Year: 1859

such opportune refreshment by the wayslde,
at the hands Of that prince of country gentle
men, Col. Zabriskie, whose cordiality and ur-
bauity are proverbial, that the sun seemed to
be shorn of considerable portion of his
beams during the remainder of the journey
The way was much enlivened by the green
and waving fields on the right, embosominq
their white cottages, and filling the air witt
pleasant fragrance. Arriving at our place
Of destination, we found the Yuba River Min
ing Company busily at work in the prosecu-
tion of the greatest mining enterprise of thi:
whole northern section of country. 1t is ne
| less n work than the turning of the river from
its natural channel into an artificial one, q
mile long, and barring the river bed dis
tance of over two miles, with a view ofcourse
of working the portion drained. The canal
which is being cut, and which will soon be
finished, has fall of about eleven feet and
the construction of proper dam across the
stream will pour the river forth into the new
channel like huge mill race. The line OF
the canal cuts directly across the extent OF
ground included in bend of the river, and
thus makes with the bed of the stream sort
of semicircle. All the ground embraced with
in this circle will pay more or less for work
ing. Some Chinamen are at this time min
ing in it with cradles andrealize good wages
say SO and 81 day. Nearer the bank Of
the river company of white men are at
work, and they informed us that they had
been making ten dollars day to the hand
The Yuba River Mining Company, which is
an incorporated Company, claims all the land
within the boundaries named, with the ex-
ception of small portions already occupied by
other parties previous to its Incorporation
The Company does not design, however,
working this soil, until it finishes the clean
ing up of the river bed. Capt. A. Gilman,
the Contractor for the Company, informed
us, if we recollect Alright, that the washing of
the dirt in the emptied channel would prob
ably begin by the 18th of July This time
seems to us a little too short, and it may be
that we are mistaken in our recollection. At
any rate, the enterprise is very rapidly pro-
crossing, and only few hundred yards OF
the canal remain to be cut


We may remark here that the capital stock
of this Company is $l5OOO0, there being five
hundred shares at $500 each. The Company
is admirably organized the officers being men
of enlarged experience and practical ability
D. c. Benham, of this city, is President; John
I. Baily, D. c. Benham and c. b. Pike Trus-
tees; Capt A. Gilman, as above stated, Con-
tractor; Richard Diver, Secretary; Samuel
Dickey, Engineer and General Superinten-
dent and Capt. Arthur, Foreman. The Con-
tractor is an experienced river miner, ofgreat
practical knowledge and skill in mining, and
eminently successful in the management of
large operations In his hands, there can be
no such thing as fail Mr.. Dickey is not sur
passed as an Engineer, and his superinten-
dence is marked by skill and energy. The
other officers are we'll fitted for their places
AS to the President, Mr. Benham, every one
knows his ability as sound business man,
and his well-earned reputation for honor and
integrity.


There is every reason to believe that vast
amount of gold is deposited in the bottom of
the river. The prospecting has all been fa-
vorable, and the banks have paid largely,
down to the waters edge, ever since the days
of 40 and 80 The bed rock has seldom been
reached, and the dirt has invariably paid bet
ter as the miner went down, the gold being
fine at the top and coarse underneath. The
rocks in the bottom of the river are formed,
as we Judge by the fall and current. in ex-
actly the proper manner to detain the gold
particles as they were originally washed
down. Besides, the hills above, in the neigh
borhood of the Timbuctoo region, are rich
with gold, and large deposits must have been
washed from them in times past into the
river


1t is calculated that four hundred hands
will be employed in this operation in a few
weeks.


We have to return our thanks to the off.
GERS of the Company for the very cordial wei
come which they gave us and the alacrity
with which they extended to us such informa-
ton as the neutrality-suspicious. of an editor
pertinaeiously demands.


We cannot conclude this article without
remarking how delightful was the return trip
to town. AT fast trot, in the cool air of the
sunset, we sped homeward cutting directly
across the broad and open plains. The glare
of the sun being departed, every object that
met the eye was softened into beauty. The
| green trees on the margin of the distant
river were greener; the rolling ground be
meath us seemed to heave with life and mo-
ton, as if it felt the pulses in the great heart
of nature, and the fine spiritual instinct of the
grass and flowers; far sweeping to the west
ward, the emerald sea seemed tapping the
very feet of the blue and silent mountains o
the Coast Range, while the Buttes, those
notable landmarks of the North, rose like an
island in the midst Soon, the sweet, delic
ious, golden moon upsprung from out the
craggy hills and told US it was night.


Certainly, no sort of pleasure can be equal
to a ride on the plains, these moonlight nights


That we arrived home safely may be in
ferred very naturally from the fact that we
would not otherwise have indited this ramb-
ling scrawl.


PoLIrIos IN OREGoN,-A correspondent Of
the Bulletin says that the political arena of
Oregon is all astir, and the contesting parties