Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1849-01-02


discovery Of the gold. Capt. Suffer feel
ing the great want Of lumber, contracted
4 in September last within Mr.. Marshall to
build a saw mill at that place. 1t was
erected in the course Of the past Wintcr
and spring-a dam and race constfucted;
but when the water was let on the wheel,
the tail-race was found to be to narrow to
permit the water to escape with sufficient
rapidly. Mr.. Marshall, to save labor,
let the a.ersdirec,ly into the race with
strong current, so as to wash it wider
and deeper. He effected his purpose,
and large body Of mud and gravel was
carried to the foot Of the race. One day
Mr.. Marshall, as he was walking down
the race to his deposile Of mud, observed
some glittering particles at it,upper edge;
he gathered a few, examined them, and
became satisfied Of their value. Hethen
went to the fort, told Capt. Suffer of his
discovery and they agreed to keep it a
secret until certain grist-mill Of Suffers
was finished. 1t, however, got out, aud
spread like magic Remarkable success
attended the iabors Of the first explorers,
and in few weeks hundreds Of men were
drawn thither. At the time Of my visit,
but little more than three months after its
first discovery, it was estimated that up
wards Of four thousand people we're en-
pIoyed At the mill there is fine depos-
ite or bank Of gravel, which the people
respect as the property Of Capt. Suffer.
although he pretends to no right to it, and
would be perfectly satisfied with the sim
pie promise Of a presumption, on account
of the mill which he has built there at a
considers cost. Mr.. Marshall was liv-
ing near the mill, and informed me that
many persons were employed above and
below him; that they used The same ma
chimes as at the lower washings, and that
their success was about the same-rang-
ing from one to three ounces Of gold per
man daily. The gold, too, is IN scales a
little coarser than those of the lower
mines. From the mill Mr.. Marshall guild
ed me up the mountain on the opposite or
north bank olils south fork, where, in the
beds of the small streams or ravnes, now
dry, a great deal of course gold has been
found. | there saw several. parties at
work, all Of them we've doing we'll; a
great many specimens were shown me,
some as heavy as four or five ounces in
weight, and send three pieces labelled
No. 5, presented by a Mr.. Spence. You
will perceive that some Of the Specimens
accompanying this, old mechanically pie
ces Of quartz; that the surface is rough,
and evidently moulded in the crevice Of a
rock. This gold cannot be carried far
by water, but must have remained near
where it was first deposited from the
rock that once bound it. | enquired Of
many people if the had encountered the
metal in its matrix, but in every instance
they said they had not; but that the gold
was invariably mixed with washed gray
81, lodged in the crevices Of other rocks.
All bore testimony that they had found
gold in greater or less quantities in the
numerous small gullies or ravines that
occur in that mountainous region. On
the 18th July left the mill, and crossed
to small stream emtying into the Amer
can fork, three or four miles below the
saw-miil. struck this stream (now
known at Weber's creek) at tae washings
Of Sunol & Co. They had about thirty
Indians employed, whom they pay mer-
ohondiso. They ~oro gcttiu gold Of u
character similar to that found in the
main fork, and doubtless in sufficien! guam
titles to satisfy them. send you small
specimen, presented by this company, Of
their gold. From this point, we proceed
ed up the stream about eight miles, where
we found a great many people and In
dams -some engaged in the bed Of the
small stream, and otheir in tie small side
valleys that put into it. These latter are
exceedingly rich, and two ounces were
considered an ordinary yield for days
work. A small gutter not more than a
hundred yards long by 4 feet wide and
g or 3 feet deep, was pointed out to me
as the one were two men-William DAILY
and Perry AlcCoon-had short time be-
fore, Obtained $4,000 worth Of gold;
Capt. Weber informed me that he knew
that these two men had employed four
white men and about hundred Indians,
and that, at the end Of one weeks work,
they paid off their party, and had left
$4,000 worth Of this gold; Another
small ravine was shown me, from which
had been taken upwards Of $1,000
worth Of gold. Hundreds Of similar ra-
vines to appearances, are as yet untouch-
ed. could not have credited these re-
ports had not seen, in the abundance Of
the precious metal, evidence of. their
truth. Mr.. Nctligh, an agen, Of Commo-
dore Stockton. had been at work about
three weeks in the neighborhood, and
showed me in bags and bottles over $4,000
worth Of god; and Mr.. Lyman a gentle
man Of education and worthy Of every
credit, said he had been engaged with
four others, with machine, on the A.
merican fork, just below Suffers mill;
that they worked eight days; and that his
share was at the rate Of $50 day; but
hearing that others were doing better at
Weber's place they had removed there,
and we're then on the noint IF resuminu