points in the county.
The hills washod away are somotimes over two hundred feet high, wnd consist of layers of gravol, clay, and, at the bottom, a mixture of olay and gravel, called coment. This is all washed away to the bed-rock, which discloses the well-detined channel of an ancient utroatu, and iu mining, the courso of this is followed in its meander- ings. After the rock is washod as clean as possible with the pipe, tho Chinamen buy the claim, and with knives scrape the dirt out of the crovices, washing it in a rocker, and make good wages. It is said that on ono claim at Timbuctoo, for which they paid $200, they made ₹30,000.
QUARTZ MINING.
Quartz mining in Yuba county has generally been a failure, and there havo been but fow of the many quartz mines developed, that havo not proved disastrous in the long run, and to-day there is not a large quartz mine in the County that is a paying one. In the last part of 1851, Sir Henry Huutley, an Englishman representing the Anglo- American Gold and Silver Company, built a quartz-mill and com- menced to work the ore. After sinking $30,000 he abandoued the en- terprise. Early the next year other mines were developed near
Brownsville, but were unsuccessful. The scene of the most extensive quartz min'ng was at Brown's Valley. Here a great many ledges were located and opened, three stamp mills erected, and mining carried on briskly for several years after 1863. Some of them, especially the Jefferson Mine, paid well for a while, but all were finally abandoned. Tho Bullard Mine was located near Timbuetoo, in 1858, and worked at paying rates for two years. The Marc Anthony claim was located there in 1863, a ten-stamp mill erected, a shaft sunk, and there it rests. A small two-stamp, mill is being worked at the Lone Tree mine, on Lone Tree hill, in Rose Bar Township, that pays in a small way. Hundreds of ledges have been located all throngb the monn- tains, but few of them are being worked, and these with little suc- cess.
MINING DITCHES.
The construction of mining ditches was commenced in 1850, and the water was used in mining the river bars and hills. When hydraulic mining was commenced there were a great demand for water and hun- dreds of miles of ditch were constructed, leading to all the mines where the water was needed. In 1858 the following ditches were in opera- tion in Yuba county :----
NAME.
SOURCE.
LENGTH.
TERMINUS.
Humbug,
Humbug creek,
16 miles
Young's Hill.
Oak Valley,
Oak Valley Creek, 3
Railroad Hill.
Depot,
Brauches Indiana creek,
7 Young's Hill.
Gold Ridge,
Oregon creek,
41 Camptonville.
Slate creek,
Slate creek,
3
High Banks.
Western,
Willow creek, 4
Camptonville.
Never's,
Indian creek,
2,000
Rhodes,
Mosquito creek,
2
Freeman's.
Telegraph,
Mill creek,
1}
Atchison Bar.
Nine Horse,
New York ravine,
500
Tuscaloosa,
Oregon creek,
3
Foster Bar.
Oregon Creek,
Oregon creek,
6,000
Peacock,
Yuba river,
1,000
Galena,
Oak Valley creek,
6
Galena Hill.
Railroad Hill,
Oak Valley creek, 4 Railroad Hill.
*Tri-Union,
Deer creek,
60
Sucker Flat, Tim- bnetoo and Ous- ley's Bar.
Dry creek,
3,000
Long Bar,
Dry creek,
5
Long Bar.
Parks Bar,
Dry creek,
6
Parks Bar.
Whitesides,
Dry creek,
8
66
Chimney Hill. Young's Hill.
Nine Horse,
Indiana creek,
5
Oregon Hill.
Goodwin,
Dry creek,
4
Swiss Bar.
Eureka, Ynba river,
5
Sand Flat.
* Tbe Tri. Union was a combination of the Union, built in 1850 and 1851, Miner's, built in 1852, and the Riffle Box, built in 1852. These were the pioncer ditches of the county.
NAME.
SOURCE.
LENGTH.
TERMINUS.
tExcelsior,
Deer Creek,
Mooney Flat, Tim- buctoo and Eu- reka Flat.
Bishop & Parry, Dry creek,
9 Indepondence Hill.
Prairie,
Dry creek,
10 [ Prairio Diggings [ & Brown's Valley.
Walton,
Oregon creek,
10 4 Railroad Hill
In all twenty-four ditches aggregating 218 miles.
The ditches in 1868 are given by J. R. Browne, in his Resources of the Pacific States and Territories, as follows :-
NAME.
SOURCE.
LENGTIL. COST.
Birmingham,
Strawberry creek, CO 1,500
Brown's
Oregon creck,
500
Burnett's
Dry crcek, 10,000
3,000
Collyer,
Dry creck, 600
Deaver's,
Oregon gulch
900
Dennison's,
500
Dunn's Sleighville gulch,
1,500
Excelsior Canal Co. Deer ercek
150 miles, 500,000
Featber River,
Feather river,
10,000
Little Willow,
Willow creek,
1,200
McQueen's, Dry creek,
8,000
Munroe & Cornell, New York ravine,
12,000
Mrock's,
Dry creek,
600
Mullan's
Dry creek,
1,000
New York,
Oregon creek,
600
Oak Flat,
6
Slate Range.
Pine Hill,
Bear river,
1,600
Sleighville,
Sleighville gulch.
2,000
Oregon creek,
10,000
Spencer,
Indian creek,
6,000
Turffreys,
Dry creek,
8,000
Making twenty-four ditches costing
t The Excelsior ditch cost $250,000; it was carried across a ravine in an iron pipe 3,000 feet long and twenty inches in diameter, costing $20,000. In 1861, the 'Excelsior and Tri- Union ditches united, forming the Excelsior Canal Company. In 1877, they combined with the min- ing companies, forming the Excelsior Water and Mining Company. They ow» all the claims from Mooney Flat to Timbuetoo, except the Blue Point, Golden Gate and Young America They have a reservoir back of Empire Ranch, with a capacity of 5,000 inches, also oue in Nevada county, capacity 6,000 inches. Que hundred and fifty men are employed along the ditches and in the mines.
$592,000
Clear creek,
Clear creek,
[ Parks Bar and
Camptonville,
Middle Yuba and 32
CLOVER RANCHO, RESIDENCE AND FARM OF AUGUSTA LUEBMANN, NEW YORK TP. YUBA CO. CAL.
137
HISTORY OF YUBA COUNTY CALIFORNIA.
MINING DEBRIS.
The miming debris questien is ono which is being agitated very tho- oughly at the present time. Both farmers and miners have rights which they feel disposed to defend. There is no doubt but that an micable settlement will be arrived at, whereby both parties will be atisfiod, and neither agriculture nor hydraulie mining be discontinued. Under presont circumstances one or the other must cease ; a result which would, in cithor case, be disastrous to the interests of this County, and the City of Marysville. They both depend on the pre- lucts of the farins and mines for their support and maintenance, and t is fer the interest ef all to strive for a settlement that will be satis- uctory to both enterprises. The argument of the miners is a priority of right, that it is the leading industry of the region, and that largo sums of money have been invested. The agriculturalists claim that hore nevor was any grant to miners of a right to destroy agriculture, and that they should not bo deprived of the use of their lands in order that the minors might carry on their business.
The deposit of " tailings," although noticed and commented upon, creatod no gonoral alarm until tho groat floods of 1861-2, by which overflow great quantities of debris wore brought down and deposited on all the bottom-lands, commoneing that work of destruction that bas laid waste some of the fairost land in the valley. Tho surface of the country has undorgone a change ; the streams, diverted from their ob- structod clmnels, havo beon compellod to seok now courses and outlets for thoir mud-burdened waters. Tho banks of Feather, Yuba, aud Bear rivers wore formerly several feet above the ordinary level of the water, and the stoamors and sailing vessels were enabled to make easy and convenient landings. Tho streams were as clear as crystal at all Beasons of the year, aud thousands of salmon and other fishes sporteil in the rippling waters, their capturo being a favorite amusement of beth the white man and the native. But now the channels have he- came choked with sodimont, the water heavy and black with its bur- den of mud, and the fish boon compelled to seek other localities.
At Timbuctoo ravine it is claimed that the Yuba river has been filled up with a deposit eigthy feut in depth. Above this point it in- creases, and below it makos an inclined plane, oxtending far down the lower rivers. At Marysville the depth of the deposit is about twenty- two feet. At a point in front of the City the river was considerably deeper than at any point above or below ; this has been filled up to the regular line of the bottom, the deposit being over thirty feet in thickness. The bottom lands along Yuba and Bear rivers, have been covered to a deptb of five to ten feot, extending, in some places, one and one-half miles back from the streams,
Peter Grass, wbo bas been farming on the Yuba river since 1860, says that at that time the river bed was from fifteen to twenty-five
feet lower than at present, and the lands on both sides were fertile and exceedingly valuable. Peaches that could not be surpassed, and otler fruits were raised in abun lane .. Lnrg: orcharls were all along the river, that have since been destroyel by the sun.lund water. Ex- pensive leves have to be maintained in order to protect those lands that have not yet been completely ruined and abandoned , and these are not a sufficient guand, as the backing up of the water, caused by the large grades built by the County to protect the lands back from the river, raises the river s, high that great breaks are urle in the levees, or the water flows over the top, flooding the whole river bot- tom, destroying the soil by its deposit of sand, und killing the finit trees that were spared by former ravages. The Grass Brothers havo expended $2,000 for levees nround their orchard and vineyard, and it dees them but little good, as they are overflowed more or less from December until Alay. They have lost 3,000 fruit trees, besides an orehard that yielded 1,000 boxes of apples annually. Saue of the ranches and orchards that have been destroyed, are given below, with their value in 1800 :-
The island near Captain Murray's, valued at $300 per acre.
The Jack Haun ranch 6,000
The Covilland place 60,000
The Nye ranch 10,000
The Quintay ranch 20,000
The Hoffstetter ranch 10,000
G. (4. Brigg's orchard 60,000
.Judge Haun's ranch 10,000
Eli Teegarden's orchard-
10,000
The Low ranch, worth $200 per acre.
The Turner ranch, worth $150 to $200 per acre.
Mr. Grass says, "This is the land that Horace Greely said 'flowed " with milk and honey,' now a land of saml and muud."
Along Bear river all the bottom-laud has been destroyed except & small strip near Wheatland that has been protected by Levee District No. 1. The fine ranch and orchard owned by Clande Chana, opposito Jolmson's Crossing, and for which he refused an offer of $60,000 in 1860, has been destroyed, and abandoned. Near Wbratland the river has altered its course for several miles, making a new channel half a mile south of the old hed. The banks of this stream were once twenty- tive to thirty feet bigh Its channel has been filled up, and the water is so thick and heavy with sediment that in summer there is scarcely any stream at all. From 1866 to 1869 the stream almost ceased to ruu except on Sundays, the water on other days being used by the miners.
The bed of Feather river, from Oroville to the month of Yuba river, has been raised six to eight feet. The extraordinary deposit
near the bridge at Yuba City is caused by the meeting of the water of the two rivers. Since the construction of the bridge, the river bed has been raised eleven feet at that point.
A suit has been commenced by the City of Marysville against the miners along Yuba river, which is designed to thoroughly test the rights of all parties We deal in facts and ine in speculation, and therefore leave the merits of the case to the interested parties and the courts We hope, however, that it will result in a speedy determina tion of the question involved, and that a conclusion will be arrival at that will be prejudicial to neither party, but redound to the benefit of all.
CHAPTER XLIX.
GENERALITIES.
Hotely -- The Old Adobe- United States City Hotelsin Ui Kind of Holds Western House Oulden Eagle L'ultra States California State Telegraph Company Surthora Telegraph Company- Atlantis and l'a the Telegraph Company Western Buon Telegraph Company Warehouses.
HOTEL.4.
The first hotel in Marysville was the old adobe structure, which served also as a trading post and the residence of the propriotors. The next was the United States Hotel, u canvas structure. on thes on46 side of 1) street, between First and Second streets, where Sally's ald store is located. This wus erected about January, 1850, mtnl during the last of the next month and first part of March, was replaced with a board honse. The proprietor was John G. Smith, who came across the plains in 1849. In the winter of 1850-1, John Parks bought the hotel, and a few years later it was torn down and a brick building way erceted. In July, 1851, it was under the proprietorship of E. S. Pork and J. H. Smith.
The City Hotel, a canvas building on the northeast corner of D. and First streets, was also erected in 1850. Thomas A. Hall, the pry prietor, now resides in Chicago. Iu July, 1851, the following hotels were open :- Fremont House, corner of Maiden Lane and Second street, by F. Stevens, D. C. Haskin, and J. A. Towle ; Eagle Hotel, on High street, by I. E. Armstrong ; Hotel de France, on the Plaza, by Henry Videau.
At about this time several other public houses were opened. The Oriental House, corner of Second and High streets, by Risley and Williams ; the Express Hotel, en " the shudy side," of First street, by Rumrill and Mott ; St. Charles flotel, in the Postoffice building, corner of D and Third streets, by James Cushing ; Marysville Hotel and Brewery, corner of Front and C streets. by Jobn Rueger & Co., (John G. Smith); American ; Hotel de Paris.
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138
HISTORY OF YUBA COUNTY. CALIFORNIA.
Before the end of the year Coleman's Restaurant was started, on High street, between First and Second ; and the Washington Hotel, corner of Second and High streets, by Center and Gleason.
The Merchaut's Hotel was built in 1852, on the Plaza, at the corner of First street. This was the first brick hotel in the City. In 1855, it was managed by Churchill and Stephenson ; In 1861 by S. W. Churchill.
Humphrey and Cushing kept a hotel in the fall of 1852, on Second street, between C and Maiden Lane. Humphrey removed to the site of the U, S. Hotel, und put up a brick building.
'The Dawson Houso was erected of brick, on the northeast corner of E and Second streets, in 1855, by John Linhill, at a cost of $10,000, and was opened to the public under the management of that gentleman. Tu 1861 G. V. Dawson, and in 1870 G. F. Wappel, were proprietors respectively. For years it was a very popular house, but on account of the removal of business places to other parts of the city, it has been olosod.
The following is a list of hotels which have been open to the puhlic, but ure now closed :-
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