The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-04-19
Erom a. OrieaHt Lpaig Ga-fhf
LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.

CALIFORNIA.
| write you this, in addition !
10 Others which have written, "a give you .
my opinion Of what have seen and heard
ofin California, La the first place, the eli
mats OF California Is good, u not much bet {
Ter, than Of any State or country ] ever saw
but with such = vast population made zap IN
day, AZ IA were, from every nation and cline {
under heaven, there must be- and 10 much
sickness aud death, and the wonder Is that
there Is not ten times a. much, considering
the Heterogeneous character Of the inhabli-
ants, the sudden changes Of climate 10 which
they are subjected, the change az living, and
the exposure that vast majority have suffer
ed-in all winds and weatber-wot and dry [
hot and cold-by night and by day-on1
the ground aud sometimes on the trees yet
when the country becomes quietly settled, ~ |
the old States Of the Union, and her inhahil-
ants enjoying the comforts Of liie,thcn think .
we NAV look in vain for a more healthy por- ,
ton Of the world ] have seen much Of the
country on and about the three forks Of the
American River, and also north, on the Bear
River, aud the fuba, and ] can safely say
that the golden portion Of Northern Caliior-
MIA can never be an agricultural country, ana
thai too for wnntof rain the soil however,
Is generally deep, and looks good aud strong'
and the beautiful great pines and other tim
Der proves IL 10 be "a. or other parts Of the
State cannot speak from observation though
! have seen (not tastcd) the two, three, and
four pound onions which grow on the banks
Of the Sacramento, below the City, aud sold
IN this market last TALL ut one dollar per H.
Napier valley is represented a. one of the
most beautiful aa well ~ productive portions
Of all the Sacramento Nallcy-situAted about
twenty miles north and back from the river
from Bcnicia, which i about half way down
from Sacramento City There MELONS, on
ions, and the like-sun-proof articlcs--grow
oh Han ali
care amer the seed is once put into the ground;
and potatoes, cabbagcs, and the like hirVB
vegetables do well by being irrigated, II is
said that all the good farming tracts on tho
rivers are already taken mp by squattcrs, who
will do much at farming the coming season
This town is situated eighty miles from
Sacramento, ma northeast course, six or sew
ca miles from the Yuba river, This river is
about rs large a. Black River, in Coventry,
AlRrysvillc lies forty miles from this place, on
the Sacramento kycr, near the mouth of The
Feather River. The weather is such that
the roads are actually better for tcamstcrs
than last summer, when the deep dust in ma
nv places, was dreadful; and the consequence
is thatall kinds Of provisions have continued
"a grow cheaper We can now buy -four
here for thirteen cents, and potatoes for four
teon cents per pound, when two months ago
they were % OF 20 cents, aud other things
accordingly, This town j. prodigy, and if
IL was situated in any of the New England
States it would bc one of the greatest curioS-
itics in the world. IL contains, including all
within three miles Gifts centre, probably Sow
On or eight thousand inhabitants, about half
of which are miners, and, the rest traders,
gamblers, aud hawkcrs of all sorts. Society
j. far from the best There is usually one
meeting on the Sabbath when but few attend.
There is but little mining done on that day,
Al. l.. Il. a a.
gambling burning gnnpowdcr, and drinking,
with all It's attendant evils Murders are fire.
quont all through the country. In this place
there has been murder nearly every week
for the past six months. The last hut one,
was two'wccks from last Sunday evening, by
one Bcss. a Missourian. lie had been n
Methodist preacher, figured some in politics,
then negro trader, aud is nowa wiful muir
,dcrcr. He is in Mary3yille, awaiting his tr-
al, which comes on in March. The court of
inquiry lasted eight days in succession, not
excepting Sunday. lie shot DR.. LcnoN
through the window,as the Doctor was stand
imp sVsthtT' f'iu=tF'F-
There is no question about the vn.t qnun-
tity of gold here but it is not to be obtained
without hard labor and patient perseverance,,
and IL, if,est places n -rpitat sufficient 20
make a man we'll OF at home, Is absolutely in
dspensable. The bars of the rivers and tho
tavines are generally thoroughly worked out,
having been gone over two or three times
The great wealth. without doubt, now lies
in the hills and mountains, which deposits are
Just beginning to bc found out, and are only
wrought at great expense. Much is done in
this place by sinking shafts from 90 10 rs feet
& the bed rock then kiotaing, or drilling oil,
20 work out the claim The gold is found in
gravel of n depth of from to 30 inches on
the bed rock, paying from one dollar TO thirty
and in some instances much more, to the pan
It,ft .g
place, on kiota ridge, in range from east to
west, and about so PAGES in width, The
length is yet unknown, westerly, and has on
" been worked about 200 rods, on account
OF water coming into the holes. 1t cost one
third OF good kiota claim to work it out
and most of the expense must hc incurred be-
fore any return is realized. Thaueands of
holes have been sunk in other places abou
here, besides along near the kiota gold range
without finding the first show of gold Tun.
noling into or under the hills is beginning t.
be adopted in many cases. and in one case
i. ny n company of six from Massachusetts, witt
wonderful success. They accidentally hit up
on n dixie OF clayish gravel about four feet il
thickness, near Deer Creek The gravel paic
them ut first four hits(i0 ccnts) to the pan
and as they worked down increased 10 thirty
dollars to, the single pan. They have run
tunnel into the hill some 200 feet, taking on
the dirt in n little wagon a railroad track
Ihcy are also working another tunnel sixty
feet lower down the depth orthis vein is un
known, bat supposed to be great They have
been at work some six months, and have al
ready made large fortunes. The rush of min
,ers this year will Inc to the north fork of IN.
la and the head waters of Feather River
These mines have been worked little as yet
but enough to prove their exceeding richness
and the few who found them last fall made
their piles in a short time. The humbug sto-
rics about gold lake and gold bluff discoverie.
are not few nor small. The success -iR-the
southern mines the past season has been nc
better than here; and for cmigrdnts TO come
10 California thinking to make a fortune in
one year is all f'in your eye" They had bet.
D." Ter stay at homo if they get only living.
Ll..G.rL H. - Ii