Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1850-04-25

'Sh'POi"' IOitlbuduCC vi iUt CURRENT,
which has reduced it to smooth shapes,
moi unlike pebbles, but had not sufficient
force to cut il into flakes or dust.
The dry digeings are places where
quartz containing gold has croppd out,
and been diseptegrated. crumbled 10
fragments, pebbles, and dust, by The
action of water and the atmosphere
The gold has been left as it was made
in all imaginal shapes; in pieces of all
sizes, from one grain 20 several pounds
in weight. The evidences that it was
created in coordination with quartz are
too numerous and striking to admit OF
doubt or covl. They are found in COM
6'nat'on IN large quantities.
"A very large proportion of the pieces
OF gold found in these situations have
more or less quartz adhering TO them
In many specimens they are SO com.
bined they cannot be separated with.
out reducing the whole mass TO pow.
der, and subjec,ing it to the action Of
quicksilver.
This gold, not having been exposed
to The attrition of a strong current of
water, retains, in a great degree, its
original conformation.
These diggings in some places, spread
over valies of considerable extent,
which have the appearance of an allu-
won, formed by washings from the ad
joining bills Of decomposed quartz and
slate earth, and Vegetation matter.
Iu addition to these facts it is be-
yond doubt true, that several vein.min-
es have been taken, showing the min.
ute connection between the gold and
the rocks, and indicating the value
hitherto unknown in gold mining.
These veins do not present tho ap.
pearance of places where gold may
have been lodged by some violent erup-
tion. 1t is combined with the quartz.
in all imaginable forms and degrees of
richness.
The rivers present very striking, and
il would seem, conclusive evidence re-
specting the quantity of gold remain
ing undiscovered in the quarts veins
1t is not probable tnat the gold in the
dry diggings, and that in the rivers
the former in Jumps, the latter in dust
was created by different processes
That which is found in the rivers has
undoubtedly been cut or worn from
the veins in the rock, with which their
currents have come in contact. All of
them appear 10 be equally rich. This
is shown by the fact that laboring
man may collect nearly as much in one
river as he can in another. They in
tersect and Gu, through the gold region,
running from east to west, at irregular
distances of fifteen TO twenty, and
perhaps some of them thirty miles a.
part.
Hence ii appears lha, the gold veins
are equally rich in all parts of that most
remarkable section Of country. Were
il wanting, there are further proofs of
this in the ravines and dry diggings,
which uniformity confirm what nature
so plainly shows in the rivers.
For the purpose of forming some
opinion respecting the probable amount
or value oi treasure in the gold region,
il will be proper to state the estimates
which have been made Of the quantity
collected since its discovery.
Gold was first discovered on the
South fork of The American river, al a
place called Suffers mill, now Coloma
--laie in May or June, lS4S. lnfor.
nation which could be relied on an.
nouncing this discovery was not recev.
ed in this city until late in the follow
ing autumn.
No migration into the mines could,
therefore have taken place from the old
States in that year. The number of
miners was, consequently, limited 10
the population of the territory--some
five hundred men from Oregon-Mex-
leans and other foreigners who happen
ed TO be in the country, or came into it
during the summer and autumn, and
the Indians who were employed by or
sold their gold TO the whites.
lis supposed there were not far
from five thousand men employed COL
Letting gold during that season. If we
suppose they obtained an average of
one thousand dollars each--which is
regarded by wellinformed persons as a
low eslimate--the aggregate amount
will be 100000.
Information of this discovery spread
in all directions during the following
winter; and, on the commencement OF
the dry season in lS40, people came
into the Territory from all quarters
from Chill, Peru, and other States on
the Pacific coast South America--from
the west coast of Mexico--the Sand
wich Islands. China, and New Holland.
The emigration from the United
States came in last, if we except those
who crossed the lsthmus of Panama
went up the coast in steamers, and a
few who sailed early on the voyage