Herald of the times, and Rhode Islander. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1846-1849, 1849-01-04

MoRE ABOUT THE GoLD.-The New Lon
don Chronicle publishes the following extract
of letter from Thomas Douglass, formerly Of
that place -
G0H Diggings on The American Hrcr,
UPPER CALFoREIA, July Is, lelS. \
|, am in the mids, of the forests and noun
lains of Callfo which contain the gold
mines of this country, destined soon to become
famous the world over. A few weeks since
wro you long letter informing you how the
gold excitement had broken up my school, and
compelled ne, in common with mulutudcs Of
othe.s, to engage in gold digging or do moth
ing. Mr.. Lyman, with whom | was formerly
associated in surveying, has been obliged to do
/ the same | am now in company with him.
/ Our business thus far has been good. Yestcr-
day dug and washed out pound OF gold my
I self A pretty good days work, you will say
i yes, and hard one too. lahored not less
| than l5 hours in order to accomplish it.
! Labor of all kinds is well paid here, and
! This, in my oplni will be the case for years
to come. 1t is ossible to predict what
! changes few months will produce. The
rush of people here is immense. The amount
i of gold taken out Of the earth here is prodig-
| iOus. There are hundreds of persons who da-
I ly obtain from half pound TO two pounds
each some fortunate ones will obtain pound
in an hour This cannot last long. Very
many of the rich deposits have already been
thoroughly drained. The business is already
precarlous, depending very much upon luck in
finding rich place. Almost any one, howcv-
er, with common sagaciiy. may average from
an ounce to two ounces per day. Before per-
sons can arrive from the States II will in all
probability become less lucrative. They need
not, however, fear but that they can do well
, and get rich if they are healthy, industrious and
, prudent Ga the coast this country is uncom-
monty healthy, but on some Of the rivers there
is considerable sickness.
l The CALIFORNIA MINEs.-An extend
t ed description Of the gold mines of Cali
= iornia, and of the condition OF things in
that region, appears in the Washington
Union, in two letters from, Capt. Folsom
of the Quartermaster's Department, tc
Gen. Jessup. The statements of Col
, Mason and others, as to the extent and
richness Of the mines, are fully corrobo
, rated. Capt. Folsom also gives an ac
: count similar to theirs, of the description
of the towns villages, fields, and shops
nearly the whole male population being
drawn to this FL Dorado. The forms o
: the deposites Of the precious metal are
, thus described
: As the workmen ascend the stream.
j into the mountains the gold become:
, coarser and more massive. On the low
| er portions Of the streams it is found il
. thin fiat particles resembling small gold
> en- ii sh scales. Higher in the noun
! tains it is found varying in size, from the
fine PARTICLES to pieces Of five or 81,
5 ounces in weight, and Of all conceivable
{ forms. Many of the largest pieces con
. tain small portion of quartz and othel
ranite rock embedded in them. The
; parse gold is dug out of the crevices a
: mong the rocks, in the dry beds of noun
4 tain torrents, with pick axes, small iror
5 bars, spad butcher knives, sticks, &c.
&c. In many places the sire rs flow
over strata Of coarse slate or shae stand
, ing vertically, and between the dIfleren
3 yIears the gold is deposited by the water
1 As no one as yet has found the gold ii
in its native matriy, a question Away:
suggests itself as to its origin. | believe
he coarse gold is found near the spot:
where it originally lay in its native bed
and much of the fine gold has been swep
down from mountains by torrents Of wa
Ill ter. Almost all the rocks in Upper Cali
iornia are imperltctly organized bein4
loft and iiiabIe, andimcapable of resisting
The action nf the weather. In the pro
less of time the mountains have gradual
. ly crumbed away into fine dust, and the
y yold has been liberated. The coars,
L gold, from its massveness and great spc
+ clfc gravity, and was not removed from
y the mountain sides, whereas the fine gol'
y. was swept off to the plains below.
rII The extent Of these golden deposite
y It is impossible to conjecture. Gold ha
been found / I0mies above Suffers Fort
q It Is dug in great quantities at almost al
points along Feather, Juba, and Bear rlv
' ers, and upon the American Fork and al
It's tributaries, upon the Consumes ant
n S,anslaus rivers, and upon both sides O
{ The San joaquin.
' ANTr-CHoLGGA PRAYER.-B!shop POtte