The daily crescent., 1849-06-08
California Accounts,


nishes us in fill the accounts brought by Mr.. Par
rott and Lieut. Beae. The telegraph the other
| day gave what we thought an exaggerated report
of Mr. PARROTS revelations. But the details In the
| Tribune confirm the marvels. The valley and
mountains of the Sacramento appear to be filled
| with the precious metals-god silver, quicksilver
| platinum diamonds Notwithstanding us, in
the gorgeousness of the descriptions of the subter
raneous gardens which have so long dazzled the
imagination OF youth in the Arabian fable of
Aladdin. We have the following new particulars,
furnished by Lieut. Beale, about the trip of the
Oregon from San Francisco to Panama:
| He states that the steamship Oregon reached
| San Francisco on the lst of April. Immediately
! on her arrival the crew was put on board the U.
| S. ship Ohio, and there kept in irons until the
evening before she started on the return voyage.
| The Oregon reached San Bias On the 22d of April
and remained there five days (coalng); left on the
9th, and arrived at Panama on the 9Th of MAY, at
| 9 p NJ, after touching at Acapulco for water. As
| Lieut.. Beale was leaving Panama, on the morning
of the 9th, the California, which sailed from San
| francisco five days after the Oregon, was coming
! into The harbor The running time Of the Oregon
to Panama was IA days, three of which We're made
| with sails.
The L. S. transport ships Iowa, Gen. Taylor and
Rome, have arrived at Monterey with troops.
| Gen. Riley, who went out In charge OF them, was
| at that place when Lieut.. B. left. There were
about IS vessels lying in the Bay of San Francisco,
| and others were arriving every day. With very
few exceptions their crews desert Immediately upon
their arrival, and they are unable to leave. The
| town is crowded with people, and about two-thirds
of the inhabitants are living in camp. The houses
are all filed to Over1owing and the smallest rooms
rent for SO day; good board at the hotels is so
a day. Gen. Smith is living for the present in the
old house of the Hudson's Bay Company. One Of
the volunteers of Stevensons reg iment, who made
| enough at the diggings to purchase frame honse
in the place. offered to rent it 10 him, but coolly
demanded $lS 900 a year, giving Gen. S. one day
| to decide on the offer
This explains the obscure paragraph in our tele-
| graph the other day..
Lieut.. Beale speaks in high terms Of the order
maintained by the population on The placers as we'll
| as in the more settled parts. There are few dis
turbances of any kind, and owing to the strict ad-
mnistration of kind of extempore justice, crimes
| have become less frequent The only punishment
| is hanging. When person commits any theft or
outrage, he is brought before jury of twelve men
selected for the purpose, who go through the regu-
| lar forms of trial. and if convicted he is at once
executed Three men have lately been hung at
| the diggings, one of them for stealing horse.
The last heard from Col. Fremont, he was on the
Gila with his company The report of his arrival
! in California, for which some of the papers give
credit to Lieut.. Beale, is incorrect.
Mr.. Parrott's information is precise and reliable.
He is American Consul at Mazatlan, which place
he left the 10Th April, after his return from an
exploration of the gold regions of the Sacramento,
reached Mexico on the llth of May, Vera Cruz on
| the l7th and Mobile on the 2lst He reports hav-
| ing met with companies continually during his
overland journey. The road to the Pacific is lined
with them, and they all, so far as he saw, doing
well. Capt. Hutton's company sailed from San
Bias in the Cayuga, April l3; Capt. Earle's was
at Guadalajara on the 18th. There were four or
five vessels at Mazatlan and two or three at San
Bias, for California. The price of passage varied
from $50 to $3.50, according to the accommoda-
tons. Mr.. P. tells a story of cabin.boy who de-
serted one of Hargous's ships a. Vera Cruz and
walked the whole way to San Bias, where he
arrived safe and sound, on his way to California.
The Tribune is indebted to ths courtesy of Mr..
Parrott for much new and interesting information
concerning the mineral wealth of California His
visit to the placers undertaken for the purpose
of informing himself On these points, and his reve.
latons are even more astonishing than any which
have previously reached u.s. In all that concerns
the digging of gold, he fully confirms all former
statements. The limits of the placers toward the
South are constantly being extended by new dis
coveres the Northern districts, owing to their re.
moeness from civilization, have not yet been fully
explored. The earth in some places has been dug
to the depth of nine feet, and the proportion gold
found to be quite as great as on the surface. The
richness of the dry dggngs is in places almost
incredible. Mr.. Parrott estimates the amount of
gold which will be obtained the present year, at
thirty millions Of dollars.
But the riches of California do not consist in gold
alone. All the precious metals there found, in
greater or less profuson, as we'll as the rarest and
most valuable Jewels. Two mines of silver have
been lately discovered one of which is known to
but few persons, who ealously keep the secret
Platinum is also known to exist in considerable
quantities. A rough diamond, nearly the size of a
hens egg has been found by one OF the miners in
the Sacramento Valley. Gen. Vallejo, who was
Mr. Parrotts informant, says that it was brought to
him by the finder, who demanded ,0C0 for it,
Emeralds of a large size are frequently met with,
but their value is scarcely known. Three four
new quicksilver mines have been discovered, one
of which, very rich deposit, lies between the val
ley OF Santa Clara and San joaquin. The Forbes
mine, however, is the only one worked yet
The extent and value of these quicksilver mines is
not equalled by any other locality in the world.
Beds of coal have also been found, near the coast,
but cannot Of course be worked under the present
state of things.
Mr. Parrot informs us that in the Sierra Nevada,
to the northeast of San Francisco, there is vol
in active operation. On the 3D. of March the
heaviest snow storm in the memory of the nhabi-
tants took place.
There are but fifty women in the town of San
Francisco twenty OF whom are Americans. The
arrival of ship load of female emigrants would be
cause of public rejoicing, and all the single ones
would receive offers before they landed.
The price of lots in the town is, as before stated,
enormous. The sales take place, however, with
little regard TO the title of property, and there
are two or three separate claims upon great pOr-
ton of it, this may lead to great difficulty in the
future Sometimes the same land is sold to differ
enl parties by two Acaldes.
The U. S. soop-ofwar Dale, which sailed from
San Francisco for the Uaited States the Goth of
March, has 5000, 600 in go dust on board.
Nearly the whole of Capt Suffers 40 900 bushels
Of grain rotted in the field, for want of hands to
harvest it. The price Of -four at the diggings,
when Mr.. Parrot left, So per pound, though
at San Francisco it was down to $40 per barrel.
There was not much sickness at the diggngs except
scurvy and few cases Of fever. There was also
some scnrvy at San Francisco, owing to the want
vegetable food, the cultivation of the soil being en-
tirey neglected.
We shall endeavor to give further particulars in
day or two Mr.. Parrot, who has spent nearly
twenty years of his life the Pacific coast, dis.
plays a thorough knowledge of the condition of
Cali int fbo