The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1880-11-18

able, heavier than silver, and in oil re-
| spects resembled gold. About 4 o'clock
IN the evening Marshall exhibited his
md to the circle composing the mill
company laborers. Their names were
James w. Marshall, z. L. WINNER, Mrs.
WINNER, James Barger, Ira Willis, Sgd
ney Willis, Alexander Stephens, James
Brown, Ezkiah Persons, Henry Bigler,
Israel Smith, William johnson, George
Evans, Charles Bennett and William
Scott. The conference resulted in the
rejection of the idea that it was gold.
Mrs. WINNER tested it by boiling it in
strong lye. Marshall afterward tested
1T with nitric acid. It was gold. sure
enough, and the discoverer found its
Like in all the surrounding gulches
wherever he dug for it. The secret could
not be long kept. It was known at
Yerba Buena three months after the dis
covery, and the two printers above men,
toned put this slight notice of it in their
weekly paper, The Californian, on the
10th of April:
New GOLD MINE.-It is stated that O new
gold mine has been discovered OH the American
Fork OF the Sacramento, supposed to be Git was
noD OH the land Of William A. Ledesdorff,
Esq, Of this place. A specimen Of the gold
has been exhibited, and is represented to be
very pure.
May opened with accounts of new dis
coveries. The Californian of May 3
said: "Seven men, with picks and
spades, gathered 81, 600 worth in fifteen
days" That was little more than $15
per day per man. On the 18th of MAY
the same paper said: "Many persons
have already left the coast for the dig
gings. Considerable excitement exists
here. Merchants and mechanics ore
closing doors. Lawyers and alcaldes
are leaving their desks, farmers are
neglecting their crops and whole families
are forsaking their homes for the dig
gings. BY May "a gold dust had be-
come an article of merchandise, the
price being from $14 to $16 per ounce,
The Californian of that date had these
advertisements
GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!
Cash will be paid for California gold by
II. II. BUcKALEw,
Matchmaker and Jcwoler, San Francisco.
GOLD GOLD! GOLD!
Messrs. Dickson d Hay are purchasers of
Sacramento gold. liberal price given.
BEE HIVE.
On the Goth of May the Californian,
issued slip stating that it's further pub
hcatlon, for the present, would cease.
because nearly all its patrons had gone
to the mines. A month later there
were but five persons-women and chill
dren-left in Yerba Buena The first
rush was for Suffers Mill, since chris
tened Coloma, or Culluma after tribe
OF indians who lived in that region.
From there they scattered in all direc-
tlons. A large stream of them went
over to Weber creek, which empties into
the American some ten or twelve miles
below Coloma. Others went up or
down the river. Some, more adventur-
Gus, crossed the ridge over to the north
and middle forks Of the American. By
the close of June the discoveries had
extended to all the forks of the Ameri-
can, Weber creek, Hangtown creek, the
Cosumnes Qknown then rs the Mako
sume), the Mokelumna, Tuolumne, the
4uba from uvas, or yuvas-grape),
called in 1848 the "Yubn," or "Aiuba,"
and Feather river. On July Is the edi-
tor of the Californian returned and is
sued the first number of his paper after
it's suspension. It contained a descrip-
tion of the mines from personal observa-
ton. He said
The country from the Ajuba (Yuba)
to the San Joaquin, q distance of about
12O miles, and from the base toward the
summit of the mountains, as far as Snow
hill (meaning Nevada), about seventy
miles, has been explored and gold found
on every part There are now probably
5000 people, including Indians, engaged
in collecting gold. The amount collect
ed by each man ranges from $40 to $3.50
per day. The publisher of this paper
collected with the aid of ashovel, pick and
attn pan, from$ $44 to $l28 per day-aver-
aging.$100. The gross amount collected
may exceed $500, 900, of which amount
our merchants have received $3.50, 600, all
for goods, and in eight weeks. The larg-
est piece known to be found weighs
eight pounds"
On the 18th of August the number of
white miners was estimated at 1000.
Many of them were of Stephenson's regi.
ment and the disbanded Mormon battal-
ion. The Californian remarked on that
day that "when a man with his pan or
basket does not average $50 to $40 per
day, he moves to another place" Four
thousand ounces day was the estimated
| production of the mines five months
after the secret leaked out. In April the
price of -four here was 81 per hundred :;
in August it had risen to $l6. ALI other
subsistence supplies rose in the same
proportion. Here is part of letter from
Sonoma, to the CahfOTnta0. Aug. IA:
~ have heard from one of our citizens
who has been at the placers only few
weeks and collected $1,000, still averag-
ing 800 day. Another, who shut up
his hotel here some five or six weeks
since, has returned with 50, 200, collected
with spade, pick and Indian basket. A
man and his wife and boy collected $500
in one day."
| Sam proYno,, 1o:l o1o;,>o b