THE
ARGONAUTS OF CALIFORNIA.
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CHAPTER X.
WHERE THE
RICH PLACERS WERE FOUND--MINERS' SUPERSTITION--THE BLUE CLAY DEPOSIT--GOLD
MACHINES.
It might be of some interest to those who engage in mining, as well as others, to know where were found the richest gold deposits by the first miners, or, rather, what were considered as the richest ravines or cañons, in the central portion of the mining regions or dry diggings, as they were called. Previous to the arrival of the emigration of '49, those who happened to be in the country, as well as the Mormon element which rushed into the mines from Salt Lake upon hearing of the gold discovery, and those also who came from Oregon, made their way immediately to the vicinity of Coloma, where gold was first discovered. But little placer mining was found in this vicinity, and the gold seekers wandered off in various directions. In the vicinity of Georgetown and Kelsey, rich mines among the hills and ravines were found, the dry diggings around Hangtown being discovered about March 1 by parties from Oregon. The first discovery was made in Hangtown Creek, near the mouth of Cedar Ravine, the latter being the first ravine worked, and found to be very rich, yielding upwards of $1,000,000. The "Log Cabin Ravine," and a large amount of gold was taken from it by the two Winslow brothers, who first discovered it, and also by a Mr. Rider who took home with him about $25,000. From this ravine had been taken altogether, as near as can be determined, about $250,000. The richest portion of the creek was from a point below the mouth of Cedar Ravine down to a point near the foundry. Below this again but very little gold was found. In ascending the creek, good wages were made above Cedar Ravine, and a few very good deposits were found nearly up to the store of Dr. Price. From that point up, but little gold was ever found, although a few spots paid fair wages. The creek was worked in '49 and up
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to the autumn of '51 by the usual process of sinking of holes and cradling the gravel upon the bed rock. Spots in the creek, especially in the rear of the court house, were found to be very rich, and a piece of ground in the rear of Adam's Hotel (afterwards the Mount Joy Hotel) was worked in '49 and up to the spring of '50 by Fish Brothers and Co., from which they realized, as they stated, about $20,000.
Just below Adam's Hotel was a round tent used as a saloon and gambling house by Tom Ashton, in the winter of '49. Immediately in the rear of this tent, a man by the name of Wiley, in the spring of '50, from one pan of white clay washed out the sum of $1,400. A singular fact noticed and commented upon in '49 was, that from about this point in the creek down, but very little gold was ever found. The cause of this was not discovered until near the spring of '50, when it was found that the original creek which deposited the gold made a turn at this point, running down under the buildings and crossing the street about opposite the grocery store belonging to A. W. Bee, continued down through town on the opposite side of the street, being confined in its course to a narrow channel until reaching nearly to the Cary House. From this point, no regular channel was ever found; but the gold was found scattered over the flats below. This flat was worked principally during '49 and the town has all been worked with pan and cradle, and found to be very rich in places; and would pay well with sluices, but not in my opinion half as well as many imagine, for there is no gold to speak of in the main street, except perhaps a very narrow spot on the Plaza, where the old creed crossed.
The amount of gold extracted from the creek altogether, including the flat below, as near as I was able to judge, was about $800,000. It was generally known how much miners were realizing from their claims, yet there were certain ones who kept it a secret, these generally being those who had the richest mines. Emigrant Ravine paid fair wages nearly up to the head of it, and a few smaller ravines emptying into it, also paid well. Going north from town across the Big Canon to Poverty Point and its vicinity, many rich ravines were found; but the richest gold deposit was reserved for the miners of '50. This was the celebrated Red Hill, of decomposed quartz deposit lead, found upon the apex of a slate ledge
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crossing three different ravines, and running down towards the Big Cañon. This lead was about eight of a mile in length, and in some places only about three inches in width; yet over $250,000 was taken from it. The very richest ravine that was discovered up to this time, the spring of '51, around Hangtown, was the Oregon Ravine. This ravine was first discovered by two men from Oregon named Yocum. They first worked a narrow strip up through the ravine about three feet in width, and were at work at the time of our arrival in Hangtown, about the 1st of October. We had consequently an opportunity of forming some idea of its richness. Their method of working was of the most primitive kind. One would with pick and shovel remove the dirt from the surface to near the bed rock, which was about three feet in depth, and the other, with an old knife or a sharp stick in one hand, would stir up the dirt, and as the bright pieces of gold showed themselves, would pick them up and drop them into a tin cup, which he constantly carried in the other hand.
This was their slow method of working, and although they realized a fortune by this process, they did not glean as much as they should have done. How much these two men realized was never known, for they were very cautious; but it was supposed that they took home with them about $100,000 each.
Old man Harper, who also worked in this ravine, was said to have made out $60,000; several others also, have made large profits here. They all left for home in the fall of '49.
Soon after my arrival, there were at least 200 men at work in this ravine, and all doing well, for the ravine was wide and paid richly from bank to bank. Dr. Ober was very successful, and as he passed along down at night among the miners who were at work below him, with a smiling countenance showed his tin cup in which he carried his gold. I found that about $150 was his average day's work. In my opinion, Oregon Ravine yielded at least $1,000,000 if not more, and considering its size was the richest one in this portion of the country.
In Spanish Ravine also was found a rich lead which continued up for a short distance from its mouth, and which was worked out in the summer of '49. As we go to the east a few very rich spots were round near Smith's Flat, one small ravine in particular near the Emigrant Road, and only thirty yards in length, yielded about
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$13,000. At the small town of Newton, which was located about six miles nearly due east of Placerville, and upon the eastern edge of the gold-bearing district, from a small ravine, during the winter of '49, was taken by a company of four men the sum of $64,000.
Weaver Creek upon the south was also very rich in many places, all included, however, in a distance of about four miles. Many small ravines emptying into it were also found to be very rich. Of the many canons in the County of Eldorado, which were prospected and worked in the winter of '49-'50, there was but one which was noted for its mineral wealth. This was Georgetown Canon, from which it was estimated that fully $2,000,000 were taken up to the spring of '53. Whether this is a correct estimate or not I cannot say, although this was the estimate of a miner who worked there for about two years, and returned to the East in the autumn of '52 with about $20,000 as his portion of it.
There were also numerous small ravines emptying into all of these larger ones and the canon which contributed their quota to the general fund, besides numerous flats, slides and benches, which however, were worked at a later day. The Big Canon, two miles north of town, was in some portions of it very rich, and a few places were worked in '49; but the greater portion, or rather the richer portion of it, near the head, was worked with toms, in the spring and winter of '50-'51. The canons lying at the east of this were not very rich, although one portion of White Rock Canon worked in the winter of '49-'50 by O'Brien, Grayson, Stuart, and Dayton, was very rich. The South Fork of the American River, as well as the numerous bars upon it, was not noted for its paying qualities, although some few rich deposits were found. Upon the Kanaka Bar a rich lead was discovered, which yielded many thousands. One beautiful nugget was found upon this bar which was valued at $1,010; but by far the richest bar upon the whole river was that belonging to Portuguese Joe, from which he realized a fortune.
As we advance to the north we find that a few rich places were discovered around Coloma, at Kelsey's, Spanish Flat, Greenwood Camp, and in the vicinity of Georgetown.
Early in '49 the country and rivers as far north as the Yuba River was examined and prospected, a few of the bars upon the latter being worked and found to be very rich.
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Fortunes were realized from Spanish, Murderers', Big and Michigan Bars, where ex-Governor Stanford had his little store in '52, the germ from which sprang the Great Overland Railroad.
In one respect Eldorado County differed from nearly all other mining counties in the State, or even upon the Coast, as the gold was more evenly scattered and the mines, as a general rule, were more shallow and much more easily worked. For these reasons they paid better for the time expended in working them, though naturally worked out much quicker.
In consequence of the first discovery of gold having been made in Eldorado County the first mining was confined to this portion of the mining regions, and for this reason also the yield of gold during the first two years subsequent to its discovery was greater than from any part of the State, the amount realized from the county up to the spring of '51 having been estimated at $20,000,000.
As we advance to the north we find that the gold deposits in the ravines and cañons are much deeper, and although gold upon the bed rock can be had in great quantities, being in some cases taken out by the pound, yet the net profits are very small, owing to the great expense in working. For instance, in Cœur d' Alene gold mining region the gravel upon some of the richest creek bottoms is from 20 to 30 feet in depth, while upon the bed rock there are rich deposits from which very coarse gold and nuggets have been taken by the pound. Yet the great disadvantage and expense of working many of these places in consequence of the amount of water to contend with, as well as the want of sufficient fall of same, make them unprofitable.
In the Caribou County, creeks were discovered of fabulous richness, yet such is the depth of gravel, in some cases upwards of 60 feet, that the expense of working in many instances exceeded the income.
We find, also, as we proceed to the north, that the ancient river beds are of greater extent and much richer, the mountains also being higher and more rugged. The placer mining, on the other hand, is confined to a smaller area, gold being found only in a few of the principal, or larger, creeks and ravines.
It is evident, therefore, from this fact, as well as from the general appearance of the hills, that those natural forces, such as volcanic and glacial action, which wore away the high mountain peaks
Page 139 Illustration.
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others, as well as our own experiences in the operation of many of these omens, it is very conclusively shown that in many cases such circumstances do occur, or such effects result, as were previously suggested by the signs; but reason teaches us that there can be no possible connection between the mere fact of a dream, or of the occurrence of any certain events and any subsequent effects. As a consequence such future effects can have no other explanation than that of coincidence, although we must admit that the future events very often constitute a mysterious phenomenon. Many instances might be mentioned as an evidence of this, while again numerous cases of a similar nature could be brought forth as reliable evidence of exactly the reverse. Of this latter class of effects the believer in lucky signs takes no note, since they are of a negative character, and have, therefore, no value.
An acquaintance of mine was realizing from his ravine claim about $20 daily, and upon his way to his cabin one evening he picked up a horseshoe which he took to his quarters and hung upon a nail, with the remark that his claim in future was "just agoin' to pungle"; and sure enough, for about two weeks following it did "pungle" at the average of $50 per deim.
A short time after another miner, a near neighbor, found, upon his way home from work, two horseshoes, which were hung up in his cabin for luck, and strange as it may seem, instead of his claim increasing in its daily pay, in a few days it ceased paying entirely. Of course, the only explanation for this phenomenon, as one of his friends told him, was that in finding two horseshoes he overdid the business, for one offset the other. Another acquaintance accounted for the catastrophe by saying that very probably one of the shoes was a mule shoe, and consequently all good luck was kicked out.
Another miner, upon commencing his work one morning, said that during the night previous he had dreams of finding a hen's nest containing a number of eggs, and was told that such a dream was surely a sign of good luck. Singularly enough, for three or four days afterwards his claim gave down far better than it ever had done before.
A few mornings subsequent, another miner at work near by reported a similar dream, and he also received his reward by an increase in daily pay. But a short time afterwards another miner in the same ravine, who was making upon his claim an average daily
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profit of $14, reported one morning that he dreamt the night before of finding a hen's nest from which he took nearly a peck of eggs. It is to be feared that he too overdid it, as the sign for him was an entire failure. He found at night that the lead upon which he had been at work had run out, and he could average but two dollars per day, and was consequently forced to abandon his claim. Many explanations were given for the sign having gone back on him, with a peck of eggs behind it, too, but all were unsatisfactory with one exception, this being the only reasonable one, that by the law of coincidences it could hardly be possible that such effects should occur three times in succession, notwithstanding the favorable nature of the signs.
Many cases could be mentioned of miners who had first discovered the new moon over the right shoulder, and, if future prospects and events were favorable, would always be sure to mention the fact of having seen the new moon in the proper manner were, for certain reasons, very careful to never mention the circumstances.
It was not expected, of course, that the most intelligent miners would acknowledge a belief in such signs, and they were always ready to ridicule any one who did. One of the old miners in particular, who ridiculed the superstitious notion, would always close his eyes when leaving his cabin, so his partner said, and not open them till he got into the road, and faced in the right direction in order to catch the moon in the proper position over his right shoulder.
A miner who had some trouble with another one about the right to use a certain stream of water, the case being then in court, stated to his acquaintances upon the day of the trial that he dreamt the night before of killing a large snake. A German acquaintance informed him that he would surely win his case, and he did.
Another miner subsequently had a similar dispute about the right to a certain claim, and, dreaming of killing a big snake a short time previous to the trial, success in winning his suit was assured him, and he did; but in working his claim it was found to be of no value.
Hundreds of similar instances might be cited to show that these so-called lucky strikes, as foretold by dreams or signs, are simply coincidences, and no other explanation, in my opinion, is possible.
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It is, of course, well understood that gold mining in general has reference to the method or process of getting money, or of acquiring wealth in an easy as well as in a very rapid manner, without the necessity of toiling through a long series of years for the purpose, and it was this idea that brought many thousands into the mining regions of California. But coming here and finding, alas, that even to dig gold direct from the soil required labor, patience and perseverance, as well as an indefinite space of time, and even then with uncertain results, was the cause of hundreds returning immediately to their Eastern homes, or, at any rate, of leaving the mining regions in disgust upon making the unpleasant discovery that gold was not to be scraped from the surface of the ground, but that it was away down out of sight, badly mixed up with dirt, mud and water. For these reasons, thousands who crossed the sandy plains, or who came by water to the gold mines, were sadly disappointed.
In order to find a gold deposit or lead which would pay for working, it was, of course, necessary to travel around with pick, pan and shovel among the ravines, flats, and gulches; and when what seemed a favorable spot was found, a hole of suitable dimensions had to be dug, and the dirt upon the bed rock panned to determine the value of the claim, or whether it would pay to be worked.
After the central portions of these ravines had been worked in '49 and '50 it was then, of course, necessary to prospect in deeper ground, near the banks, or in the flats and gulches.
Of the great number who prospected subsequently to '49 but a very small portion found claims that paid them for their trouble, while hundreds barely made a living. This was not, however, on account of the mines having become exhausted, but can be attributed to their manner of working, or prospecting. It was a common sight to see many tramping around among the hills, carrying their picks and shovels on their shoulders, in search of a suitable spot where they could strike it rich, but where the soil was not too deep, and this class of prospectors could very seldom find a claim worth working; for if they even ventured to sink a hole, it was generally of such a size that no idea could be formed of the nature of the bed rock or of what it contained.
As an illustration; Two miners on their way to work one morning encountered a tall, middle-aged man, sitting by the road-side
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lamenting his sad fate. He said that he had left his family upon his little farm in the State of Illinois, and had come to try gold mining, but couldn't find enough to enable him to live, and was very anxious to return home again. He said that he had dug and prospected in many places, but could find nothing. He led the way to a ravine near at hand that he had been at work in for quite a spell, he said, "but thar warn't nuthin' thar," and we found that he had started to sink a number of holes. They were about four feet across upon the surface of the ground, but contracted as they approached the bed rock, coming to a point finally. He asked if this was his method of working in his farming operations. "Wall, I reckon not, but thot it mought do here."
Upon suggesting to him the necessity when sinking a hole of keeping its full size to the bed rock, especially in a ravine of that character, he concluded to act according to the advice, and sure enough he found that he had run across a very fair claim, from which he succeeded in getting gold enough to take him back again to his Eastern home.
Another man dug a hole in a shallow ravine, the ground being only about three feet in depth; he found that the bed rock was descending towards the center of the ravine. He dug another hole adjoining, and discovered that the bed rock inclined towards the first, the channel being between the two, and the place where gold would be found if there was any there. He did not, however make a connection between the two holes, as he ought to have done, as he was told by an old miner who passed that way; but left the wall about six inches in thickness between them. The consequence was that the aforesaid old miner who had given him the advice was passing the place a few days afterwards, and finding that it had not been acted upon, commenced to investigate that six-inch wall, and discovered a very rich lead from which he took in a few days about $1,000.
It may be as well to explain here the general nature and character of the gold deposits found up to this time. These deposits consisted of such as were found among washed, or quartz gravel, and were confined to the hills or gravel claims; as well as in rivers, creeks and in such ravines where gold was deposited by the action of water, there were what were termed benches also. These were formed by a breakdown from the
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original river beds, and usually contained beds of gravel found upon the side of the hill below the level of the ancient beds, in slides which were formed by the sliding down of a portion of a hill. In all ravines, creeks, and gulches also, the gold found was what is termed washed gold, showing evidence of having been at some time amongst the gravel of a running stream. Upon the various flats, the gold was of a similar character and found with quartz gravel, showing that these flats had at one time formed the bed of some creek or running stream. There were some peculiar gold deposits again that differed entirely in their nature, and had an altogether different origin. The former deposits alluded to as being in rivers, creeks, ravines, gulches, flats, slides and benches, were all supplied from the beds of ancient water courses, which had been in course of time broken up and thrown down, the gravel washed and scattered by the action of water to where it is now found. Among the red hills in the mining regions are found with sharp edges, and has never been in with gravel or running water. The leads are generally very narrow, in some cases being not more than an inch in width, and are found almost invariably in small, narrow and dry ravines; and upon the hills above and in the vicinity will be found quartz ledges which indicate their origin.
Among these leads, quartz in a partially decayed state will often be encountered, with the appearance of having been at some time in contact with great heat. It is very evident therefore, that these steaks of gold, or leads, were deposited subsequent to the great convulsion which broke up the ancient river canons, and still remain in their original position as when melted from the quartz ledges, which were broken up and distributed in this manner among the ravines. There are also found among the ravines large deposits of clay of various colors; but as a general thing, either blue, red or yellow. Very rich deposits are often discovered mixed with or beneath this clay.
The fact that rich gold deposits oftentimes existed beneath these beds of clay was discovered in the spring of '50. Three or four young men, who had just arrived in the mines, prospected a piece of ground located at the junction of two ravines, in what is now known as Clay Ravine, just below the Pacific Quartz Mill, near
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Hangtown. They found, upon sinking a shaft about eight feet in depth, a bed of blue clay. It was dry and hard. Presuming, therefore, that it was bed rock, they abandoned the place. A young man residing near, named Williamson, and an Irishman, by the way, from curiosity concluded to sink down through this blue clay to see what was underneath. The miners who were at work in Oregon Ravine, a short distance below, heard him yelling out at the top of his voice:
"Say b'ys', jest come now an' see phwat I hev found under this clay, be jabers!"
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Upon going up to the claim, we saw on the ground a hard solid chunk of clay, about the size of a water-bucket, taken from the bed rock, and the under surface was one mass of gold. It was taken to the Express Office, pounded up and found to contain $1,500; but how much he got from his claim was unknown.
I have before explained that the chief and only machine used for the washing of pay dirt were the cradles, toms and sluices, although other kinds of machines were often brought into the mines for which it was claimed that they were of superior character, and warranted to save more gold than any other kind. They were, however, in nearly all cases, invented or constructed by persons who had little knowledge of gold mining, and were, therefore, ignorant of what was really needed, it being the general impression among them that gold existed among the dirt in great quantities, and that some superior process was necessary to separate it. All miners of any experience are well aware of the fact that the great difficulty or drawback to gold or placer mining, is not so much how to save the gold, but how or where to find the dirt or gravel that contains gold enough to pay for the working. That is the main question in mining, and the manner of washing or saving the gold is of course a secondary consideration. When the richest placers were worked out by the use of a pan and cradle, and it became necessary to wash a much greater amount of dirt, the "tom" came into use, and answered a good purpose for a time. But the time soon arrived when a tom was found to be inadequate for the emergency, for the reason that it was necessary to wash still larger quantities of dirt or gravel, and to accomplish this the sluices were used; they, in their turn to be superseded by the hydraulic pipe, by which large bodies of earth and gravel could be washed with good profit that could not be made to pay by the sluicing process, and which again in its turn will be superseded by some peculiar electric process, by which means whole mountains will be melted, and the liquid gold will flow out from the bottom of the huge furnace in pipes arranged for the purpose.
There are at present in California, as well as in Oregon, large bodies of black and common river sand containing gold in paying quantities, only awaiting the ingenuity of some mechanic or miner to invent a quick process for separating it, as no means or method is at present known whereby this can be accomplished with any profit.
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Upon the Columbia River, for a distance of at least 150 miles, there are numerous sand bars that contain gold in paying quantities if any process can be devised for separating it. Many efforts have been made, and many ingenious mechanics have taxed their brains in the vain attempt to solve the problem. A company is now engaged upon one of the sand bars near the head waters of the Columbia in experimenting with electricity in the attempt to separate the fine float gold from the sand. If this proves to be a success, the sand bars upon the Columbia will be valuable mining property.
Transcribed by:
Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Proofread by Betty Vickroy.
© 2008 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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