Mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado Co., Cal.) 1854-1860, 1858-09-18

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The following curious iSeidsns g
the month Of May, 1S40, at . amlnizR
then known as CArEQp'9 creslr IN
StanislauS, and was Witnesssd 6y sna45 - e
gentlemen, some Of who's aGS ~ In
or near this city, and whoNill n6adllt
to the truth Of the statements hsrsim CO.,
taincd.
At the period above mentioned, thefx ASsS
perhaps seventy or eighty miners at'w0tk e3
that place, which was an exCeediuglH. vseA
mining locality-a claim not being cont deqsa
worth working unless 1t yielded at Iesst GoR
one to two ounces per day to the hand, while
some men were regularly taking cot three -
four times that amount daily. Thsss1WeE8
surface dggings" of course. for then pes
thing was known tho "science Of mining"
as it is done nowadays, with hydraulics and
sluiccs, tunnels and shafts, coy'ttalng, &;
nor did the Oldest and most experlenSsd nj
ner dream that gold could be obtained lany-
where elsc than in the beds Of the rivers
and creeks. The man would have been
laughed at heartily, or thought demented, who
bad dared TO venture the snppositlnn tlae
even al some remote period huge mountsins
would be washed away by the adv0ntnfOus
miners, and tunnels, Of thousands Of feet In
length, run into the very hart Of the Siefrxe
in search Of the precious metal %" ae1'i
But to our story. Among the miners At the
creek before mentioned, was an old man xhd
had been there some months, and who; II wSs
generally said, had been very successfuls-
Many wondered what he did with his gold, &c
he was known to be very economical IN his
habits and free from the vice of gambling:
but no ono could tell, though It was generally
thought that he buried it.. That, howeveS,
was only SurmiSe, until one morning when
the whole camp was thrown into state Ofjn.
tense excitement, caused by the old man
rushing wildly about and declaring 10 TIE InOst
frenzicd manner that he had been robbed oe
his gold. The old man was generally liked.
and consequently there was much sympathy
felt, MS well as expressed for him, while ell
present were ready to assist In the recovery Of
his gold, and the punishment Of the robbeT,
II caught. After numerous inquiries Of the
old man, w0s finally asccTtained that he wae
III the habit Of burying his treasures In differ,
ent places; that the amount of which he had
just been robbed, was buried In leAthern
bng at the foot Of a certain tree, and that this
particular bag was entirely flied With lnmpl
gold, specimens, &c. -.t .t H.,
lie then took us to the tree and showed -us
the place where 1t had been concealed, which
was in hole covered by large fat stone.
Upon examining the place very carefully We
discovered quito large gophsr's hole on the
side OF the cavity in which the bag had been
placed. Ono of tho party present then sug-
gestcd that possibly, ttc gopher might htve
pulled the bag into tho hole, whereupon O.
shovel was obtained and this "side drift {"
carefully followed, and after tracing It about
ten or twelve feet, we were greatly astonishedto
find little anle'room, or chamber, Of about
six inches in depth, made in the side Of th6
main road or hole, with neatly O0Ved JSoer
v Jumps Of goM, and the rear Of this extSay.
agantly furnished apartment was found p0eI
tion OF the old mans l6athem bag We had
evidently discovered the den Of robbers bue
where was tho balance OC their plunders fuf
as Yet, We discovered q comparatively bal6h
portion orwhat the bng had originally contains
cd. Following the train Of this subterraneau
robber little further, We came to success
sion Of apartments or inches, and found eaEh
one as regularly and beautifully paved Win
gold rs though it had been done by the hafd
Of man, while in each was nlso found small
piece Of the leathern bag, as if used - lOuhss
or mattress. II is worthy Of remark tl1at nSk
single particle Of gold was found alUiik Tie
line of the main road, bit had all been carried
and carefully deposited h. the side rooms,
which fact was fully established by weikhlH6
the whole amount when collected, and lndin9
that it exactly correspondent with the old
mans account Of what he had in the Tag
But of the robber? Was he caught and pun.
ishcd as he ought to have beene No: bat
while we were cautiously following hiih from
room, to room in his gorgcously furnished don,
he suddenly darted out, and though hptJt
pursued by an cnroged community, made
his escapes +. National