San Andreas independent., 1857-05-09
Notes of Trip Through the Mines to
the Big Trees of Calaveras.

On Saturday, April 25th, in company with Mr..
A. r Humphrey, we started on a trip to visit the
different mining camps east of this place. The
packages of independents for Lower Calaveritas,
Fourth Crossing, Hawk Eye, Angels, Albany
Flat, Carson's, Los Muertos, Valecito, Doug
lass Flat, and Murphy's, were distributed while
en- route, SO that we not only received famh-
lar greeting, but acquired a fund of information
from each subscriber, which made the visit
doubly interesting. Our room is too limited,
this week, on account of the lengthy proceed
ings of the Big Tree Road Convention to extend
the " notes /" to any great length, but we shall
endeavor to do justice to all, and separate the
wheat from the chaf.
At Lower Calaveritas some few miners were
at work bedrock sluicing and tunneling into
the bank-with what success we could not
learn The place boasts of several families,
fine bridge (Scott's,) two stores, and steep
hill gradually rising above the town, where the
road needs repairing, and our buggy nearly up
set Hawk Eye, the next camp, is a beautiful
place, with level ground and good mining all
around. The Hawk Eye House and store kept
by the proprietor, Mr.. Shell Death, (rather a
queer name to be associated with so much life
and stir as was visible throughout every depart
ment,) is second to no other place on the road.
Among the improvements, we noticed fine
garden, we'll irrigated with running water, and
ornamented with cultivated flowers and shrub
berry, all selected in good taste and planted with
care. From the Hawk Eye there is direct road
to Murphy's, which is not now much travelled
for want Of improvements Continuing on the
road little south of east, down hill, is the
was store, and the headquarters of some Of
the mighty mining interests of the county
fine ranch and house on this side of the stream,
the residence ofCapt. Thorp, and the old forty
nine cabin on the other side, is all that now re-
mains; what acas the Tiber once, is Goose
Creek now, all the water being lifted out of
the river for mining purposes. Miners were at
work all along the road, some in tunnels, others
washing up the tailings and surface. Rising the
hill, we soon came to the forks of the road near
Winters Quartz lead, which is supposed to be
a boundary" of Angels. The forks winter
tom is improving rapidly, long, straight street,
one hundred feet wide, has been laid out, and
buildings are going up; one very fine cut stone
two-story building, is now finished. Mr. I. j.
Frazier is building fence all along the road,
which looked little like s9uatter sovereign
ty," taking I" a southern view " from the road
The steam Quartz Mills of Messrs Fretz & Co..
kept up such nail-mill clatter, as they stamped
and thumped the skeleton gold out of the white
quartz, that it was almost dealening. The
Quartz Mills of Messrs. Winters, Hill, Mault-
man and others, were below the road, and we
did not visit them. The steam Quartz Mill of
Messrs. Brodie & Co, has just been completed,
and is successful in working machinery, while
the yield of gold from the lode meets the most
sanguine expectations of the enterprising pro-
or mule power, were circling south of the road.
All these mills are doing fair business, and
some are yielding immense fortunes to their
owners. Some of the quartz from the vein of
Mr.. A. P. Bouton, was shown us at Angels, by
Mr.. w. w. Easton which were exceedingly
rich, but not so large as the specimens f" on
exhibition at the store of Messrs. E. & G. Stick
les, taken from their claim near town.
The town of Angels is one of the most per-
manent in that section Of the county, and boasts
of many fire-proof buildings, several of which
are two story, and of cut stone, as is Lakes
Hotel, Stickles Store, Odd Fellows Hall, and
others. More arc contracted for, and will 90
up during the present summer. Mr. l. Hinzman,
the Stove and Hardware Dealer, is now prepar-
ing to build anew ire-proof store Angels has
the advantage of central location, good water,
and one of the finest and best kept schools in
the county.
From Angels to Albany Flat it is but a short
distance-yet as there was so much mining, and
the road had not been travelled by us since 40,
it appeared wonderful long, so much was to be
seen on the way. The Flat is we'll work ed out,
and as there is but little hill diggings in the vi
cinity, it must I" cave;" however, gardens are
sp-inging up in every direction, and as mining
gives out the water is used for irrigation, and
in most cases, with proit to the operator From
Albany Flat to Carson's Greek, is long dis
tance where but little mining has been done,
yet the ground is improved and planted-but
the grain is very short and "yallcr," too much
so for any prospect of an average crop. Last
year those same fields produced excellent crops,
so we were informed. The potatoes and other
vegetables planted along the creek, appeared
healthy and we'll cultivated.
Carson's Greek, place rendered almost fab
ulous on account of the rich gold bearing quartz
once struck in the Meloney lode, is about the
dullest and most woe-begone place in the coun-
ty. The miners are principally working in
quartz on the Hill, while others are improving
ranches and other property around the camp