Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-26

ing it mild) as to gold taken out, but also
as to the condition of the camp, popula-
tion, etc.
Witness the following, published YES
terday morning, by the same re- lie-sble
authority:
ga mining camp affording profitable oc-
cupation for 2, ZOO men doesn't look alto
gether like "fake." The Eastern press.
which so vigorously denounced the early
reports from the Lower California fields,
are religiously silent about the late au-
thentic favorable reports, which makes
it look as though the wish was father to
the thought in their vehement disparage-
ment Of the discovery"
Now, will be willing to bet my
ranch that there is not, never has been,
and don't know but what might add,
never will be 200 men in that camp
True, it does not say there are that mum.
Der there; but you will notice how art
fully it is Notwithstanding profitable
occupation to 200 men. You will see
that it is written in such way that it is
we'll calculated to deceive the very
elect"
We were there just about the time the
population of that camp was at its high
est, say from the 18th to the 20th of
March, and I will again offer to bet,
there never was much to exceed the one
third OF that number of white men
on the ground. Taking all the
three camps, American Gulch. Mexican
Gulch and the Alamo, and there never
were to exceed 1000 white men on the
ground. do not think there were that
many, but one or two of our party put it
little higher than 1 did, and l give
them the benefit of the doubt. As to the
Mexican population, that was all con-
fined to Mexican Gulch, and / think 500
would be a fair, very fair, estimate of
them.
But it does not matter-the placer
mines, which were reported to be so rich,
are not there, as many poor fellow, de-
ceived by these lying reports, has found
to his cost. What object the San Diego
papers can have in keeping up these
false statements puzzles me. They have
hurt the town by them. 1t has been
duller in San Diego since the collapse of
that mining boom than it has ever been
before. For time it made things very
lively. A few days before we left for
Ensenada, Fifth street looked like a
street in San Francisco or Sacramento in
the days of '49 and 80. To
one who could keep perfectly cool
| during so much excitement, it must
have presented curiously funny scene.
Men were rushing wildly along, one with
two or three gold pans; another with
pick and shovel, a third, or perhaps a
group, critically inspecting a rocker,
when the half Of them, had they not
been told, would not have known whether
the machine was to rock "kids" or clods
here crowd examining with intense in
terest pair of diminutive mules, about
as big as the nuggets they expected to
| find and oring back in triumph; here
another crowd "gazing with the eye of
the eagle and the appetite of the vul-
ture," at pair of consum ptive "burros"
-consumptive, judging by their hoarse
voice and bad cough-these last valuable
as means Of transportation to the
mines. 1t was funny. None of us, OF
course, felt like miners until we had on
| flannel shirt, even as grangers, and our
pants stuck in the tops of our boots.
Then we "felt to the manner born" and
every inch miner. But not all were
greenhorns, dudes, or tenderfeet. There
were enough who mined in years agone,
and who knew gold when they saw it.,
and knew how to take it out, if it was to
be found.
They know how to handle pan; the
old trick, that rotary, sliding motion,
which saves every "coior," but disposes
over the side all gravel, mud and sand,
once learned was never forgotten-the
| old ''slight''-was quickly put
in practice again. when once they reached
the purported gold mines. But they we're
the loudesr and deepest in their curses
of the men who had sent them off on a
FOOLS errand.
But enough / wrote my former letter
| with the hope of saving some poor fellow
the loss of time and money, by believing
the false reports published as to the
mines. | have no desire to write them
down untruthfully; l wish they had been
eli that was represented. San Diego is
suffering from the mining boom to-day.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars we're
taken out of legitimate trade. Eighty.
one thousand dollars was paid in less
than month for duties at the Tia Juans
custom house alone, saying nothing oi
what was paid at Ensenada, and the
papers of San Diego can thank themselves
in great measure for it.
Quartz there may be down there, and
perhaps is; but for the reasons given IL
my former letter, you can take ebay
seeds" word it will be long time before
they are proftably worked.
Yours truly, VENTURE.
AT Home-the Ranch-April oath.
|