Los Angeles daily herald., 1873-12-03
GOLD IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.
The San Gabriel Mining District.

GOLD IN Los ANGELES COUNTY.
The San Gabriel mining District.
Los Angeles county, famed far and
wide for Its orange groves and vine-
yards, its magnificent valleys, and
great agricultural resources, has not
received the credit for Its mineral re-
sources to which 1t is entitled. That
this neglect may be remedied, We
have lately caused thorough exam
ination to be made of the mines of
this coanty by special reporter, with
the intention Of giving our mining IN
terests thy prominence. they deserve,
and herewith present the first result
of his Investigations. the field chosen
being
THE SAN GABRIEL MINING DISTRICT.
The cafion of the San Gabriel river,
In which are located the principal gold
mines of this section Of the State, is
in the Sierra Madre mountains, in
the eastern part of the county. The
mouth of the canon is about twenty
miles from Los Angeles, and the gold
Is found In the bed of the river, and in
gravel beds along both sides of the
cafion for distance Of nearly thirty
five miles.
The first discovery of gold of which
we have any account, was made by
Captain Hanniger, citizen of San
Gabriel Mission, where he still lives.
The principal deposits were found in
the Immense gravel beds along the
sides Of the cafion, in some places at
the waters edge, and in Others as
much as four hundred feet above, left
there when it was rushing torrent
many times its present size. AS soon
as the existence of gold in paying
quantities was fully established, there
was the usual rush of miners, and in
the following year of 1859, the caf1on
presented a busy scene, not less than
six hundred men being busily employ
ed, digging out the precious ore. A few
of the miners worked in the river bed,
none of them however doing more
than to turn over the surface gravel,
while the great bulk of the force devO-
/ ted their time to the gravel hills along
the sides of the caiion. These were
usually worked by drifting or tunnel
ing, the pay dirt being wheeled out to
the mouth of the tunnel and dumped
down the hillside to the waters edge,
where 1t was afterwards washed out.
During this time we believe one small
ditch.was constructed, and little was
done at ground-sluicing, but the great
bulk of the miners were inexperienced
hands, and worked with the primitive
appliances then in use. The busy
DAYS of these mines continued till the
winter of 1863, when the small pOX
broke ont and ragged with unusual ma
lignity among the miners. OF course
every one left that was able to get
away, and about this time the Arizona
discoveries having excited public at
tention to the greatest pitch, the canon
was practically deserted. While no
large fortunes were acquired in these
mines, it is doubtful whether, in any
other locality on the coast, the returns
were more uniformly certain and sat-
isfactory, the miners almost always
making fair wages. There are no
means at hand of ascertaining the
Weld of the mines during these four
or five years, but from the meagre fig
ures attainable, it is known that sew
eral millions of treasure were taken
out, over two millions of dollars hav-
ing passed through the hands of Los
Angeles dealers alone.
For some years after the desertion of
the cahon in 1868, the mines were un-
worked save at intervals by few
Mexicans, who would dig out little
gold, and then descend into the valley
to expend their gains.
THE REVIVAL OF INTEREST
dates from the fall of 1870, and is due
to the enterprise of our own citizens.
On the 7th of October in that year w.
w. Woodman located claim, and
finding that the records of the old
mining district were destroyed, and
the district itself entirely abandoned,
organized the present San Gabriel dis
trict. The mines had been previously
reached by pack trail, during the dry
season following the caflon, and in the
winter through the mountains, all the
supplies being taken in on mules. Re-
cognizing the necessity Of better means
of communication, Mr.. WOOdman be-
gan the construction Of wagon road,
and in short time succeeded SO far as
to make 1t possible to transport lum-
Der up the cafion, for use in improving
his claim. About this time Mr.. Wood
man associated with him VIM. Fergu-
son, G. &. Higbie and II. Crow, of this
nd f~p Nol khrG Gov Goh ~
Ing Company; and on the first of jan
uary, 1871, they began the construc-
tion Of their ditch. The following
spring, Henry Roberts, also an old cit
izen Of the county, and miner in '63,
began the improvement of his claim,
getting his hydraulic works in opera
ton in December, 1871. Roberts also
expended some labor and funds on the
wagon road, putting 1t in pretty good
shape for some 20 miles.
THE PRINCIPAL CLAIMS
now worked are six in number, viz:
Patterson & Hawley, containing 80
acres; Galley & Co., 40; Roberts & Mat
aeld, so; San Gabriel Mining Co., 100;
Baker & Austin, so, and the North
Fork, 40 acres. All these claims are
worked by the hydraulic process, the
ditches varying from two and half to
three and q half miles long-except
the North Fork ditch, which is six
miles long-and costing from $4,000
to $4,000 each. Work is not being
pushed with much vigor, the mines
having been bonded to Messrs. Buell. l.
Bateman, of San Francisco, for sale in
England.
Mr.. ROBERTS