Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1850-08-08

small gurgling stream Of pure water from
the mountain and emptes itself into the
river in which there is a natural basin
! formed in the solid rock. into which it
pours, and in which we often refresh and
invigoraie ourselves, by bathing in its
cellent ,cash tub. In addition to the 9TH
er peculiari,ies Of our place, which rem
ders il rather pleasant and agreeable,
there is luxuriant growth of grass COW
ering the whole face of the country, as
well as great variety Of flowers Of eve
ry hue and color imaginable, whose sweet
perfumes fill the air with their rich and
balmy fragrance. Several venerable oak
and pine trees overspread our Tent. upon
the branches Of one of which we hang
our meat. There is no necessity for salt
ing meat here, only as we use it. the at
mosphere is SO pure it never spols. IN
deed there are some beautiful places in
this country where the human heart ought
never despond nor the mind become wea-
red. 1t is the finest climate in summer
! have ever experienced; we are not as H.
able to take colds as we are in the States.
| have not slept in house over dozen
times since left San Francisco. which
was in January. but most of the time in
the open air with nothing but my blanke;
for covering.
There are three men engaged working
bar in the river, just below US, who are
from Richmond Ind. viz: Messrs Evans.
Fulghum and Talbert Messrs. Con
well, Goodwin and Lank Of Cambridge
/ are located close by US; their Ten: stands
within 100 yards of US. | see them al
most every day; they are quite well. hav-
ing become like ourselves. fat, ragged
and saucy. SO you see we can represent
Indiana pretty strongly in these 'diggins
In regard TO my success since have
been here. it has been moderate. some
DAYS took out So. some SO. SIG. $50
$40. some few so. and four Of US took
out in I days $500. We happened to
ed over. If the mines were rich as
they were one year ago, | could soon
make my pile. There doubtless is. as |
observed before, much gold here yet. but
it will have to be workedby men of capital.
And when labor and provisions get low
er than they are now, then with the aid
Of science and machinery large fortunes
NAV vet be realized There are manv
men here now, who will never make mon
ey enough to take them home; with these
facts before me | cannot advise any Of
my friends to come here | have been
Informed by letters and papers which |
have received that there will be large
emigration here this season. both by land
and water. really am sorry it is so. on
their own accounts. for the great mass Of
them will be sadly disappointed as many
that are here now are. 1t is rather anus
ing TO look over some Of the newspapers
from the States and read the golden sto-
ries. giving an account Of all the big Jumps
Of gold and none of the small ones. and
also giving an account Of many that new
er were found at all. and omittinr to speak
of the many hundred men here who scarce
ly make their grub. as it is called here
The largest lump have seen weighed 90
lbs. it was dug up at Sonorian Camp;
there has been one dug out since that
time few pounds heavier. |, is a great
pity that some OF the to0I-kUierS who
write letters back to the States wer not sent
to Botany Bay or some other fit place
For my own part. am not disappointed
very much. for expected to meet with
many hardships and privatons. 1t is true
tanned as | supposed. but man that uses
energy and industry. can still do some
thing But further, what is gold and pre-
cious stones without woman!
As | remarked before. have endured
many hardships since have been here
We think nothing Of putting 40 or 50 lbs
of provisions on our backs and travelling
l5 or % miles over hill and dale, often
out-traveling the mules. In fact. a mule
that can carry bigger load than | can.
is worth from $3.50 to 5000. No,with-
standing all this. have most excellent
health, never felt better in my life. Ihave
more flesh on me now than | have ever
had at this season Of the year. at any pre-
vious time Of my life. have Just return
ed from prospecting tour. as it is called
here: there was rumor afloat that there
was rich diggins up in the mountains. but
could not be worked on account of the
Indians being very numerous and hostile.
SO accordingly we made up company
and went ou, with ten days provisions. our