Democratic banner., 1849-01-01

Iof these mines; twenty.six soldier have de.
serted from the post of Sonous, twenty foul
from that of San Francisco, aud twenty.
four from Monterey. For a few days the
evil appeared so threatening, that a great
danger existed that the garrisons would
leave in a body; and | refer you to my or.
ders of the 25th of July, to show the step.
adopted to meet this contingency. shal
spare no exertions to spprehend aud pun
ish deserts, but believe no time in the his
tory of our country has presented sucf
Temptations to desert as now exist in Cali.
%fornia. The danger of apprehension is
small, and the prospect of high wages GER
tain; pay aud bounties are %trifies, as labor
ing men at the mines can now earn in one
,duy more than double a soldiers pay and
allowances for a month, and even the pay
Iof a lieutenant or captain cannot hire q SER
want. A carpenter or mechanic would no,
listen to an offer of less than fifteen OF
twenty dollars a day. Could any combi-
nation of affairs try a mans fidelity more
than this: and ! really think sumo extrao:-
mark of favor should be given to
those soldiers who remain faithful to thrir
flag throughout this tempting crisis. No
can now live in California.on his pay,
money has so little value; the prices of nee
articles of clothing and subsistence
are so exorbitant and labor so high that to
hire a cook or servant has become an i'm
possibility, save to those who are earning
from thirty to fifty dollars a day. This
of things cannot last forever.
Yet from the geographical position Of
California aud the new character it has as
sumed as a mining country, prices of labor
will always be high, and will hold out temp
tations TO desert. | therefore have to re-
port, if the Government wish to prevent
assertions here on the part of men, and to
secure zeal on the part OF officers, their
pay must be increased very materially
Soldiers, both of the volunteer and regu.
lar service, discharged in this country,
be permitted at once to locate their
land warrants in the gold district. Many
letters have gone to the United
giving accounts of the vast quanti-
ty of gold recently discovered, and it may
be a matter of surprise why I have made
no report on this subject at an earlier date.
The reason is, that | could not believe the
that | heard Of the wealth of the
gold district until I visited it myself. |
have nc hesitation now in saying that there
is more gold in the country drained BY the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, than
will pay the cost of the present war with
Mexico a hundred times over. No capital
is required to obtain this gold, as the labor
man wants nothing but his pick and
and tin pan, with which to dig and
wash the gravel; and many frequently pick
gold out Of the crevices of rocks with their
knives, in pieces from one to six
Mr.. Dye, a gentleman residing in Mon
Grey, and worthy Of every credit, has Just
from Feather river. He tells me
hat the company to which he belonged,
seven weeks and two days, with
IN average of fifty Indians, (washers1 and
hat their gross product was two hundred
md seventy three pounds of gold. His
share, tone seventh,) after paying all ex-
is about thirty-seven pounds, which
Ie brought with him and exhibited in Mon.
.erey. l see no laboring man from the
who does not show bis two, three or
our pounds of gold. A soldier of the ar
:lilery company returned here o few days
ago from the mines, having been OIL fur
ough twenty days. He made by tradingI
and working during that time $500. Du-
ing these twenty days he was travelling
en- or eleven days, leaving but a week in
which he made a sum of money greater
han he receives in pay, clothes, and ra-
ions during a whole enlistment of FIVE
'ears. These statements appear incredi-
lie but they are true.
Gold is also known to exist on the east.
I'm slope Of the Sierra Nevada; and when
It the mines, | was informed by an ~intelli-
,ent Mormon that it had been found near
he Great Salt Lake; and this they surely
would not do, unless they were sure of find
ng gold there in the same abundance ash
hey do now on the Sacramento.
The gold ~''placer" zeal the mission Of
San Fernando hes long been known, butt
las been little wrought for the want of wa
er. This rs III a spur that puts off from
he Sierra Nevada, see Fremsn,'s map,)
he same in which the present mines oc-
ur. There is, therefore, every reason TO
fhaf in the ;p,apyao;n, .. RI