The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-11-25
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horn spoon, is enough 70 turn the heads Of half
nation The wealth Of 9 Omus or Of Ind''-the
mountain Of Potosi, or even the Emperor Of Rus
STA gold district in Siberia cannot be compared to
the new found deposit Of the glittering ore in Cali
fornia, even if one-third Of what is said Of it be
true. Soldiers have deserted the army, and sailors
the navy, preferring gold to glory-the merchant
has left his counting house and the mechanic his
workshop; it is easier to gather gold than to earn
1.-THE farmer no longer plants, hoes nor harvesfs,
the earth has for him more seductive crop. Every
thing in California is going to ruin but the gold
business, and the consequences of the frenzy which
has seized upon the people are already apparent
Flour has risen nprice from four dollars the hundred
weight to sixteen, and beef cattle from six to thirty
dollars piece. The Cahfornians, separated in a
measure from the rest Of the world, have made an
economical discovery which very few Of the states
men Of the age seem yet fully to comprehend, and
that is that gold like every thing else has its value,
regulated by the supply and demand, and that, as it
is plentiful in proportion to other things, it will
change for less Of them. This will not of course,
continue long in California, neither will the gains
fthe miners continue for great period to be above
the ordinary remuneration oflabor. Competition
in the supply of the necessities Of life will bring
down prices to near the standard of the rest of the
world, and the reclamation of the mineral lands by
the Government will reduce the profits of those
who work them to near the level Of profits of cap
ital and labor otherwise employed. But if the
mineral district is at all like the descriptions of it,
there will flow many and important changes from
its discovery The revenue which the Govern
ment may derive from the administration or letting
Of the mines, will work an entire change in our
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alone can determine. But this change will be
small compared with the gradual but certain one
which will take in the commercial relations Of the
world. What the Califonians have discovered in
their purchases of -four and beef, as true of
it is in Caforna-the value Of gold regulated by
the supply and demand. The discovery of the
Mexican and Peruvian mines effected wonderful
change in this value-the substitution of paper for
purposes Of money, by lessening the demand for
gold as circulating medium, has also contributed
to the change. The recent heavy mining opera
tons Of the Emperor Of Russia in the Ural Noun
tains has gone still further to increase the supply
in proportion to the demand, and, Of course, to
diminish the exchangeable value of the metal and
now comes this California gold mine of seven
thousand five hundred square miles in extent, of
which the editor Of the Californian says he dares
not tell half the truth for fear that it would be re-
garded with as little faith as the tale of Aladdin and
his Lamp to swell still further the amount and still
further to depreciate the value.
The demand for gold can never increase very
rapidly sudden addition to the whole mass will
then only have the effect Of depreciatng its price or
exchangeable value-this would be a real benefit,
as it would extend its in the arts but that many
nations have made gold coin their standard of
value, and every fuctuation in that standard must
effect injurously all existing contracts and egiti-
mate trade.
But we began this article with no intention of
delivering lecture on political economy, but With
the better aim of advising our readers not to be
caught by this gold mania, and desert their COM
Portable homes on this side Of the continent to dig
gold with spoon on the other. The real wealth
Of this earth lies its surface and is be found
much nearer than California. The man who digs
the soil to raise potatoes will in the end be
better off than the who expects to gather virgin
gold and the nation whose agriculture, manufac-
lures and commerce, supply the real wants of man,
will have more Of all that gold can buy than the
one who extracts it from the NINE England has
nourished during SPANS decay-and the United
States have sprung up to giants strength in
day, while MEXICO has dwindled into insignifcance
yet Spain and Mexico were rich in gold
What the California gold region is, and how
things are conducted there, are thus recorded by
the newspapers published near the ''diggings";
Some time since iu the spring Messrs Marshall y Ben.
nett in opening ditch for taace for sawmil which
bad been built on ihs american o OF the g am @
Of the which after being examined found to
be pure. 1t began to attract aiNntlon and some
persons discovered the gold in the river below and for some
distance above IN large nqeh 90 tnat persons
left their homes and went 10 work in the mines 1t the
work ef but few weeks to bring almost the entire pOpua
ton of the Territory together to pick the precious metal
The result has been that IN less than four months total
revolution has been effected in the prospects and the fate of
Alta California. Then the capital the hands of few
individuals engaged in trade and speculation labor has
great mass of the wealth of the countTy-the gold
There are now about four thousand white besides
number OF Indians engaged at the mines and from the
fact that no capital required they working in
mics equal shares, alone with their baskets In part
Of the mine. called the dry dggns. no other implements
than ordinary sheahk nie to pche gold from
machinery very simple being ordinary trough made of
plank round the bottom about feet long and two feet
larger gravel and three four small bars the bottom
about half an INCH high to Keep the god 9m . gong ont
set upon rockers, which gives half rotary motion 70 the
but large tin pan Indian basket into which they
place the dirt and shake until the god gets to the bottom
and the dirt carried the side the shape of muddy
water 1t necessary to have cFowbaT pick
and shovel but great deal is taken up with large horns,
shapen spoon fashion at the large end.
From the fact that capital necessary fair competi
ton ab0T without the influence OF capital who
only able procure months provisions, have thou
sands Of dollars of the precious metal The lsbong class
have now become the capitalists of the country.
As to the richness OF the mine, to set down half
the truth would be looked in other countries as
sindbsd story orthe history Of Aladdin Lamp, which
required that its should bat wish and bis wishes
should be accomplished Many persons have collected in
one day OF the finest grade of gold from three eight hun
dred dollars and for many days together averaged from s5
to $50 Although this not universal yet the general aver
age Is so wei settled that when with his pan basket
does not easily gather thirty forty dollars in day he moves
to another place. so that taking the general average ncud
ing the time spent moving fIom place TO place and in
looking for better dggins Of the opinion that We
may safely set down Of pure gold sl6 per day
the Suppose there four thousand persons at
work. they will add 10 the wealth of the Territory
about four thousand ounces or eco, QUO day.
More Gold.
The following, from the Houston (Texas) Tele-
graph, may be interesting to the gold hunters they
IL. Al. l.. Z IL. D.