Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1850-11-04
The Gold Mountain Of California.
From the New York Tribune.

! 2-lAAV5 VVAN MAVuutalH VI CdAllVI uld.
,,.a :. From the New York Tribune.
We have seen gentleman just return
ed from California who has personally Wis
fled the SO called aGold NJ ountain,' which
has been quite commonly considered fab
ulous.5 1t lies in about lat. So deg ;, North,
two hundred and, fifty miles. east of Los
Angeles in Southern California. and per.
haps one hundred west of the Colorado
The region is as ,forbidding as can be,
without inhabitants, even Aboriginal,
though there is a sparse population Of say.
ages on the Mahave River, say fifty miles
east. ToiaPproach it, you pass over the
Sierra Nevada, near Mount San Bernar-
dio, across two sand deserts of sixty to
eighty miles, and thence to a region OF
deep canons and rugged mountains, sterile,
almost destitute Of grass, and with no tim.
Der except the musquit, (something like
eur alder, which rarely grows to the size
Of a mans arm. The region is infested
with rattlesnakess ia incredible numbers,
and the earth 80 full of minerals especial.
ly sal @ratus) that, the water is absolutely
poisonous. There is no water ito drink
within sixteen miles OF the "Gold Noun.
tain, so called, which rises about $50 feet
rather s,eeply from canon, which has an
elevation Of one hundred and fifty feet on
the othsr side Of II. The . canon is about
one,fourth Of mile long, and thetwo hills
are surrounded by sand deserts. The hills
are composed ofa dark hornb1e,de rock,
with perhaps tenth of white tfetdspar in
termixed with it; and the Gold is found in
both, generally funning in streaks or
strings, though sometimes showing bulbs
or Jumps like a, button. 1t has been found
by analysis to yield an,ayerage Of about
81, 80 per pound Of the rock. '-'
Eight miles north, Of this "mountain,"
our informant tried his luck at digging in
the usual California fashion-scraping off
the surface earth md washing that which
lies Immediately above the rock. He dug
thus with two Indians for four hours, OBJ
tanned about ten ounces of pure gold. taxi
ing only the 'tlumps,"" having, nothing to
wash the earth with. Probably as much
was thus left as taken. He did not try in
any other spot, but has no doubt that the
gold extends all the way from Sonorn, in
Northern Mexico, to the Upper Sacramen.
to and Oregon-a distance Of eight hum
dred miles The egion here described is
about five hundred miles from the nearest
diggins in California, but cannot be ap.
preached by less than thousand miles Of
actual travel. 1t is very near the bounda.
ry line just established by Congress be.
tween California and Utuh.F g.. -....s b "
A company has been formed in San
Francisco expressly to mine this "Gold
Mountain" and vicinity. 1t is entitled 'sahe
Los Angeles Gold Mining Company" and
has, or is to have, a capital of $3.50, 900,
1t has already sent forward a pioneer par
ty of oEe hundred miners, with imple-
ments, provisions, &c. .g sri asa g,.3z
We have thus given, Oh indubitable ies-
timony, q succinct account of the "Gold
Mountain,p Of whose existence we have
hitherto ayowed kcepticism, if not incredu-
lity. 1t will be seen that il is not noun.
tain Of gold, but only a mountain contain.
snggold throughout. Yet we doubt whelh.
er its like is known elsewhere in the world.
The men sent out to work it are well pro.
vided and armed and are to be paid SIS per
day "and found" which is consideration
in region where it is so easy and so per.
ilous to get lost. The mules (all bn. four
constantly employed in carrying water for
drinking, have been brought. away, so
that the miners (Sonorians mainly could
not run off if they would. .s,l.sr., ,ygsa-f
Now don't pick up your traps and rush
off post-haste for this new. Gold Region.
Remember that it is some hundred miles
from any where, in foodless, almost
grassiass, woodless, waterless region.
whose chief denizens are rattle. snakes,
and where the. Thermometer frequently
shows 100 10 $50 degrees Of Fahrenheit,
with the first drop Of drinkable water six.
teen miles away. Our friend who visited
itmet on the woy thither scores of immi.
grant mon, women and children, tottering
Cnlifornia-ward, on foot, furnishing, and
nearly divested OF clothing by the briers
and thorns, through which they had sscrab.
eled since their animals starved or sank
to die blythe way The hollow and wnst.
ing survivors were frantic for bread-they
had no longer an appetite for 3gold.9 Only
by capitalists or large associations can the
Gold of Eastern California be profitably
dug now; it viii soon be so in the valley
Of the Sacramento and its. tributaries as
well The day Of individual scrambling
for Jumps and grains in the "gulches" or
beds Of rivers is already nearly over. .ri
An Irishman, writing a sketch Of his life
says he early run away from his father be.
cause he discovered he was only his un.
Gle. t.,F. s--z a.,sf.~73 r-,454 ....rsa---
GA compositor recently cheated quite
a breeze by dropping letter from the Ii.
tie of q pious work, entitled the ''Lives Of
the Saints" He made it the Lies Of the
oa'n's. pan "a 2 7fo. 10 Eaa- # - !esap
"Teddy, my boy, jist guess how many
cheese there is in this here bag, an faith I'll
give ye the wholefve '.ss ..e.rss-f islgg
"Five,'' said Teddy.
sd"Arrah! by my sowl, bad luck to the
man that tould ye!'' :zg7a ,gr- .sjts