The record-union., 1893-09-20
"REMINISCENCES OF EARLY DAYS.
The Crude Methods of the Gold Dig
gers Of '49.
Who Discovered the Sluice-Boxs s-Dis
astrous Venture of River
Bed Company.

[For the RECoRD-UNIoN-By Charles Petit.
When the early-day California gold
seeker looks back to consider the simple,
slow and unamerican methods then
practiced in gold mining-when viewed
in the light of the sluice and the hydraulic
of later years-the insufficiency of our
knowledge i'll the way of gold mining
and prospecting seems to miner of the
period incredible and almost past belief.
AS late as 1850, when l first arrived in
the mines, the only method of gold-wash-
ing known was by means of the pan and
the rocker. A little later there were other
means tried, among which were the long
tom and the quicksilver machine, but
they all proved failures, and the rocker
held its sway until the discovery of the
sluicing process at later period.
The rockers in use both then and now
were the same, and no doubt were fash
ioned after the machine used in the Mex
lean and South American gold mines.
Had we, at the time of which L write,
known of the sluicing process we might
have taken out pounds OF gold while we
were only securing ounces. Again, our
knowledge Of prospecting, as Ishave said,
was as limited as that of mining. The
miners with whom [ first met and
mined believed the gold was hidden
away in the most mysterious and mac
cessible places, mostly i'll the beds OF the
rivers. The deeper the water, they
thought, the more gold they were likely
to find.
They also thought the gold in the rivers
was washed down the stream by the
action of the current from some very
rich and unknown deposits above, and
that the farther up the river one went the
richer it grew. They did not have the
slightest idea that the gold which they
were finding on the river bars came in
slides from the mountain side just in
front of them.
The men with whom l afterward asso-
ciated in business, and many others,
spent the winter of '49 in the mines, and
instead of striking out among the hills
and the gulches, while there was an
abundance of water for mining purposes,
as did the miners of after years, they
actually spent the time on the American
River like the Mexican, crevicing with
the pick, pan and shovel, s1hd an old iron
or horn spoon among the rocks which
were not submerged by the swollen
stream, waiting for the water to subside
so they might get to work with the rocker
up on the river bars.
The writer has no means of knowing at
what time, nor under what circum-
stances, nor by whom sluices with rifles
were first used in gold mining in Cali
fornia. The sluice-box seems to be a
purely California invention, or discovery,
or by whatever name it may be called.
On the discovery of gold in California
miners from Mexico, Chile, Peru, in fact
from almost every gold-producing
country in the world, flocked here in
large numb bers, and they know nothing
whatever of sluicing in any form.
In the early sixties. when l was min
ing in Idaho, l had partner named
Smith, who was originally from Georgia,
a gold-producing State, and he, while
there, knew nothing of the sluicing pro-
cess. Smith came to California in the
early fitties, and mined near Georgetown,
FL Dorado County. On day, in converse
ton with him on the primitive method
of early day California mining, he said /:
81 was once mining with my rocker in
shallow gulch claim, through which a
small stream of water ran, sufficient to
afford good Sluice-head. In order to
get rid of it [ made a long trough out of a
pine log, and placed it in such manner
as to carry the stream across my claim,
and 1 baled the sipage water into this
trough. / soon noticed specks of gold,
which grew more numerous every day,
lying along in the bottom of the trough,
and if l hadn't been a deyilish fool |
would have thought of sluices then"
l have said that in early days it was
thought gold might be found in great
abundance at the bottoms of the rivers,
if it could only be reached. So, in the
summer of 1851, a company was formed
consisting of a DR.. Scott, who lived in
the mines, s. w. Colby and Kip IL Petit
for the purpose of turning portion of the
American River from its natural channel
and laying bare its old bed, where it was
thought we would be able TO scoop up the
precious dust by the shovelful. The
place chosen for our operations was at a
point on the river just above Rattlesnake
Bar, in Placer County.
One day, after haying and harvesting
the river then being low, departed for
the mine to assist in the prosecution Of
the work and to look after the interest of
our firm. After several weeks OF hard
labor, both in and out of the water, wet
and dry by turns. our dam was COM
pleted. The river was running throug b
the new channel which we had prepared
for it. and the old bed of the stream for
some distance lay bare at our feet. And
what did we find? 4 solid rock bottom,
but little gravel, and not gold enough to
pay IOr lLS WdSulDR. w u6il We DeC3tn6
satisfied that our scheme was a failure
we paid off our men and abandoned the
enterprise.
Leaving DIR. Scott in charge of the
camp, / rolled my blankets and started
OH foot for the ranch in Brighton, where
1 arrived on the second day, very tired
and thoroughly disgusted with river
mining, and have never since engaged in
it.
1t may not be generally known that at
the time of which / write, and for two
years previous and after, notwithstand-
ing our boasted free State Constitution,
slavery did exist in California. The DR..
Scott mentioned above owned three negro
slaves, who worked with us on this min
ing enterprise, one of whom was bright,
intelligent fellow named Fred. The
doctor never entered into any new pro-
ject without first consulting him. If
Fred disapproved of it the matter was
dropped. He one night arose from his
bed and gave one of the other negroes,
who was stout, robust fellow, a severe