The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1850-01-17
he water which had leaked into the river

ia the sun, aud had two hours hard work
before they could begin to wash. Again
the prospectlooked uninviting, but when
went there two hours ago, one Of them was
scrapng up the sand from the bed with his
knife, and throwing il into n basin, the bot
tom OF which gittered with gold. Every
knieiul brought out quantity Of grains
and scales, some Of which were MS large as
the fingcr-nni. AT last two-ounce lump
fell plump into the pan, and the diggers.
now in the best possible hnmor, went on
with their work with great aacrty. Their
forenoo.'s digging amounts 10 nearly 6 lbs.
II is Only by such operations as these,
through associated labor, that great profits
are to be made in those districts which
have been visited by the first eager horde
Of gold hunters The deposits most easily
reached are soon exhausted by the crowd,
and the labor required to carry on further
successfully dctcrs single individuals from
attempting it. The two persons opposite
10 me at present have been digging all day
in the dry gulch, without finding anything.
One Of them, whose means are exhausted,
has just engaged to work for company at
81 day, preferring the certainty Of mere
support to The uncertainty Of sudden wealth.
Those who return homo disappointed cay
they have been humbugged about the gold.
The fact is, they have humbugged them
selves abou, the ,rorh;. fthey expect to
make money out Of the earth without Sc
we're labor, they arc wofully mistaken. OF
all classes Of men, those who pave streets
and quarry limestone are best adapted for
gold diggers.
DR.. Gillette, to whom am indebted for
many kind attentions, has related to fsse the
manner ofhis finding The rich gulch which
attracted so many to the Mok alume dig
gings. About six weeks ago, DR.. Martin
and himself came down from the upper bar,
to "prospectn for gold among the rayines
in this neighborhood. There were no per.
sons here at the time, except some Indians
belonging to the tribe Of Jose Jesus. One
day Mt noon, while resting in the shnde ofa
tree, Dr.. G. took pick and began careless
iy turning up the ground. Almost on The
surface, he struck and threw out lump Of
gold OF about , lbs. weight. Inspired by
this unexpected result, they both went to
work, laboring all that day and the next,
and even using part Of the night to quarry
ont the heavy pieces Of rock. At the end
of the second day they went 10 tho village
on the upper bar and weighed their profits,
which amounted to 2S pounds! They
started again the third morning under pre-
tence of hunting, but were suspected and
followed by the other diggers, who came
upon them Just as they commenced work.
They contained, however, TO dig for a week
or two, and took out about so pounds more.
The news rapidly spread, and there was
soon large number Of men on the spot,
some Of whom obtained from l2to Is pounds
per day, Mt the start. The gulch has been
well dug up for tho large Jumps, but there
must still be great wealth in the earth and
sand, and several operators only wait for
the wet season TO work it in systematic
manner. DR.. Gillette estimates that abou,
9 900 pounds (more than $400,000) have
been taken out within six weeks, Those
who are now there, working in the dry
sand, do not average more than II oz daily.
From all can see and hear, there is as
much order and security here as can be at
tained without civil organization. The
inhabitants have elected one Of their own
number AlcaIde, before whom all culprits
are tried by jury selected tor the purpose.
Several thefts have occurred, and tho Of
tending parties severely punished after a
fair trial. Some have been whipped and
cropped, or MANNED in some other way. and
one or two of them hung. Two or three,
who had stolen largely, have been shot
down by the Injured party, the general feel
ing among the miners justifying such 4
course when no other seems available
We met near Livermore's rancho. on the
way to Stockton, a man whose bead bad
been shaved and bis cars cut of, after re-
ceiving 100 lashes, for stealing 90 lbs. Of
gold. have questioned the miners to
some extent regarding their opinion as to
tho punishment Of criminals, and have
found all, with one exception, in favor of
the plan adopted at Stockton-that hang
ing every person found guilty after q fair
trial.
1t may conflict with popular ideas Of
morality, but, 4 nevertheless, this extreme
course appears to have produced good re-
suits. In fact, in country without not
only bolts and bars, but any effective sys-
tenn of law and government, this Spartan
severity ofdiscipline seems the only security
against the most frigh,ful disorder. am
told that there are now few thefts commit
ted, except some petty acts of larceny.--
Horses and mules are sometimes taken, but
the risk is SO great that such plumber can
not be carried on to any extent. The
camp or tent is held inyiolate, and like the
patrarchal times Of old, its cover is a pro-
lection to all it incloses. Among all we'll
disposed persons, there is a tacit disposition
to make tho canvas or pavilion Of rough
oak boughs as sacred as once were the
portals Of the Church.