Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1848-12-15

race with strong current, so as 10 wash 1t
wider and deeper. He effected his purpose.
and a large bed of mud and gravel was carried /
to the foot OF the race.
One day Mr.. Marshall, as he was walking |
down the race TO this deposite of mud, obser-
we'd some glittering particles at its upper edge;
he gathered few, examined them, and became |
satisfied of their value. He then went to the |
fort, told Capt Suffer of his discovery, and
they agreed 10 keep it secret until certain |
grst of Suffers was finished. 1t howcv- |
er got out, and spread like magic Remarka-
BILE success attended the labors OF the FIRST ex-
plorers, and in few weeks hundreds OF men
were drawn thither. At the time of my visit,
but little more than three months after It's first
discovery, it was estimated that upwards OF
four thousand people were employed. Atthe
mill there is fine deposite or bank of gravel,
which the people respect as the property OF
Capt Suffer, although he pretends TO no right
to it, and would be perfectly satisfied with the
simple promise of a presumption, on account
of the mill which he has built there at con-
siderable cost.
Mr. Marshall was living near the mill, and
informed me that many persons were employ
ed above and below him; that they used the
same machines as at the lower washings, and
that their success was about the same-ran-
cling from one to three ounces of gold per man
daily. This gold, too, is in scales little
coarser than those of the lower mines. From
the mill Mr.. Marshall guided me up the noun
tain on the opposite or north bank of the south
fork, where, in the bed of small streams or
ravines, now dry, a great deal of coarse gold
has been found. | there saw several parties
at work. all of whom were doing very well; a
great many specimens were shown me, some
az heavy as four or five ounces in weight, and
send three pieces labelled No. 5, presented
by Mr.. Spencer. You will perceive that
some of the specimens accompanying this hold
mechanically pieces of quartz that the sur
face is rough, and evidently moulded in the
crevice of rock.
This gold cannot have been carried far by
wafer, but must have remained near where it
was first deposited from the rock that once
hound it. | inquired of many people if they
had encountered the metal in its matriX, but
in every instance they said they had not; but
that the gold was invariably mixed with
washed gravel, or lodged in the crevices of
other rocks All bore testimony that they
had found gold in greater or less quantities in
the numerous small gu.lies or rayines that oc-
cur in that mountainous region. On the 7th
| Of July left the mill, and crossed to small
stream emptying into the Americas fork, three
or four miles below the saw-!niIl. | struck
this stream (now known as Weber's creek) at
the washing OF Sunol & Co. They had about
thirty Indians employed, whom they paid in
merchandise. They were getting gold of {;
character similar to that found in the mar
fork, and doubtless in sufficient quantities &c
satisfy them.
send You a small specimen presented by
this company, of their gold From this poin
we proceeded up the stream about eight miles
where we found a great many people and In.
dians-some engaged in the bed Of the stream
and others in the small side valleys that pu
into it. These latter are exceedingly rich
and two ounces were considered an ordinary
yie,d for a days work. A small gutter, no
more than a hundred yards long, by 4 fee
wide and 2 or feet deep, was pointed out tc
me as the one where two men civilian DAILY
and Perry McCoon) had, a short time before
obtained SIT 900 worth of gold. Capt. Web
er informed me that he knew that these two
men had employed four white men and abou
a hundred Indians, and thai, at the end of one
weeks work, they paid of, their party, anC
had left 81 900 worth of this gold Ano'h
err small rayne was shown me, from which
had been taken upwards of Sl2, 900 worth O
gold. Hundreds of similar ravines, TO all ap
| pedrduCeS, are as yet untouched.
could rot have credited these reports ha'
| not seen, in the abundance of the precou
metal, evidence of their truth. Mr.. Neigh
an agent of Commodore Stockton, had been a
work about three weeks in the neighborhood
and showed me in bags and bottles over So,
O0G worth OF gold and Mr.. Lyman, a gentle
man Of education and worthy of every credit
said he had been engaged with others, with
machine, on the American fork, just below
Suffers mill that they worked eight days
and that his share was at the rate of $50
day but hearing that others were doing bet
ter at Weber's place, they had removed there
and were then on the point of resuming oper
ations. I might tell of hundreds of similar in
stances; but, to illustrate how plentiful tn
gold was in the pockets of the common labor
ers, will mention a simple occurrence whic
took place in my presence when | was a
, Weber's store
, This store was nothing but an arbor of bush
t cs, under which he had exposed for sale good
and groceries suited to his customers A ma
, came in, picked up a box Of Sedlitz powders
, and asked its price Capt. Weber told him
| was not for sale The man offered an ounc
: of gold, but Capt Weber told him it only cos
: so cents, and he did not wish to sell it. Th
: man then offered an ounce and half, whe
| Capt. Weber had to take it. The prices c
l all things are high, and yet the Indians, VIII
before hardly knew what breech cloth was
can now afford 10 buy the most CANDY dresse:
1 The country on either side of Webers cree
is much broken up by hills, and is inersecte
: in every direction by small streams or ravines
t which contain more or less gold. Those thu
have been worked are barely scratched an
although thousands of ounces have been Cal
e ried away, do not consider that serious i'm
e preston has been made upon the whole. Ev
e cry day was developing new and richer de
S posltes; and the only impression seemed t
be, that the metal would be found in such a
bundance as seriously to depreciate its value.
} On the 9Th of July returned to the lowe
f mines, and Oh the following day to Suffer-
! where on the 10th was making preparation
5. for a visit TO the Feather, Yuhah, and Be-
:, rivers, when received letter from Commar
< der A. r. Long, u. S. Navy, who had just al
5 rived at San Francisco from Mazatlan, wit
n a crew for the sIoop- of-war Warren, with O
- ders TO take that vessel to he squadron at L
; Paz. Capt. Long wrote to me that the Mex
can Congress had adjourned without ratfyin
. the treaty of peace that he had letters for II
t from Commodore Jones, and that his orde