Richmond palladium., 1849-05-02

u
Then fare. thee well. departed one,
f"" Por God to thee hath given,
as Fsv moro than al the wcaitI, Of earth,
a.-l A home with Him in Heaven.
- From iho Inde pc ndence Expositor.
:, H0DOreasse from California.
The following letter, received by Mr.. Il. Leon
ord, Of our county, can be relied upon, concern
ing the tsue state Of affairs now existing in Cal
(isswia, - the writer is q man Of we'll known
Vssseity, and has been for nun,ber Vi years, u
sesident Of this county:
SAN FsAxciscc, ". C., Oct. %. Ia43.
CxAa Sal take this, the earliest opportu-
nsty, to inform you OF my arrival here. found
California in another revolution, not Of blood :,
bss Of gold. f should attempt to give you
ssythiwR like . true account Of the condition Of
THE country ut the present time, would fail,
fos have no language to express, nor descrip
tive powers to deiineate its true condition; if
had. YOU would lack faith TO believe. We ar
rived 81 the gold mines on Wcaver's creek. a
branch Of tho American fork Of the Sacramento,
where my family is at this time, after d t"iIsone.
tedious, and Perilous journey Of five months and
Eve days; but, thsnk Provid.n without loss or
injury. PSovidencs hss guided AMI directed my
cousse, and kind fortune has taken me by the
hand at every step. I lost but one animal on
the route. ] brought every species of property
I started with. which il worth more her. in gold
life. ] sold, when ] Landed in the mines, the
wsgoa I bought Of Oldham, and three yoke Of
oxen, for 5000 in gold. and was offered $500
for the other wagon and oxen, but ! woulI not
cell il; il is worth much to me as a Steamboat
10 10 its owner on the Missouri river have
given IL 70 young Nottingham. who drove out
fes me, Oh tlss halves; h- ha"is from the Enbra
cados, town laid out ut Suffers Fort, forty miles
from the mines. aud the head of navig liion At
this time; the road s better than the road from
Lexington TO Indcpe encencc; hc hauls from thirty
to forty hun red, aud the price varies from TWEEN
" To thirty dollars per 100 pounds, so that, he
clears Gos himself over fifty dollars per day; time
in maxi ing IL trip from four TO six days l sold
oil all nv horses-tllree at ZOO each, the com
mon price for horses aud mules varies from $ 90
to $500 per head. great many sold at the latter
price; the great denpaud - for transporting pro-
visions and tools. ] sold the pistol bought OF
Henry Childs for $500, and the belt for 80. III
gold. ! have been in the country some three
weeks. and have raised the rise Of $1,000 In gold.
The prices quoted above. You will feel disposed
to doubt, not being accustomed to such high pri-
ces, bot they are nothing Let me give you an
idea Of tho prices Of provisions, clothing, &c,
Ut the mines. Flour sd TO 500 per hundred
Ms; beef lOc to 81 per ib bacon hams ST. to 81
per ID; sugar, Use; coffee, Soc; tea soc to s
shirts from 4l6 to S32 apiece; coats $50 to SlU0;
boots $40; shoes 81; picked pork $3.50 per bar
sel; these the mine prices.
Now let me give you some account Of these
mines. They are scattered over an area of from
500 TO 1000 miles. the richest ever known upon
earth. The average calculation for the amount
Of persons engaged by men Of supe rior judg
spent, including Indians, Mrxicans. runaway sai-
Iors, disabled soldiers, Connacers from the is
lands, aud all kinds Of men and monsters. are
set down at Si6 per day, though you can hire no
for that amount; you can hire me n
for $3.50 per month, but not No. !. They will
not think of less than from 400 90 to $500
$500 and 100 per day. and two men have taken
from one hole forty pounds IN two days; this i,
tlso most I have heard of There are new dis
cove s,~s being made every day, and God onl y
kmews where it will end. Gold Is nothing more
thought Of than dirt. There is no credit ask ed
Or giv-r. the transactions are. all based upon
gold. do not like this country-I do not like
the climate. and more than all abI.Or aud dete>t
the society; In-ver expect TO SOW IA seed or plant
. grain in this country. lcxpect to continue IN
the mines. myself and famii. ,. eaci, one ioing
his best. until we all get sutiiciency 10 live on
imdep- Wd~ntiy, which will not be long.
Ny sittie girls can make from 5 TO S5 dollars
Per day washing gold !" pans. So soon as we
get ready, expect to ship ut this port for Jack
sou county, Mo, where expect to spend the
balance IT my days in peace aud Guietncss and
in the enjoyment Of family and friends, where.
Of all places, most delight to be. Nv average
income this winter will he about ! 80 dollars per
dsv, AND if l should strike u good lead IL viii be
. great deal more. The large majority Of per
sons who have done well here in the mines, {au
all hav. done that have tried, are going back
TO III. States To live. at least nine out Of ten
YSuknow James NJ. Harlic he hzs Just bough
. Mexican ranch, for which he has paid in &c ID
twelve thOusand dollars for the stock and land
svePsging the stock at $50 per head, and it i,
thought that he has made at least twelve thou
sand dollars in tho operation. which makes him
ssa,d monarch Of $9i. .OCo; but this is nothing
Jssse Beasly is said to be worth $40, 900. Gov.
srnor B"ggs has made independent fortune
for all his children. You know Bryant, "a car
Pent-r. who used to work for Eben-zer Dixon
he has dug out more gold in the last six months
shan . mule ca" pack have no spare time
LEFT TO tell you the the half wantto Old Cap,
Sutt-r has rented cut his Fort to merchants. tav.
ern keepers, grocery keepers, &c, at the rate O
fifty thousand dollars per year, besides there ar,
floating stores ut the landing in launches, briys
&c. The amount Of trade done at this place j.
supposed 10 be at least $i0OOO per dav. and j
sssd by merchants Of New York and New Or
leans to BE- equal to tsose places at this time u
money transactions. As old cousin Hugh Boyle
sssd TO say in his preaching, at is good for u
We ARE here.''
u was here that found my old frie nd, Julia
Martin. found him o. we parted--a true frie n
and he has been Of great service to me he re
he has picked mp several thousand this Sc ason
he - too rich to dig but is comside erable trade
~ ses ~'1es; s.''s asirts =. $50, sersppi~s a
SIOO. eaks the language fluently, dances at III
fandangoes. and stands No. among the Mexi
cans, which 10 . great de al in this country
Mr. T.. always believed was born the chi,
Of destiny. and that never wa. TO he subse rvi
snt to the wealth power. or dictsiioa Of any mar
and my belief is now realized. always dc,es,
I'd The idea Of making money by low. pitifu
sneahing sdvantases-shat principle never had
place in this breast.
The above account aud description OF matte
md things. vii seem strange to you: but, sir,
yeo oe,.eve Divine Revelations or the sacre
srsahs sf Holy Writ, you can believ. this stat,
ment.
From your friend, &c.
NJ. L. McCLELLEN.
OLoun NaPoleOn requires all his serva 3
% tend church on Sunday i 2 tsf - -