The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1858-07-31

~ g. te I'd va S&s 4
Wy .ey had I'd. 4lK-
" ss II tl,a ros. he 1ine particles. The
average was from TWO 70 "a ounces pei aay Y =
rocker, requiring two me a. the rocker ooAao
sses were much richer VI athers.
lie river continued stes ~sorise.s Already sns
best mining ground. wa merged. Proy,slons
were exorbitantly high, b. II sl0o per Dbl. N
tha nresent stage Of thesrive4 he mines being I'M
der water, ii was difficult to get out gold enough 70
nav for grub at the rates charged for everything. II
I man had provisions to last him till the middle OF
August, Il would be best to stay there and wait for
the faii Of the waters. But to stay there and opt
rub at present rates would not pay. The FOLEY
Are the prevailing rates Of provisions NJ the fats
aour 500 per h6l; sugar 50 perib; coffee a Z sea y
per ID; ham 81 Is perib; and beans II per 10. Ihefe
were no fresh provisions.
The Indians were very troublesome. They would
seize upon the dirt dug by the whites and wash ant
the gold. They would even take tue tools rom lhe
miners. The whites were afraid to resist rs they
would have been overwhelmed by numbers. In five
miantes time, five b4ndred Indians could be gathered
at Hills Bar. These Indians were very expert
thieves. They vi "a steal the pistols from under
the head Of 4 sleeping man, and the very clothes
The country on the river is rich and beautiful
There is plenty of timber. The Indians raise Pota-
toes by Just t~hf,,sting them in the soil with no
spading or attention. There ~ ng use ~ attenpe
ascending without Indian pilots. These cllarge now
"a per day, and all they can. steal. Az first they
could be hired for 4 plug Of tobacco nov they want
besides money, pants, shirts, etc.
Wrs$Wilbuf has shown US q v~eritahle specimen 81
the Z dust n dug by him above Sailors Diggings. IS
il in very fine scales, of a dark red color, as If alleged
with copper, and we can we'll conceive that quick.
silver unnecessary in saving it. 1t viii be reeollectea
that Mr.. Wilbur wrote Il letter on his way up, winch
we published recently I'M the Bulletin.
On Hills Bar. the claims were twenty-five feet
front on the river bank, running back at liberty. Al
the ground was taken upon Hills Bar. Above the
claims were one hundred feet on the river baak.
There are undoubtedly plenty Of bars abeve contain
ing gold. The gold IS only found on the river banks,
and is all fine. With quicksilver, twice as much
gold could be saved, as some of it is as fine as Hour,
almost impereeptible to the eye. There was no
quicksilver to be got. Some had soldfor Sl0 perlb'
Rocker irons were in much dennand-7some having
been sold for $50.
Mr.. Wilbur left two partners up there holding his
clai,ns-one named Albert Wood, and the other VIM.
White. The three are sailors--and they got up as
high on the river as anybady;, Mr.. Wilbur came
down to get supplies, and will return in about a
month, He thinks thatjitis folly for people to 60 up
now they can do nothing until the water falls.
Especially should none 80 without carrying their
supplies of proyisions--the more the better. That
the mines will pay when the water is down, MI,
Wilbur has no doubt. The trouble il to get up the
river. One place between Fort Yale aud Sailors
Digsings, where everything has to be packed. thsy
had to crawl on their hands and knees over a deep
ravine. of 200 feet, upon four sticks, when a single
slip would have pereipitated them to the bottom.
Mr.. w. is an Intelligent young man, well con
nected i'll this city, and what lie says can be relied
upon. He knows us much about the mines as pro
baby any other man does, who has returned. From
Sailors Diggings 1t took him a day and II half to get
down to the mouth Of the river in a canoe--foating
down with the current, without labor. He carnped
4 at Point Roberts a day and a half--and from Point
Roberts he reached Bellingllam Bay in four hours
He remained at Bellingham Bay one week, and sail
ed in the Panama for San. Francisco last Saturday
morning.
At Be!iingham Bay, Mr.. Wilburg left about two
thousand persons camping out. He did not know
how they lived. He supposed they had money to
buy provisions. There was no game there-bui
plenty Of salmon. 1T would be impossible to gel
along without money there. He thinks the Big City
will be located somewhere about Point Roberts.
From the fact that the goldis only founded on thu
river banks, Mr. Wilbur is certain that the gold
bearing country is above. The riyeri Is about a quar-
ter Of q mile in average width. 1t is full OF bars
that are exposed when the waters subside, all o
which must be full of gold. When the freshet i
over, the miners can ascend higher-and the highe
up they go, the richer and coarser the gold appear
to be. Canoes were selling at Fort Langley for on,
hundred dollars each. The Indians were very treaeh
erous, and had to be watched. They would cut til,
. tow line OF canoes they were hired to tow up, ant
sometimes would jump out and desert you when Of
the rocks.
now MUCH MADE a DAY.
: Mr.. Joseph I. Bush says he has been at work tire
e weeks OH Frazer river, near Sailors Bar, dnrin,
~ WllcH tllie Ae iHaue SLH u DAY WIFI d rocker I'LL
;. says there are parties on the river making as mlcl
as si00 a day with rockers. All of those at work
= indeed, were doing well and in good spirits.
# Between Fort Hope. and Sailors Diggings ther
a were, when Mr.. Bush left, about three hundred an,
fifty miners, none of whom were making less thai
q $40 per day, which is far below the average. Onl
/ thilty-five or forty men are at work on Thompson
river. s4H
i Mr.Bush says the mines increase. in richness a
you ascend the river. He comes to ieplenisIl hi
stock, md designs returning as speedily as possible
: Two miners, of Steilacoom, returned from fraze
river in a canoe, after an absence of six week,
e They state that during a low stage of the river the
o made SIS per day each. Four rockers near the,
:, were making from four to nine and a half ounce
: each per day.
Extract of d letter, dated Sailors Diggings, May IL
@Stephen Jedson and partner have not made les
than Sl2 a day, on an average, since they con
e menced. Day before yesterday they made s33 (sl
80 eaeh) and yesterday $3i. John Chapman, wit
: work yesterday. John made at least an ounce
u Downey and Benzer So so each. They found yer
% coarse gold.a
G Some SIS French miners left Whatcom for tn
mines with their packs on their backs.
. A party of five, who were mining some IS mile
: above the Forks. and who come down In the Su,
e prise for provisions, averaged from $50 to SIS re
dry, It being impossible to get anything up til
e river until the water falls, they had to.eome dow
There Is great strife among spectators as I
/ which will be the San Francisco of the North, BIZ
from what | can learn, Bellingham Bay will be I'll
Big City, as all Americans prefer to be ON their ow
soil.
.e A digger at Hills Bar writes:
/" The first two days we averaged $ll each, bt
IF since then we have gone deeper and have got 81
9ou see that 1t cones on increasing, and / egne,
that in low water we shall make $40 or $50 per da
Yesterday | bought two ponds of mercury TO put
II our rocker. | paid at the rate of So per pound TIL
Of is a very high price, but l expect to save enona
more gold by it in'two or three days to pay for it
FRazaR RIVER 0pENEp TO FoRFIssERs.-
Sir L. Bulwer I.ytten, the Colonial Secretar
has sent cut instructions to the Governor
- Vanceuver's Island not to exclude ~fureigne
tie from the Frazer River gold minds,
rs The English Government, however, resery
the right OF the river navigation.
ADy1eE 70 SINGLE MEN.-lf you don't wi
to fall in love, keep away from calico. Y,