The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1850-02-20
sorrssa ao,tds,lee ,atf ihs 5orlt San.
. Actserfso1s.a u Cliif0rmia Advess-
lS s5s tssrerzIVsS. M.

A MI fNlsES'S fIARDSHIPS
e. NoRTH FoRK, Rio de los Amaricanos,
MINERVA, Mormon Bar, Nov. "a, 1S40.
MEssRs. Beach 80 AT length, after consd-
gsrable lapse oftime, arn able to find lei
sure moment, ,inths land of excitement and
gofd-hunting mania, to devote to you, and
t yourtreaders. MyIlast communication left
me safely landed in San Francisco, and gave
my first impression of the country. Since
that time, have been constantly in the
mining region. have explored considerable
extent Of the territory. and dug and washed
my hundreds of cart-loads Of "aurlcrous al
luyial," during my apprenticeship at the pick
axe and shovel, without having my first con-
clusions materially altered by time and on
perience. gold miners lille, in California,
is one indissolubly connected with scvcrcst
.hardshiPs, exposure and prvations, only ca
3 pable of endurance ~by those possessed of
hardy constitutions, muscles, unrenitting pa
tisnce and industry, and an uncongucrabe
energy Blessed with all these, and contin-
ued good health, and a mind undisturbcd by
the thousand and one wonderful stories in
: daily circulation, of tho discovery of new rich
diggings, hther and you, put afloat in great
majority instances, by store e-kecpers, in the
4 hope ofnttractng population to their particu-
!; lar points OF locatlon.--a person may general
10; slcseed with moderate success-say, av-
erage half an ounce of gold per day. But for
asmnn unqualified by want of knowledge of
the country and its mineral region, the vari-
Gus methods of detecting deposits OF gold,
and the means OF readily and successfully ex.
tracing it,thnt II is only necessary for him to
pace his foot OIL the Shores of California, in
order to realize rapid fortune, by diggingin in
the mines, is almost rs prcposterous MS Don
SQulXotte's sturdy onset upon the windmill.
III is true that, in a number Of instances
when the mines were first discovered, sever
al-very rich deposits were found it was a
fact qnitenaIural in the casc-and that Sin
clair and a few other persons, acquired an in,-
mense amount OF gold in short time, is also
equally true. These facts were blazoncd
) forth3by writers from California. the greater
portion ofthen,, at the time. having hut limi-
tedmeans of information, and carried away by
the excitement created by the discovery Of
gold; Tho consequences were, ovcrwrought
and highly colored descriptions, calculated 10
intlanei The pubic mind, and awake the in
herent desire to easily accumulate fortunes,
which is inseparablc fo'n the nature of man.
Thousands, prompted by motives of interest,
ana relying solely upon these statements, re-
linquislied lucrative business; sun icrcd social
ties; left the household hex rih-stone, (hithcr;o
only known TO comfort. and peace, and joy,)
a place Of mourning for. the absent; and ,ln-
dertook pcrIlrus six months voyage by sea,
with all its 'discomferts and prvations, and
bravcd the dangers Of pcstilence on the 18TH
mus onlyt find, on their arrival in San Frsns.
cisco, instead oil a comfortable asylum, aud a
realization OF their Fondest hopes, an almost
tota! annihi!ation Of their air-built castles of
wealth and future comfort; and many of them
cos,rb ,bl6iTbnt ,un66i6T the rude welcome of a sick
kind heart 81 linz .ss .soid earth without the
them intheir afflictior, and shsssis', 70 sooane
passage TO the strange. s e, a1'esg Seary 1'
Ss Fhat vast amount OF pure gold has beer
sextracted from the mines, and dispatched &c
4 the United States, cannot be contradictcd
Fsncll is the fact. But in+ihe highly colored
OF the immense wealth Of the i'm
saaitIse &callh OF the country that .accompant
sed each shipment ofore, il was not told, how
4 many thousands Of cart loads Of earth il was
55necessary to remove, nor how. many ts,;s it
KS at the sislsl'iiIE