The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1849-08-25
Daily Experience Of a Gold Digger

The California intelligence to the 10th
June, showed that many of the miners
were disheartened, while others were SAN
guine and full of spirits. In some cases,
parties realized no more than SIS per day
and in others, gold to the amount of
800 was obtained, and even more. Mr.
Seth Boyden, a correspondent ofthe New
ark Advertiser, writing from Saw Mill Val
ley, gives the clearest account of the oper-
alton of digging that we have yet met with.
He says: .--.- OF. ,..
"We reached the valley of Suffers Mil
at o'clock, A. M, April 18th. Put up
our tent, packed away our baggage, and
about o'clock went to the diggins, gath
orod oil tho information ,vo could from the
people we found at work there, and wash
ed out or 81 dollars worth Of gold =
On Tuesday | put the washer together,
while others went to dig and prepare the
dirt to wash In the afternoon, we washed
out $40 worth, or the weight of an eagle.
Wednesday, 18th, Mr.. Davenport stayed
at the tent while the other five washed all
day, and obtained $27,5o. Thursday,
18th, all hands together washed out S32,50
Friday. 10Th, obtained $61 worth of gold,
and on Saturday, Goth, $82 so worth, hav
ing struck good bed of alluvial dirt,
which we had to carry about 80 yards to
the water. On Monday, 22d, collected
S67; Tuesday esd, $63,5o; Wednesday,
$68, so; Thursday, $50; Friday, $50, 80;
Saturday, $50. On Sunday we staid at
the tent, washed up and made a dividend
of five ounces of gold TO each person, leav-
ing six pennyweights in the treasury
This is not up to what it is represented,
being not over S8 per day, and our ex-
penses are enormous. 1t seems strange,
that after all that has been said with re-
gard to this country, no correct idea of it
has been conveyed, r.s ... ....
"When person arrives at San Fran
cisco the journey is not half performed
the labor, fatigue and privation then COM
mences. A person may 60 from San
Francisco on the deck of small vessel,
and ride across the prairies in an OK wa
gon, but no person would risk riding up
and down the mountains to Columbia,
(Sutter's saw mill, thence fifteen miles to
the Spanish bar on the middle branch of
the American fork, the nearest mine that
yields sufficient to pay for. working, A
good horse will carry about, 100 Pounds
across the mountains, at an expense of
about fifty cents per pound; from that
person must take his blanket, tools and
victuals on his own back, and climb his
way wherever he goes. eaat pu...s ~
'.You may wonder why we have staid
here so long. The reason is, that the
water is SO high that minors do not work,
and it will exceed six weeks longer on ac-
count Of the snow melting on the noun.
tains. The river here is high, and it has
risen some three feet since we began to
work, driving us from the diggings. The
river is about rs yards wide, and from
five to ten yards deep, on a descent from
2 to 8 or feet in 100, and runs like a
train of cars over the rocks, making ten
times the noise. s t 5,3
A person coming to dig, selects his
place, clears away bed of rock and gray
el of all sizes and of all depths, from one
to six feet, till he comes TO bed ofyellow-
ish alluvial sand few inches thick, and
sometimes foot of this contains the gold
in greater orless quantities. This is car
ried to the river and washed, yielding a
few pieces, such as send, in shovel or
painful. live strike on the lee-side of a
rock, or pocket in the rocks, we make a
good days work; but five strike a place
that had no shelter when the gold and
yellow sand was washed down, we get
nothing" .HoisJ rosss