San Andreas independent., 1857-11-21
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENTS.
Trip Through the Mines.
coxTINuEp.1


Mounted on a good nag of the "gentle'
persuasion, selected with great care from
the Livery Stable of Michael Cosgrove,
we took parting "smile" with the Angels
assembled at Brown & Patterson's Saloon,
and sailed out, threading the highways
and by-ways which led to Albany Flat.
The falling leaves and forsaken gulches
empty cabins and uncultivated gardens
all bore a melancholy appearance, fore
bodIng to the newspaper man-as visible
as lettered inscription-"He who enters
here, leaves hope behind" Sunken
bitches and high fumes crossed the road
at sundry points-but no water
At Albany Flat, we found few old
subscribers "gone home" and others gone
to parts unknown. No news, no mining,
and but little apparent energy in the
place. One store, kept by an Italian
two or three families residing in the best
houses, were the only signs of life we
noticed. The little camp-Los AIuertos
we had just passed, manifested greater
signs of prosperity and progress.
CARsoN's CREEK.-The usual general
apathy (and by the way, he is a general
of FIVE years standing in this vicinity
prevails at Carsons Mr.. Carlow, the
village black smith, as usual, ''tells his
quaint stories," while the miners laugh
is ready chorus The shovel, pick and
pan lie rusting by the chimney, and the
paddock hanging listlessly on the cabin
door, is a silent monitor that the vitality
of the mercantile world gold-has ceased
to be proftably extracted from the hills
and gulches around Carsons. The old
hill, once so famed on account of the rich
Meloney quartz claim, is not now worked
When water is plenty, few claims near
the Creek, are worked with tolerable sue
cess. Both Of the quartz-mlls are idle; !;
and no water to even prospect the gulches
Some farming is done; Mr.. A. Fulton
was ploughing in the field, preparing to
put in large crop. Several families re-
side here, and we heard that the editor
of the Sonora Herald speaks very favora-
bly, of the place. The people are opposed
to the New County Scheme, although
some of them are favorably impressed
towards annexation.
From Carsons to Vallecito, is a long
road, over romantic, ell-timbercd coun-
try, without any signs of gold mining,
until near Vallecito The hill south Of
the town is quite steep, and the streets
are SO fenced up, bow-legged, knock
kneed, crooked and contracted, that my
charger became cross-eyed, looking down
on the landscape-plot Of the town The
town of Vallecito has very refreshing
appearance, on account of its fine gardens
and large, vigorous, growing trees and
shrubbery. In DIR. Russell garden. and
others, we noted some superb grape-vines,
rose-bushes, locust trees and all the vari-
cites of foliage usually cultivated, both of
the useful and ornamental. The camp
like all others at this season, is suffer
ing for want of water-a want, which
which will soon be supplied by a ditch
enterprise now on the taps. We could
not procure any mining information, as
the claims are all deep, and but few
worked now. Many families live here,
forty children attend school.
DOUGLASS FLAT-This camp has a
permanence, on account of its agricultural
facilities and convcniences for irrigation.
The mines are deep, very rich and also
extensive-but the number of claims are
quite limited and hard to work The
diggings on the south side of Coyote Creek
were discovered in 1852; first, by COM
pany whose names were John Nicoll,
VIM. Nicoll, j. R. Coe and - Pearce,
on the same ground now owned by the
Texas Company. They were followed by
many others; the only company, however,
that struck gold in 1852, were the one
we have mentioned and the claim adjoin-
ing it on the north. In the spring of
1858, there were some four or five COM
panies at work, with varied success; but
there was not much made during that
year, owing to the great quantity of water
seeping through into the main lead In
the spring of 81 the Lone Star Co., and
Harper & Co., joined together, and cut a
drain from their claims to Coyote Greek,
a distance of about 700 feet in length,
and from thirteen to eighteen feet deep
with an average width of four feet. 1t
was cut in seven weeks by eight men,
and cost $4,000 co. This drain proved
to be of great benefit to the companies
who cut it, but to the one adjoining on
the north it was a positive injury, as
there was spring raised in their claim,
furnishing large sluice stream which
flooded them out The members of this
company were NJ. Towie, Samuel Gillett,
B. Lewis and - Holmes. They tried
various means to get the water from their
claim, first. by pump with horse power,
which they found inadequate, after which
they purchased and erected steam en-
CINE of twelve horsepower, which an
swered for the time, but was found to be
of no use in working the bottom of the
claim; and the water becoming more
troublesome to the other claims, some
four or FIVE companies joined together
and gave a contract to Thomas NJ. Lewis,
VIM. Abraham and Henry Morgan to cut
a tunnel into the claims, low enough to