Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-07-17
CALIFORNIA CORRESPONDENCE.

SAN fRANCIsCOf JuLe ~ Ao'S-
EprroR OF LEADER The gold discoveries
made some months ago, on Frazer's River and
It tributaries. located, as you are aware, IN the
British possessions and near their southern
boundary, are causing a tremendous excite
rnent throughout this State. Already (and ex-
Guiding those who leave on the steamer to-day
about nine thousand men, mostly miners, have
left California for the new diggings, and they
continue to leave at the rate now Of about 3OOO
p.r week. OF the existence Of gold IN large
quantities in the Rew diggings, there can no"
be scarcely doubt, bat of the extent OF the
mining region at the North, we have yet no
definite information Frazer River is about 700
miles long, and it has many trioutanes' but
the waters are now so high, and the difficulties
of navigation SO great, and withal, the Indians
in that region are so numerous and bold, most
of them being provided with British muskets'
and having been taught by the Hudson's Bay
C,mpauy to look upon the - BOstons" as OF no
a count. that as yet but little has been done IN
the way of prospecting. Then again the pre-
tensions of the Hudson's Bay Company arc a
serious drawback to American enterprise IN
that quarter The Company claims the exelu-
sive monopoly, not only of the Indian tra1e,but
also of the trade with the Whites. Miners are
permitted, on obtaining license, TO take up their
tools and provisions for their own private use,
agreeing not to trade with the Indians All
boats going up the river are required to obtain
clearance at Victoria, and these regulations
are elIf',---l LIZ the presence Of British man
of-war, stationed at the mouth of the river
The policy of Governor Douglas has been to
discourage emigration from California as much
as possible, until the arrival of British regi-
ment from England, which he has sent for,
upon the arrival of which, he will be prepared
to enforce such regulations as may from time
to time be adopted for the government of the
new mines Governor Douglas has visited the
mining localities, and commissioned magistra.
| from among the miners themselves, and has
given out that the regulations of the company
will henceforth be enforced at all hazards.
Yesterday received letter from friend who
had gone TO the new El Dorado, which confirms
tue accounts of the richness of these new mines.
The steamer which came down from there yes
ter1ay only brought back fourteen passengers,
which to my mind Is the best evidence that the
immense thrOng who have gone there are sat
istied with the prospect before them. All ac-
counts unite in saying that the mining season
will not commence before the middle Of july,
owing to the high stage of water in the rivers
/ This exodus from our Stale to the North is no
evidence that gold is becoming scarce in Cali
fornia, for probably there never was period Of
equal duration when more gold was taken out
/ in our State than during the first four months
| of the present wear. You often hear old miners
sighing for the paimy days Of 1919, and the in
| ference a stranger would draw from this would
be that the mines were gradually becoming ex-
hausted. In Is49, only the placer diggings
were worked. Then, when the gold
was found on and near the surface, no
capital was required for successful mining
operations. A shovel and pick and rocker or
long tom were all the implements necessary to
strike in and get his share of the precious ore
Nov, however, the surface diggings where
there is water, have been pretty much worked
over in this State, and the hill diggings involve
heavy outlays in mining tunnels hundreds of
feet INTO the hills, oftentimes cutting through
rock so hard that by working day and night, as
miners often do, but few inches progress are
made in twenty-four hours; and in quarts mi
ming, still heavier Ouilays are often times re-
quired, so that the business of mining success
fully in California, now requires capital The
miner without capital therefore regards lS49
as the halcyon days of gold digging, and he
now looks eagerly towards Frazer's River as
the spot where he IS 10 be compensated for his
tolls, pTivations and dangers in search Of gold.
The immediate and alternate result of this
stampede Of ''the bone and sinew' from the
workshops, the farms and mines of our State, Is
the theme which engrosses the attention Of all
who remain behind San Francisco has thus
far suffered less than her sister towns in the in
terror, and yet here the business of all those,
not engaged In hotel keeping OF sending mi
ners implements and clothing, has fallen off
very perceptibly. Real estate transactions have
pretty much ceased. Merchants in the interior
are buying but few goods, and are very slow in
settling up the old scores. Wages have gone
up all over the State The ditch companies
are suffering perhaps the most, while the effect
upon all business enterprises where labor Is
employed, must be more or less DISASTROUS
The receipts of dust in the mint have fallen off
during the first two weeks of the present month
as compared with the corresponding period in
May, about 100000. All Of the stages and
steamers from the interior come down loaded
with miners en- route for Frazer's River, and
the Hotels of San Francisco are crowded with
them If the news from the new mines con-
tinues favorable, there viii probably be large
emigration from the United States, Canada,
England and Australia to the Northwest coast
during the coming year San Franciscans be-
gin to fear that this city may find rival in
some of the new cities springing up in Puget
Sound, particularly as the British Government
has already taken steps towards a survey of
the territory to ascertain the practicability Of
a railroad from Canada to the Pacific. | have
no doubt myself but that the British will have
railroad TO the Pacific before we shall have
one, If the gold discoveries in their territory
prove extensive, because the extension of the
Russian power into Asia, and the immense for
tifcations which the AutOcrat is constructing
at the mouth Of the Amoor river, with the
evident design of building up naval power on
the Pacific, make such road necessary for the
safety Of their possessions on this coast, while
still stronger inducement 10 build it, would be
desire to draw through their territory the i'm
mense commerce of Asia.
One Of the good results, anticipated from the
gold fever raging throughout our Stzte,is the es-
Enlistment Of another line of stesmers between
San Francisco and New York. II this excite
Inent continues we must have greater facilities
for reaching California, otherwise the State
viii become depOpulated. Some half dozen
Ocean steamers, which have been lying idle in
this HarbOr since the Nicaragua line was aban-
doned, are now running between this port and
Frazer River, and the crowds which they are
carrying away exceed anything l have ever
witnessed in the way Of Ocean trade, for nearly |
one half Of the tickets sold are without berths
the passage being short one. not exceeding |
ave or SIX days. The old-fashioned rocker had |
pretty much disappeared, only a few being seen
in the possession of Cinnamon, but now the city |