Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1858-08-07
Tue GOLD MINES ON FRAZIER
RIVER.

NA"A 49, az
prosperity. All the lessons taught by
history will not suffice to check the des-
ire to obtain gold, even at the expense
of honor. reputation and health. The
fact that Spain when suffering from the
fever called FL Dorado had grandees in
ragged velvet robes, who sat down to
feast their eyes on their golden dishes,
while their poor stomachs craved that
the gold might be hidden by substantial
viands, will not serve for a moral any
more than then.
The last agony is the Frazer River
gold mines. \ correspondent ofthe San
Francisco Bulletin, writing from Port
Townsend, w. T., on the 18th ult.,; gives
the following particulars:
Mr.. Furness came down from Hills
Bar, with over $50 in gold dust, the pro-
duct of four weeks work-besides hav-
ing sold his claim at a good price, He
told me that the river had risen over two
feet there, and the miners were working
in the bank, making good wages even
there. x * X *
"Iwent on up to Fort Yale in the
morning, and found a great commotion.
The Indians were coming down the IL
yer iii great numbers; but through Mr..
Allard-the Hudson's Bay Company's
agent at Fort Yalc-they were pacifed
partly, and when came down the men
were at work on the bars.
1.-THE water was high, but still almost
all were at work. At Fort Yale they
were making from IS to S., right in the
bank. At Hill's Bar all reported good
dirt. Mr.. Joseph Morgan, whose claim
was on the lower end of the bar, was
averaging from So to $40 per day. The
Claims above his were paying better
up to $50
"Mr. Hill came down with me on his
way to Olympia. He had been four
weeks at work on the bar, which is
known by his name, and Averaged $50
per day for that time. He intends re-
turning as Don as the water commences
falling, going down meanwhile to set
tie up some business affairs
"a party Of five who were mining
some IS miles above the Fork. and who
came down in the Surprise, for provls-
ions, averaged from $40 to $25 per day.
1t being impossible to get anything up
the river until the water falls, they had
to come down.
"There are no men now working on
Thompson river, the Indians there not
permitting any one to so up. The gold
Of Thompson river is known to be coar-
ser than that on Frazer above the Forks"
Another writer, dating his letter from
Victoria, w. T., June 18th states:
There is no doubt Of the quantity of
gold. Every miner | spoke to told me
the same story; that the country was
richer than the richestparts ofCalifornia.
All were making wages even at this
time, when the river is at its highest.
When I left, provisions were plentiful
at Fort Langley, and since we have re-
turned, a fresh supply has been forward
ed to that place.
The editor of the Sacramento Union
had conversed with a young man of that
city, named Mc1nttre, who has returned
from the mines with specimens Of the
Frazer River gold. He says:
The gold is very similar to the fine
gold on the American, Yuba and Gala
yeras rivers, and has a coppery appear
ance. Mcintyre prospected considera-
ble, but did not work steady for a long
time. The best pay he and two others
got for a days work was seven ounces.
In his prospecting Of several bars. which
he generally found large, he uniformity
got from three to four cents a pan. He
found no gold in the ~rayines or gnlches;
was in the country about a month, and
say the Indians are the most accomplish
ed thieves in the world and ready to
fight on the slightest occasion. He
adds, further, that the miners had paid
no license, and had told Governor Doug-I
las, when he was up the river, that they
should not until they were protected, in
which conclusion he was pleased to ac-
qu'esee
There are drawbacks, however, in the
way besides the Indians. for the climate
is extremely variable, and the transit
tons from heat to cold are sudden. An
employee of the Hudson Bay Company,
in a work published a few years ago,
state :
at (the climate) is very variable, and
the transitions are though periodically
regular, remarkably sudden, if not vio-
lent. During the spring, which lasts
from April till June, the weatherand the
face of the country are delightful. In
June, there are almost ineessant rains,
drifted furionsly along by strong south
wind. In July and August, the heat is
intense, and the ground, previously sat
urated with moisture, produce myriads
of annoying flies and insects. The heat
and glaring sunshine are succeeded in
September by fogs of such palpab1e