Mariposa Democrat., 1857-10-08
HOPING FOR WATER.

HOPING FOR WATER.
FRANKLIN, the philosopher, patriot and ge-
MUS, has said, and how truthfully all can testify
whose years have numbered half the allotted
time of man, that " He who lives on hope, will
die fasting;" but had he lived in our day and
generation, he would have paused ere he had
uttered this axiom-for in these days of spec
uaton and trade, Grade, too, not confined ex-
clusively to warehouse merchandise,) we find
that men lire on hope. The ever-receding, and
ever-distant prospect of something beneficial
in the misty future has sufiiced, apparently, to
supply all present requirements of some of our
people here, until frution would seem to be
but myth-a will o the wisp'-and Hope has
become the companion of apathy and discon-
tent. And why is this? Is it because the
people cannot help themselves? Assuredly
not; for their great reliance always has been,
and must ever be, ultimately, in all great un-
dcrtakings, in themselves. Why, then, truce
to procrastination Of what value are the
promises of assistance now made by supposed
capitalists, more than those made by them
for more than two years past? Have we not
heard during all that time that benefits in
Vulnerable would be ours, through the assist
ance of certain parties, who were preparing to
commence, and who could, (by their accoun)
control capital? Promises, which faded away
and blended into others, fated to disappear in
their turn. Too long have we waited for 9TH
ers-it now becomes our duty to exert our
selves 1t may be said, that we have not the
necessary means-that outside assistance must
be obtain ,d-and that steps have been taken
to secure it. If we have not available means
in this county, necessary to prosecute the work
to a successful issue, then funds can be OBJ
tanned we feel confident by active exertion on
the part of the projectors long before the par
ticular help hoped and looked for will arrive,
The lines for two Canals, from two points on
the Merced river, have been decided on, both
of which are practicable, will bring large
quantity of water into our rich mining dis
tricts, which are one vast network of quartz
lodes; and the whole community of miners in
the southern mines are waiting with anxiety the
happy moment to begin their fortunes anew
and then, indeed, will our hills and pacers
TEEN with busy life, developing wealth such as
has never yet been equaled, even in this land
of golden hopes. Such is now our position
the position of mining section confessedly the
richest in California.
Then why, we ask, with these bright pros
poets before us, can we not act irrespective of
the promises of those who, perhaps, if the
truth were known, are far more in need Of
assistance than ourselves Cannot every
man who wishes to put out sum of money,
however small at interest, see that in less than
one year his money, if invested in these enter
prises will yield him a far greater revenue
than could possibly accrue from any ordinary
investments Can they not see that every hill
is covered with quartz, and every valley bears
in profusion the precious metal, an immense
amount of which will be reaped by those who
first supply the water? We are confident,
and we think that all who know our resour-
ces will endorse the opinion-that when the
first canal has developed the contents of the
ground of the section through which it runs,
and the revenue will be such as to astound the
most sangune, then canals will be cut to all
parts of this vast mineral region, water will be
plenty, and competition will arise, to cheaper
the great necessary; but to the first Canal
Company will flow the cream of the profits to
accrue from this vastly lucrative enterprise
And another point, which should enhance the
value of such an investment with men of re-
Election, is, that the question will be, not twill
the water be all used ?" but the reverse . can
we supply the demand ?" for it is questionable,
large as the quantity of water will be, even
after turning the entire Merced river into this
region, whether the remote mining points
in this vicinity could be supplied, as it would
probably be exhausted before reaching them
We do not, at this time, feel called upon to
propose method by which our anxious hopes
will soon be realized, but we feel that such a
plan can be proposed and successfully prose-
cuted, by those having the works under their
control, without waiting the humiliation of
vain hopes founded on sinister promises And
remember, that the gods help those who help
themselves" 1t is our humble opinion that
If the people here are ever blessed with suf-
ficency of water, they will owe it to their own
exertions.