The Arkansas banner., 1850-10-08
california.

CalifoTBtH'
 Ths following extracts we take From graphic aud interesting letter from former cOnPosiior in the N. York Tribune office:
 Priers and Staiisfies. When first came here, tn April, provisions were rather deAr as oBly one or two muls-i irai1s had al that time succeeded 10 R-tltat 60 far through ilts snow. Flour and pork sold al g per pound; dried apples beans. rice sad potatoes, S3 per pound; tea, coHee, sOgaf salt, ssIerAlus, Ec., S4 per pound; brandy, ST per bot te, aud so aIoUg up. As tue naniber of packers and facilities for packing increased, the market be- came graduaily depressed" until, ,shnaly pFcvis. tons can bs got here now 'as cheap as dirt in New York" give yoa list ot the retail prices heres Fiour g cea,s per pound pork, 6a cents rir Q, $ csnt.; sugar, $l; potatoes, 69 cents dried ap- ples, ST1 c4nts; beans, 5Ti cents; tea and coifee 15 cents; butter aud cheese, g; Tnoasses, Si per bottle; brandy, S5, &c There is a tosra'as wagon road from MarysvFIe to Fosters Bar, wEencs goods packed ise backs of mules aud horses to this place.
 There ars some l5 or 70 stores he,e l2 orl5 drink ing and gambling shops, bakeries, 1 beef markets in each of which bullock iss,aaghtered Gsily and sold at 9 and 4D cents pound; and blacksmith shop "out doors.H shall be compelled to omit my list Of schools. churches and charitable institutions (Other than the gambling shops) till my next for want of room. Canvass is the chief material for house-building here, though there are or good log cabins, and houses built of split boards The residence os the nobility sud gentry. however are In several instances entirely different from the com mon sort, pins boughs being the principal material used iu their constructioa-of which class mine Is considered model of domestic nrchitecture;' sud sincs the rainy is fairly over last shower occurred about ths 23d June, and more rain is expected til late in Octoberl this style of building Is getting to be much in vogue. My villa Is loca- ted the pont between the two rivers jusi al the foot of the hill; and In l. immediate vicinity arc the residence Of some 50 gentlemen miners. keep bachelors hall. and do my own housework cook ing, washing, &cc. My kitchen is located irf the front yard. for the sake of convenience, and my cooking range consists of two upright fofked sticks supporting q cross piece, from which is suspended my tea-kettIe, &c. l rise in tho morning al the ringing of the first hell. sounded by robin redbreast just the sun is tipping tie tree tops the tain at the west; then ablp'e, make fire, cook and my breakfast. do up' the dishes, pick my teeth. aud ready for digging before the sun hss yet shown his face over the mountain al the east
 5:iRing Sueesss.-I have worked alone since D. left, with indifferent success-thOugh have more than paid expenses. which is doing something; you will see, and more thau many others have done - The digging is very heavy here, ths ground very hard and stosy filled with bouders of 100 To 290O lhs weight, which have to be removed before the gold can be got ont from under them. These test my strength pretty thoroughly, though have never 'given in 10 any of them yet. And then the bed rock is from 10 10 feet below the surface, and nearly all that depth Of earth muat bs thrown oil before any gold can be found We seldom wash more than foot of dirt above the bed rock. And 10 add to the above named evils, the water at it's present stage, comes in upon befose can reach the bed rock, even 70 or 70 feet back in the bank and renders operations very difficult. We are al. most out of all patience waiting for the water to fall; but if no other good comes of OUT experience we shall, as Longfeow says, " learn to labor and to tcdif."
 The weather here, go far. has been delightful We had a pretty severe snow storm about the 23d April, which the last of inc season-snce which the weather has gradually inereasedin warmth. Gil it may be said 10 be pretty hot during the middle of the day-about ike the hottest weather ! In New York; but the moment the sun goes down, the air becomes charmpgiy cool. and the nights so cold as to render necessary good supply of bed ding The health Of this place, up 10 this time, fs considered remarkably good for mining district know of but very few cases of sckuess here, and have heard of hat two deaths since 1 camc here l among the thousands of people in this vicinity. In should get sick here, there are plenty of doctors to ''help him aIong'
 The Ala Jutg.-We had quite a"spiried" Fourth ! of July celebration. Much powder was consumed and a far allowance of braudy "puuished' by the patriotic But the main feature in the programme of performances the public whipping Of oae of the gamblers that iafest the place He plying {. his trade, when quarrel very naturally occurred between him and one of his victims; fight occur
 
 stabbed the other terribly iu i've placss woua ding him severely that, for some dave, he was considered . " case" thoush he finally rallied. sad ! is new recovering The cowsrdIy s.abber was tried bsiors ths AIcalds and jury, who decided that he should receive a lsshes with the raw-hi and i never bs caught In these dggings again on paiu of death. He tied 10 tree. and well iaiooed, much to the satisfaction of the 209d witnesses that were gathered,to See justice done him. He then sent on his way rejoicing. oraameaied ike the show mans tiger, with "foriy stripes his back and nary one alike" There are plenty of such char actsrs left here yet. About ten days ago. miuor had Sl.0OO in dust dug from the grolnd under his tent, where he had concealed it. by thief, du ring his absence; and last night tine same operation performed in a tent few ro1s from my house, 1 and about 8 .000 in dust, belonging 10 party of four young meu froin Maine. carried off, Should | any of these .. fancy" gold.diggers be caught here shout this time. think hauGing would De consid l cred mild punishmr nt for them,