Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-04-24
AN OLD GoLp.BEARING RIVER BED.


stop and look at the map of our back
country. Observe the high range of
mountains lying northeast of Los An
geles. The letter n in the word Cali
folnia is on the mountain referred to.
Running along the backbone of this
mountain is an ancient river bed filled
with gravel rich in gold. This river
must have had its source far to the
northeast of Los Angeles. 1t ran
nearly west along the present range of
mountains and emptied into the ocean
somwhere between Santa Barbara and
San Luis Obispo. The entire distance
indicated, gold is found in the gravel
bed of this old river. We call atten-
ton to the following class of facts,
which, we think, goes far to establish
our theory. In Holcomb Valley min
ing district, about sixty-five miles
north of San Bernardino, also north
and east Of this mining district, are
rich placerdiggings containing great
deal of coarse. gold; also the placers
show fragments of gold and quartz
still united. In this region last re-
ferred to, are extensive gold-bearing
quartz lodges. These lodges are now
being worked, and many of them are
exceedingly rich in fine gold. Pro-
ceeding westward thirty miles from
this mining region along the old river
channel, which is now filled with
gravel, we reach point where Lyttle
Creek cuts it in two. At this place
hydraulic mining is now, and has been
for years, carried on. Hundreds of
thousands of dollars have been taken
out of this old river bed at the Lyttle
Creek mines. At this place the gold
is not quite so coarse as in Holcomb
valley; neither isthere found so much
gold and quartz attached. The waters
of the old river carrying the gold
stream has worn it smaller, and the
incessant pounding and grinding of
the gravel has broken out most of the
quartz. Going still farther west forty
miles we find that every mountain ra-
vine which cuts down into the gravel
bed contains fine gold. This contin-
ues past Cucamongo and to the San
Gabriel river. This river cuts down
across the range of mountains and cuts
the old river bed at right angles. Here
mining has been carried on for nearly
half century. Here the first Cali
fornia gold was discovered, while SUIT
ter was boy, and long before ne left
his Eastern home for California. At
this place the gold is much finer and
entirely free from quartz, showing
that it is farther down stream. Large
companies are here mining with hy-
draulic pipes. individuals are also
using sluices. Pockets containing as
high as five hundred dollars in sim
gle crevice have been found. Proceed
ing westerly some ten miles we reach
the Arroyo Seco. This stream heads
up in the mountains and cuts across
the cid river bed at right angles.
There has never been any extensive
mining in this cation. The gravel bed
has been prospected, as also the stream
below the gravel. Gold is found
throughout the gravel, but it is quite
fine. Were the gravel bed worked
down to the bedrock, coarse gold
would be found. A large number of
small cafIons run down from the
mountains and cut more or less into
this gravel bed in the next section of
twenty miles west Of Arroyo Seco.
One of these, the "Caflon del Oro,"
(cafion Of gold) near San Fernando
Mission, has been worked by Next
cans for many years for gold. They
make fair wages, using rough sluice
boxes.
From the Mission of San Fer
nando, indicated on our map
as the point to which the rail-
road is completed northwest of Los
Angeles, or west toward Santa Bar
bara and San Luis Obispo, the chan
mel of the old river bed is not SO we'll
known. No streams seem to cut
across it, and the want of water has
prevented much prospecting. The old
river probably made a bend towards
the north, at distace of thirty miles
crossing Soledad cation, and the next
cafIon north of it, in both of which
places mining is now carried on. In
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo
counties, which are over two hundred
miles by the old river course west of
Holcomb valley, the only gold found
is flour or fine dust gold.
Gold originally is found in quartz or
some gold-bearing stone called ma
trix. AS this matrix is broken ordecom-
posed, the gold is loosened and carried
down by the action of the water into
streams and rivers. The coarse heavy
gold is carried the shortest distance
from the source. Also some of the
quartz remains attached to the gold.
Further down stream the pounding of
pebbles, gravel and stones breaks the
quartz, batters the gold and leaves it
free from quartz. At great distances
from the source of the gold, nothing
but fine gold is carried by the water.
Hence we may easily trace the course
of any old river bed carrying gold.
From the foregoing facts, known to
al l.