San Andreas independent., 1858-03-27
Mines and Mining-Past, Present and
Future.
FRENCH GuLcH, March 25th, 1s5

Future.
FRENCH GuLcH, March 25th, 1858.
Mr.. Editor Have the flush times of mining
passed away2 Ask '49er and he is sure to
answer, yes, the mines are worked out they
are not worth shucks He believes it, too.-
His memory carries him back to the time when
he went out in the morning with his pick and
pan, and considered himself in bad luck if he
could not count the proceeds of his davis la.
Dor by ounces in the evening. He has seen
the pan give place to the rocker; which, in
its turn gave way to the long tom; after that,
the sluice, and finally the bedrock fume and
the hydraulic process. He has seen plan after
plan adopted to make the greater quantity of
earth washed make up for the growing search
ty of the gold. He sees that the American is
gradually abandoning the long tom and the
sluce to the Chinaman and the Mexican, who.
in their turn, are obliged to abandon the
rocker and the battea. 1t requires but little
penetration to see that placer mining becomes,
rs business, more precarious every day
Looking at mining in California as the 49er
regards it-comparing our own present with
our own past-it would appear that it has
Seen its palmiest days: at least, so far as the
individual miner is concerned but five Judge
it comparatively with any similar business in
any other country on the globe-and perhaps
this is the true point of view-we will think
that it may still be a long time before mining
in California reaches its eliminating point in
.he amount of gold produced. California has
now been pretty thoroughly prospected, and it
can hardly be expected that any new placer
diggings of any extent or richness, will be dis
covered. The question then arises what is the
prospective value of the mines as source of
rcmunerative employment. 1t would be very
difficult one to answer or even TO guess at
From our own experience, as practical mi
ner, for the last three or four years, we would
infer that surface, gulch and creek diggings
are pretty well exhausted, and that would be
the rule, with the exception of those places
and they are not very numerous--where water
has not as yet been introduced. There are
also large quantities of ground to work and
re-work, which will pay, when water and the
means of living are cheaper than at present
what in any other country than California,
would be considered very fair wages.
The hill claims, worked by hyraulic wash
ing and tunnels, are, perhaps, the best paying
claims, and will last longer than any Others
except quartz. Many years must elapse be-
fore hill mining reaches the level of the gulch
and surface mining of to-day. Whilst the
them and their generally greater richness,
have been for many years back the principal
mining ground, the former cannot be said to
be more than fairly commenced. River mi
ming, on account of the shortness of the sea-
sons for working, which prevents it from be-
ing as tcnaciously followed as the others must,
also, yield large returns for a long period to
come.
But it is quartz which promises to become
the permanent feature of mining in California
1t is rapidly recovering from the reaction
caused by the failure of the rash and foolish
specuations of an early period in our history
For a long time afterwards quartz mining was
as rather chimerical, and people shook
their heads when it was introduced as a SUBJ
Ject of conversation; but rich and inexhausti-
BILE veins are now being worked in every part
of the State. Some of them are almost fabu-
lously rich, and new discoveries are being
made nearly every day Arastras and steam
mills are being put up on every side, though
the chances of the individual miner for sue
cess are diminishing, yet mining must still be
said to be, on the whole, in progressive state.
QUIEN SABE.