Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1849-02-01
From ne N;,iioncl E,.-W ,s,c,r

+, FRod CAuFopan.-We are a.lowcl Il
? bi h the 'o'owirg cx,rgct i,m n lc,,er
y IN an offier in the squadron of C,mno-
dore Jones, who gives vivid anl lfe-hke
p cure OF the 4 te of Thu G. IN Cali'o'na l
ihe tine his wi lag:
! U>ITGD STArfs SHp ONO, }
MJSrEREY, CALIFORNIA, Nov l.,
I We arrived here on the OH OF last month.
The weather fr the last fo-t i;ht as been
deli ;htlul, very much Ike our hnest October
weather at home. The pleasant season has
Just commenced.
|, II VIII b" impossible f,r person al a lis
tance to realize the s. te Of afais here. Goid
i, the only subject discus ed. It Is bought
and sold in grocers scales. II is selling for
Sll an ounce here, $40 at San Francisco, and
&c al tie mines. II is worth ever 5lS in The
| United States. AT the mnes IT IS the only
medium Of exchange. ! he prce OF g'a ass
OF gros is pinch OF gold. The In ,ians had
at first no idea and have scarcely any row,
OF lis relative value. They would offer all
they had for anything that pleased them. A
man from the mines told ne that he had sod
blanket for $3.50 in god, and the hat that
he ore up there (an indifferent one) for sol.
Every one that can possibly do so has gone
to the mines. There are some fifteen or ,wen-
y vessels at San Francisco, which cannot
leave because their crews have deserted
\ Nhey of',r $50 "A month, and cannot get men
at that the usual wages were about $l2.-
y Those who reap the most in tbs golien har-
vest are the small traders for, as amatter ol
course, the necessaTics Cf lie are scarce. One
of these men informed me that lie rctailcd
flour at IT, dollars pound, and said it had
been four; he also sold sugar al SO per FOUND,
brandy Sl2 loue. Crowbars, pickaxcs,
&c, sol at first for an enormous Price.
The mine is now known 10 be four hundred
ui'es long and one hundred bioad. 1t is
thought to he much longer, but it has no
teen explored much farther. A man ithout
much txcrton, can axe $1,000 a month
Some have made it IN few DAYS. | SAW a
party that had been in the mrnes about two
months each one (person) average about
$500 month. a piece weighing 25 pounds
has been found. The largest piece that |
have seen, weighed pound ounces. The
most that is found is small and fire. a man
will leave place at which he does no. find
more than an ounce a day. The machines
are very rude in fact, it would be proGtall /
10 work that which escaped them, were there
not richer ones al around. There are about
ten thousand persons working, People are
| iiccking around. The m nes are said to be-
lnexhaustbe. Tie present lcw price OF gol /!
canno, lsst long for suppose a mint WI
soon be e>tab sheI. Nor can tho ne es 3ar-
ics OF life, long remain as they are, thought
they will lie high for somo time.
Nothing for CONSUMPTION IS male here, but
car goes are on their way from Sorlh Amer
ca and the islands, and 10 doub, capi
ialsts will soon have their agents, which
a'onc would bring goll nearly TO lis proper
value. | had a revolver, worth about sl2 in
the Unite States as special favor | palt-
ed with it for IL ounces of gold, elua! to
Il S6j in the Cni'el States.
Persons are seen.with gold valued at thou
sands OF dollars, who, few months since,
/ would have considered themselves fortunate in
having $50 in their poss ssion. Doctors are
making fortune fast. Their fee at the mines
'or frcli"g the pulse is an ounce OF god. |,
IS sai that some OF them are making 500 a
II day. 1t IS very sickly now at the mines.
4 might write great deal more, but sus-
pect you have enough of Il, is subject.
i We expect to sale in few days for San
| Francisco, where we will probably remain
some time. We are anxious to leave the
country, for the men have SO many tempta-
\ ilons to desert, that it is ce>sary for the
officers TO be alert, which prevents their en-.
Ijoying themse