Baltimore commercial journal, and Lyford's price-current. [volume] (Baltimore, Md) 1840-1849, 1848-09-30

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ing IS IRON Mr.. LARKIN, u >. Consul at Monterey,
addressed 10 Com Homes and bv him forwarded TO
r.. s.oro,,.,. ,r a., NJ.
gay " '"' '5'
The danger in California Is from the want OF food
Tor the residents, and still more for the stream OF
eihigranlS' w uld not some oil our merchants hhu
II ProDabic speculation TO send cargocs Of DiSc"t'
houf, NC round TO the racine COAST
U. s. Navy AGENcY
Monterey California July l. 1913.
SIR-Since my last letter to You, written in san
Francisco, have visited the Placcra, or gold
gon Of California and found il all it had been repre-
scented to me. NV anticipations were fully realized
The part visited was the south fork Of the river
American. which Joins the Sacramento al Suffers
fort, or two miles from it, This river has its north
and south forks, branching more than twenty mills
from Fort Suter. On these two forks there are
1000 pcoplc dppinp and washing for gold On Bear
creek and lIulo creek branches of Feather river,
many are, no,v brgiuning TO work II is supposed
that the banks and bottoms of all th"s. small streams
contain vast quantities Of gold and that the valleys
between them are rich with the same metal. The
people are now working at many places some are
eighty miles from others. The place | visited was
about q league in extent: on this were about fifty
tents; many have not cy, n this covering At one
tent, belonging to eight single men, | remained two
or three DAYS These men had two machines made
in day, from 50 to 100 feet, inch boards and very
roughly put together. Their form was something
like child's cradle without the ends at one end
there was movable sieve or rack to wash down the
dirt, and shake off the stones Holes were made in
the bottom of the machine TO catch the gold this
wash stopped, and this was scrapcd out hourly
These two machines gathered each dav was present
tire c-Ourths one pound each being three four
ounces Of gold per man. These men had work I'd one
week with tin pans; the last week with the machine
saw the result the first days work oftwo brothers,
(Amcricans,) one had seven dollars, the other
cighty-two; they worked on the same five yards of
land; one, however, worked less than the whole
day. Their plan, like hundreds Of Others was first
with pick and shovel, clear off two feet Of the
top earth, then put in tin pan or wooden bowl
shovel Of dirt 90 into running water with the hand
stir up the dirt and heavc out the stones until they
have remaining a spoonful of emery or black sand,
containing to five dollars This can be done
twice day.
Each day is causing some saving of labor by the
improvements in the rough machines now in usr.
The day left, some small companies Of five TO eight
had machines from which they anticipate five or
six hundred dollars day. There certainly must
this day BE- at work on the different Piaccrs several
hundreds of Americans and others, who are cleaning
one ounce of gold day have this week seen in
Monterey a Californian, who shows four hundred
dollars Of gold from the labor Of week; much of
it was the size of wheat myself weighed one piece |
from his bag, and found the weight an even ounce.
He, like many others, only went up to the gold re-
gions to the place, borrowed TOOLS worked few
days and came home to show his labor aud take mp
brothers and cousins and provisions. Flour at the |
"Placer' is scarce at : l6 per 100 lbs At almost
this price it continue, as people are orsaking
their fields do moi think Ian, in est |