The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-10-19
Interesting California correspondence.


The following Is an extract Of letter from gentle
who accompanied General Persifor y. Smith
during part Of his recent tour TO the gold plssers
and mineral regions Of California. The letter was
hastily penned In the confusion and interruption Of
California hotel Immediately on the return Of the
writer from his rapid journey IL will be found,
think TO contain interesting facts not the less
valuable for being Of sober shade than those
lated in other accounts which have reached BY the
same mall
s., FRAscI,co, Aug 10, 1sie.
can only say about tour, that the General did
north~ardly from Benicis into suisson valley thence
crossing fesse and Cash creeks onward 60 the
mento River, at the mouth Of Feather River where
two towns, Fremont and Vernon, laid out and half
dozen houses built; thence following Feather River
to the Nerbs and up that stream to the gold region
the Tslcess States we took a ssuthsssteriy cours.
through the gold region crossing Bear creek and the
three forks they are called Of the American YER
and descended the south fork and the main river 10
suffers Fort and Sacramento city, the msuth Of
the latter After waiting in this neighborhood three
Gays TOT the mail, which missed puzzled south.
esstvsrdy into the gold region on the osumnes and
hutelemnes rivers Here some Of the horses becom ng
and returned With one party BY crossing the yaley
and the San Josqin, holding course about due west
which We followed 20 Benieis fhe entire iist.ne.
travelled was shout FIVE hundred miles.
TO give the results q my observations fully would
Dotes ! will only ssy here, that In my opinion ind
vidusl gold digging will soon end -Four out OF i've Of
those engaged are completely tired out many sick
and not few die for want Of proper attendance am
satisfied, however, that II the workings con.
Quoted With the requisite skin and capital gold
could be probably produced Some few persons have
he'd luck and occasionally one gets good haul but
20 many esve quit In disgust. and many will
ICON abandon the work that the price Of labor must
fsn considerably aud doubt not that the next year
one may command II readily and do well even In dig
gpg over the spos already by gold hunters
The position OF the gold will endeavour briefly to
explain TO you Imagine an irregularly Inclined plane
90 60 sptsh extending from the Sierra Neveda TO the
foot o. the bills on the edge Of the great valley Within
thirty miles OF the Sierra know not ts mposition-
for at that distance it-but that
post TO within ten TO twenty miles of the vallsy We
have vast formations Of talsose states occasionally tran
rocks and serpentine the trap formation abound
ing nearest the valley These tslcose states contais
veins OF quartz from one eighth Of inch 10 many
yards In thickness and In these veins the gold exists
The powerful currents Of water Of former have
produced the present mountainous appearance Of the
region, by cutting deep cbssms and ravines Of
which, a. on the branches u the American river are
at least two thousand Eve hundred feet below what sp
pear nov A. the SUBMITS ~ mountains Smaller ra-
vines from all directions, into these larger
Al the early period referred TO, most Of the gold de-
pcsits nov found were fofmed-the gold, from its
weight, being left behind while the lighter earthly mat
tiers we're swept 90 but that portion IL still Ibe-
rated annually, though In very small quantities is
shown by the fsst that the deposs mostly covered
10 some depth say Eve 10 fifteen feet BIZ beuid ers
gavel NC the borders Of the streams The borders