The Arkansas banner., 1849-12-25
From tks \. o. Crescent. LETTER or r. s. sOuLE

VI cAthfeAys - snah occ nPy ete~ moi,enis usefe q my fine Ia writing se yea, aBd thas draw upob year eva, fafFis~a hers yesassaAy, in nine days
 from the Piacets. five days from Sioekfsa "a mnz- room town on lagoon running up from the Saa
 Joaehin9 Five mortal Dgats---iuImsrtn wili they
 ba In my msmory was eeeped ap on bosrS
 iitle craft gf 2 tens borden, together with ferty ether miserable haHsans, lying ih the held. on IastMA stones, ranged nrrans uhip. ear hessas
 in the EagS.ea feet and legs 5asetaiiing together ike two rows of opposing forks. Iof the steogss i brcasith net safEcieni 10 Allsw us asy more i comfortable siewage. Thea imagins craft heaiing | sgainat head wind in . nafEow pasnage. and oar ! heads. according as oar shsop slagxnssG on ihe staFheprd of iaFbonrd tack eeFsied some three
 feet Hbuve eur Psdesils like lndiaa chiefs EgyP f tian mammies In thsir graves; sBoa, cransums
 depressed uatu besns seemed sHxions 10 escape
 through the top: at that particular time, the botem
 of car headz and miRds faii Of the fate of St. 1 Peter, cracified wiih his head d0wnwards. the
 ''black hole' at Cslemta, and strnnEaiant In all poesihie forms, psees and circumstances. and yoa
 will sonewhat appFeeiAie the delights of cabin gus- sagca on the San Joachim river, and Susun, Pablo
 and San Franeisco bays.
 l Geysemter 27--I have heea here two dsya, but ! have not yet met human being that l eyer knew ] in the States. a strange This place is grow iag with raPi5itv incrediblc to thoss who have not
 seen i. but yet who kaew something of the expense I of buying lets aud erecting buildings The houses and stores mostly of wood. slightly built, or ot ftepts CT of fral basket frames covered with | duck or sbeeting Carpenters at from Sic se $40 l per day; laborefs from S4 to Ss Of SI0. Fer iR- I stance. dirl-diggsrs and wheelers receive Si, or
 more. Goods at auction can be bought very cheap 1 sonefines a package of dozen shirts. which cost S9 50 each in New Oleans, have been bought here ] for S3 50. Retailers, however, pot large profit 1 sn such prices. Clothing is as cheap as In New l Orleans Gold is wsrth. iB American coin, SIS 5o per or. Many merchants making their fortunes 1 adIv knfH HfflA- nd many Of those engsged in the heaviest bnriaess will 1 come down. anon. with a rpsh, crush ana smash. that will astonish the gaping world Some ef then have neither the capital nor the ability to carry ont l the schemes and business that oecnpy them. Many | of them are as incapable of book keeping as any canal digger Yei inc shrewd and acute have made. and are making money like mint hut every i thipg must come down real estate in particular. 1 For instance the hotel where write is some twen- tr-fve feet front, by seventy five deep, and moi in centrsi par; Of the city yet the bare ground reBt is i s55a per month, Sach prices cannot stand long how long il Is difficult to prophecy. lsnmigrsnts l are coming in with rush Every crRft that passes 1 up the bay and rivers is loaded with greedy gold seekers and the country Is fast getting tillsd win i the thousands ihst come to be disappointed. Ten thousand persons arrive here sometimes within q day or two. Where they go it is impossible to tell scatter. suppose among the Placers The com ing winter I fear, will give such account of sui
 fering it's report to the future historian as has nerer been heard. ] hope 1t may prove otherwise; ' but from my experience of mining aud miners, have but little hopes that there will not he thoas- ands whose in obtaining the precious metals ! will prove insufficient to supply them wih their winters provisions the rainy season commences, ! end then when there shall be no further communi | cation between the market and the mines, starFa
 tion or ai least much sufering. will be the FesaL ! There are now some 20l vessels in port, most Of them SC euare-rirged. and aoohtiess very many of A. .F s4. tt,s ~fA tr rs
 here will change 10 ss,i ety and rage to get away again. sufficient to enable the officers to
 get their crafts back
 Bot the gresi feature of San Francisco is it's so-
 cai aspect It's denizens represent sn epiioms of the worid-Sawney. Paddy Yaakee, Jeha Bull,
 Crapeau, Don. Malay, kanGker, Celestials from
 China, couvicis from Botany Bay---in short, every
 species Of hnmanlty that claims any love fer the root of evil Sadden wealth has introduced ungoV- ernable desire for sill more rapid fortune, and thus ! gaming Is 6rst sn the list of extensive business. This hotel is the only have observed to be free from the presence of from to iour or ve taonihs banks besides wheels of fornae roulette and other eanal'y peHicious games The result k rapid ac- camua,ion of ill gotten gains by the gamblers, sad tine ruin of very many of th-Ir dup-s Mere than sixty suicides swell the catalogBe of death in this
 place since April last Over forty have been buried
 by the Acalde at public expense So am informed by the landlord. very reliable author This is
 
 Thess deus of niqpty thick and hateful
 the lice of Egypt ia the wild days o Moses. d.
 thongh great pains are taken to make them aprec-
 tive. They are wel-lighted; music does its best speaking, squealinp, grooming iinkling; swelling,
 melting from ihe mouths of gipsy-looking Dutch
 girls. accompanied by hand organ tamborine and monkev--from the shrill keys and holes of badly blown clsrinets the complaining strings of poor pnnished Gadies--while the horrible bagpipe sets oae's teeth edre with it's Sobgohlin crawl = Harps and harpers abundant and some Of them
 discoarss elegant music This is almost the only thing redeemshie redeeming in these sinks ol cheating and fraud. The rooms are sufiocatng from the fumes of cigars and bsd breath, made st more feti3 by the raak odors of bad liquors guped in great abundance. while drunk with iq aeI : or the gambling mania stasgrr around in body, of , stagRer in words and expression. Ike maniacs , precipice. Many gamblers have made great fof- tunes here, and Of them wise enough io , send home portion they lose it again. One yonag man. who came here oB the Panama, sent
 home ten fkosssRd dollars by her her next retarn
 This he had gained by gambling, besides what he
 retained as stock in trade. have known men lose
 in inc mines high ss 2s ounces of gold in day at the monte bank. and have heard of much large, amounts. The iuf1ueDcs of such wholesale tempt
 pg of fortune eau scarcely be calculated. except in pronouncing i, evil and cny evil. l have not vel , bet a pieayune. nor felt inclination 10 do 90
 Bat many of those coming here have no rule oi conduct, idea of right and wrong to be followed except what the laws and rules Of society at homs
 impose; and soen these lefi behind, passion
 wsufps the helm, and the whole crew of the base,
 motives And desires take command of the ship -
 But enough of this You will begin 10 think
 preudiced, and regreisiag that left the States
 Sneh is not the fact wish to speak of things Jas
 ss they meet my observation.
 I As Tor the agricultural resources of California. cannot estimate them very highly. sad were they
 ten times great they are, until this gold mapis hos subslded but little of the conntrys capabilities
 wfii be developed. Some ef it's valleys rich but dry ash heap and during ths tong dry seasou
 cracked into fsures several feet deep. aud thread.
 ing the whos soil thickiy thai ii Is troublesome
 and dangerous walking among these ten thousand mimic craters. Whese the land bs irrigated Il
 Is generally of Hstnre 10 he productive. veiy; bui
 the territory susceptible of cultivation Is to the } whels only peEhapso acre to . thousand. Ihs
 climate Of the plaeers Is healthy in the ex- treme; while some of the rivers for instance the