San Andreas independent., 1858-02-13

pleasant to the taste, after nights sport
ing with "Minnic riAe," or "forty-rua. 2
On the line is fume IS feet high, and
about $50 yards long. tbs a solid and
durable piece of work, and will last for
ten years--the. scaffolding much longer.
The San Antonio ditch has capacity for
275 inches of water 1t has ample grade,
and costs less, perhaps, to keep it in re-
PAIR than any ditch of ssize in the State.
1t Is taken out of the San Antonio river
some 10 or II miles above this town, and
conducted along the ridge westward, as
far as Railroad Hill, commanding every
claim an both sides of the ridge from
Bunty's Gulch to its terminus.
The air was sharp and bracing, and a
perfectly clear sky, (save one little vixen
OF cloud that frisked about coquettishly
In the eastern sky, as if making love to
the pines of Table Mountain, gave us a
magnificent view of thesurrounding coun-
try-rlver, mountain and valley. We ar
rived in sight of San Antonio about Ii
a. n. As most of your readers know, it
is situated on the San Antonio river,
about onc-fourth of a mile from the point
above which that stream ceased to ''pay."
1t is sometimes ungentlemanly, and very
often discourteous to make remarks about
appearances of things, therefore, for fear
of bringing my substantive self within
the pale of qualifications incident to the
aforesaid adjective, /" discourteous, as to
San Antonio, for the present, sans remark.
We sat dowp-my agreeable companion
and myself-on rock at the top of the
hill which overlooks the place. We looked
down upon the little collection of wooden
tenements below, and memory carried me
straight back to the age of the venerable
Lot; and | thought of the sea of Asphal-
tum-of the ill-starred cities at its bottom.
Not that there was any analogy between
the rickety little thing down there and
the beastly splcndors of Sodam and Go
morrah but rather, that, being oery dry,
we both felt as if the bitter waters of the
Dead Sea would be about as palatable to
our taste as anything its depleted bazarrs
would contain. | remarked to Ned that
"a drink of that clear, cold ditch water
would be very fne," which was falsifi-
cation of my honest sentiments, for !
never thought ,rater every fne," on Just
such an occasion. He replied, (and
shall always remember the sentence with
affectionate regard II think my friend
the italian, Senior Bonincini, has bottle
of natire CaIfornta wine and he
smiled with all the confidence and benign
ity of man who never dreamed of dis
We arose and departed
for the mansion of Senior
Bonincini, in the rue de Bachaniana. The
wine was called for and produced upon a
wooden counter. The Senior kindly and
drew the cork we tasted, and
were happy. If the rcbellious conduct of
Kossuth and Mazzini, results in no other
good, thank God that it has at least sent
to America many people who are able to
instruct our countrymen III thesuperiority
of wine over "rcd-eyc' and Minnie
rife" as drinking beverage.
We visited a newly discovered quartz
ledge about half mile below this place
1t was struck about five or six days since,
by Castilian, in purely accidental man
ner. The first claim located is now owned
by this Castilian, Mr.. VIM. Beattie, and
several Mexicans. They gave me several
specimens of the rock, which are very
rich indeed. The lode is three feet wide,
ten feet from the surface, and enlarsing
as it descends. .n.
Mr.. Conant has the next claim on the
lode to the southeast, and is engaged
working on it. His rock prospects fair,
but not SO well as the Mexicans'. Claims
have already been located on the lode for
about one mile. If it should prove equal
to the expectations of the holders, it will
bring this part of Calaveras once more on
its legs. At present there is no mining
on the river here, but after the spring
freshets subsde, l am told San Antonio
will be a lively camp"
A few days since, Mexican, with more
drops of Aztec than Castilian blood in
his veins, (vulgarly, a " "greaser, ~ picked
up IA ounce piece of pure gold, on
little gulch about one hundred yards above
this place. Being bred to adversity, he
at once went into state of /" liquidation"
and is now rolling round in all the stern
luxury of drunkenness.
On another occasion | shall give you
more items of mining intelligence and
from the "RIDGE."