 Chapter 7 of Audubon's Western Journal, 1849 to 1850, by John Woodhouse Audubon. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 7. A Tour of the Gold Fields, Part 2 March 29. The Tuolumne here, one mile above Hawkins Bar, comes out of a gorge in the hills, which is both steep and rocky, and sends forth the troubled stream to be tossed and dashed over rocks and shallow bars, for miles through hills and chasms until it reaches the plains, when it moves quietly, but still rapidly at this season, as it makes its way to the San Joaquin, ninety or a hundred miles from the mouth of that stream. The river here rises and falls daily and nightly, almost with the regularity of the tide, but ordinarily, more than a foot or two, this being due to the effect of the sun on the snows of the mountains, the warmer the day, the higher the water. At night, many men and parties, from twenty-five to fifty, are here engaged in digging canals to drain the bed of the river at low water. I learn, however, that they are greatly hindered in this by numerous springs in the bottom of the river, and, though there is no doubt a great deal of gold, the difficulties of getting it without machinery are more than can be realized by anyone who has not been here and tried. The buzzards in this upper country are just pairing. I have seen three or four couples of the California vulture, but have not secured one yet. The bar, which was dug here last year, is now under water, but I am told it was very profitable and many made five or six thousand from their summer's work. There are many here waiting for the planes to dry and snows to melt when Hawking's celebrated bar may again be worked. While I am here, I may as well try to give an idea of how the work is done. When a spot has been selected, the digger opens a pit ordinarily four to six feet deep, but sometimes only the topsoil has to be removed before the digger can commence washing. This depends on whether he comes to soil tenacious enough to hold the gold and keep it from sinking down through light, sandy, or porous soils until it meets with a formation which prevents it from going deeper into the earth. Sometimes in such places are found large deposits called pockets and doubtless there are still many to be discovered. When suitable soil is found, the digger takes a pan full for washing and with doubt and anxiety goes to the nearest water to see if his hole will pay. He stirs the earth and sand in his pan around until all the soluble part floats off over the sides of the pan, which is kept under water. He then begins shaking backwards and forwards with a regular movement what is left in his pan to settle what gold is in it. The gold sinks and all the lighter gravel is tipped to the sides and the gold is quite below all except the black sand, so like emery that when the gold is very fine it is a great drawback and difficult to separate. Should the digger find gold enough to warrant his washing the clay at the bottom of his pit and thereby gaining half an ounce a day, he goes on washing but grumbles at his hard luck hoping that as he gets deeper in his hole he will get richer also and that when he comes to rock he may find a pocket. The cradle is set up the water poured over and the monotony of the digger's life begins a sort of voluntary treadmill occupation until homesick and tired even if successful he ties up his wallet which contains his wealth secretes it about his body and tramps off. A man who is usually successful and there are not many may have acquired five or six thousand dollars but he has usually aged ten years. April 5th. Leaving Hawkins Bar for Greensprings we sauntered along the trail under the beautiful post-oaks just now in their greatest beauty with leaves half grown and pendant catkins. Now we shot a partridge or a hare or stopped to let Riley our pack mule luxuriated some little patch of rich grass in which he stood knee deep. Overhead we saw the heavy sweeping motion of the vultures wing or watched his silent circles. Around us are flowers innumerable, brilliant, soft, modest, fragrant to soothe all fancies till having finished our eight mile journey the sun began to cast its evening light over the landscape for we had started late. Late and had rejoined me and we set up our tent and I made a sketch. April 6th. Four o'clock found us on our way back to Hawkins to meet a friend of Layton's in Howard who was to be our companion. It was cloudy but beautiful and at Wedgewood's tent we found our friend and shelter of which we were glad rain was beginning to fall and soon came down in Torrance swelling the little brook near the tents to a roaring stream. April 8th. After being delayed by rain our trio started for Don Pedro's Bar eight miles down the Tuolumne. The country to look at is most beautiful and our short walk was one of pleasure and admiration. April 9th. This morning we crossed the river and after a trot of about five miles came to the canyon. I made my way to the lower end called Indian Bluff and my sketch was finished by probably five o'clock but having no watch I cannot tell. Here I saw the nests of the California vulture but on the opposite side of the river now an impassable torrent. The country on the south side of this river where we are is very hilly the soil tolerable and the trees still post oak. We leave for Stockton tomorrow. April 10th. The road was pleasant on our way back to Greensprings and for a mile further and when evening came we pitched our line tent and commenced cooking our supper. We had a California hare, a mallard and a plover all killed out of season but food we must have. Howard boasted of his coffee, Layton is the baker of the mess, whilst I parboiled my slices of pork to rid bits of its coarse flavor, fried out the lord, and have turned and returned the loin and hind legs of our hare. Riley, safely tethered near us, had an equally good supper of the grass and flowers that were to be his bed, and we spread our blankets and went to sleep, or rather the other two have done so, and I, riding by the fire-light, shall soon follow their example. April 11th. A road today was almost the same that I had traveled with the company going from Stockton to Chinese camp or diggings, but how changed the scene. The road then was soft mud and mire for miles, now it is hard as brick, and the hills then scarcely tinged with green by the early sprouting vegetation are now fresh and beautiful with every shade of green and brilliant flowers of all colors. At every rise of ground, we paused and turned to look back at the range of the Sierra Nevada, softening and mellowing in the hazy light of the sun, the brilliancy enhanced by the deepening blue of the distant hills, which formed the last outline on the eastern horizon. Here I tried my hand again at oil painting for landscape, but can only blot in what will answer hereafter to give me local color. After painting about three hours, we packed up and started again, as there was no water near us, and we took our direction westerly. We found the beds of the streams that in January were beautiful little rivulets, now bright sand bleaching in the sun, their waters dried up or only a tiny trickle. As we descended from one table-land to another, the rich vegetation became broken by spots of barrenness and at times whole plains of weeds not strong and rank, showing fertile land, but coarse noxious ungainly with disgusting smell extending for three or four miles, and we followed the dusty road almost feeling that we were again on our terrible journey through Mexico last summer. All these valleys along the river look more fertile in winter than at this season, as the wet and moisture gives the appearance of richness which is now completely dissipated by the already parched up effect of the land. To give you some little idea of the changes occurring in this country, the fairies we crossed last winter and could only be taken over after great bargaining for a dollar each, we crossed today all three of us and our mule for the same sum of one dollar, so at the mines the same exchange has taken place. Last year an ounce was considered the average of the produce of good working men per diem. This year half an ounce is considered the average by equally good and better skilled workmen. The people at home will not believe that the roads are traveled by a continuous line of miners, some on foot, some with packs, mules, wagons in search of better luck. The snows are melting so fast just now that the river is within two feet of being as high as when I crossed in the winter just after two nights of rain. Then it was muddy and anyone could see was not in a natural state, now though almost as rapid and deep its clear waters do not give the angry look it had then so much for summer and its softening effects. The road from Stanislaus over broad prairies of poor sandy soil extends for miles until nearing the edge of the line of beautiful old oaks that French creek and its swamps. Then the earth becomes richer and sends up a growth of clover and a beautiful grass knee high until you reach Stockton. Indeed all the best lands of the San Joaquin River are admirably suited for planting with proper drainage and cultivation. The sea breeze at this season is cold and searching keeping the thermometer at 60 degrees and 62 degrees for days. When a lull comes the heat is at once oppressive and the mercury rises to 80 degrees or 85 degrees and the heat dances before us almost in palpable shapes. The water all stagnant sends its odor of decaying vegetation everywhere accompanied by myriads of mosquitoes. These conditions exist for miles over the east side towards the mountains of the San Joaquin. April 16. I am still at Stockton and making various excursions with Layton and his friend Howard from New Orleans and sketching constantly and steadily. I am indeed grouting all sail to start for home on the steamer which sails on June 1 with Captain Patterson. I have made nearly 90 careful sketches and many hasty ones. The most interesting I have been able to find in these southern minds and expect to leave in a few days for Sacramento. April 18. I am hardly fit to write for I have just had most melancholy news from Simpson. Lieutenant Browning, my dear and devoted friend, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude which I can never pay for his friendship and kindness to me from the hour that he took my hand on the accursed Rio Grande River until we parted in San Francisco has been drowned. With Lieutenant Spock and Blunt he was examining the coast near Trinidad Bay and on attempting to land the boat broached two in the breakers and capsized. Five were drowned, among them Lieutenant Browning and Spock. Thus is added another victim to our ill-fated expedition. Strange that from first to last we have been so fatally followed. Night after night Browning and I shared the same tent, the same blankets. We knew each other well, we were friends. April 23. The whole country to the north and east of Stockton through to the Calaveras is most rich in splendid soil but in many places too low for farming but the grazing was excellent quantities of wild oats, ryegrass I think, clover and a species resembling red top. In many places the grasses were breast high as I waded through them but generally full knee deep. As we near the Calaveras we lost our way trying to avoid some bad arroyos and followed a trail off to the eastward perhaps three miles and the country if changed at all changed for the better. Finding the trend of the trail we were following did not suit our ideas of direction. We turned back at even more than a right angle and in half an hour entered a wood of open timber with here and there a lagoon or quagmire of mud and mire. But we worked through and Layton went ahead to reconnoiter and in about twenty minutes reported the river which we followed down on a good firm cattle trail and in half an hour more had come to the resettlement of the ferry and were stopped by the fences of newly made farms and again driven to the swamps to get only a few hundred yards down to the ferry. We crossed the river after having assisted some Germans with about six hundred sheep and camped for the night tired enough having made only about ten miles but walked nearly twenty of hard travel. April 24th as the traveler leaves the north side of the Calaveras and rises higher the ground becomes cold and has a bluish looking clay for the road almost as hard as soft brick and more tenacious. There are streaks of sandy soil and in a few places good land. This is scarce however between the Calaveras and Mokolomne where the Sacramento road crosses the plain. The last three miles of the road is through a pleasant half wooded country of five oaks and a few varieties of other shrubs for the whole of the wood is small. The sandy road was a great relief to us after the lumpy one of the morning and we trapped merrily on until we reached the Mokolomne and saw a comfortable for this country log and a jackal built house and passed about 200 yards further on spread our blankets under some half dozen magnificent oaks and after washing away the dust and heat in the clear cold little river very rapid but smooth ate our lunch of fried pork and bread and stretched ourselves out to rest for an hour when we packed up and being ferried across in a pretty good flat boat the only one between Stockton and Sacramento we continued our walk to Dry Creek over just the same description of country we had had in the morning but it became more sandy of anything and towards evening was more of a rolling country before we camped for the night we swam Riley across a creek about 20 feet wide and paid $1.50 for ourselves and belongings to cross in a sort of canoe which took us about five minutes at the fairy house was a comfortable looking woman with four little children one and infant like the Texans she had told us they had plenty of cattle but only one milk cow so we went on April 25th this morning at mounting a slight rise of ground we at once found ourselves on a high dry to dry prairie facing a bracing northwest wind just strong enough to feel it stirring up our spirits and we went cheerily on for about eight miles to a bridge crossed it and for about two miles had a succession of slews to cross some boggy quicksand others we had to swim by carefully sounding we kept our packs dry and crossing and safely reach the back of Murphy's corral where I skinned a magpie I had shot and Leighton took a nap we then went to admire Mr. Murphy's fine stock of brood mares and the young horses he is raising at three in the afternoon we packed and left for Sacramento City keeping to the road for eight miles when we came to a where we collected sufficient fuel for our evening cooking and went on two miles or so to a lagoon of excellent water and camped we had no tent poles so did as we had done often before spread one side of the tent on the ground and laid our blankets on that and covered ourselves with the other part a corner was put over my gun used as a pole which gave a place to sit and also protected our solitary candle from the wind so we ate our supper and comfort and enjoyed a kill deer and a couple of snipe we had shot we did not hear a sound about the croakings of hundreds of frogs from the pond by our side our long campings out had accustomed us to solitudes like this but on our desolate half starving march of last year doubt anxiety yes and fear had always taken from the complete enjoyment of such freedom as this the country was so flat that the horizon was lost even in the bright moonlight and the perfect silence the pure cloudless sky overhead the quiet little lake tended to make everything full of solemnity and peace April 26 this morning half a gale was blowing from the northwest and we were glad to wear our blanket coats until the sun warmed up the earth we reached at noon and lay down under the adobe wall to take our lunch I was disappointed in the view I had hoped to take here on a boundless plane with two or three hospitals around it stands a sort of rancho not so good in many respects as those of New Mexico but all in the same style besides being a series of rooms one corner being better fitted up for the rancher and his family under some grand old oaks 300 feet to the eastward is a cemetery containing a number of graves all made they tell me last year when miners and immigrants alike succumbed to illness brought on in many cases by exposure poor food and in some cases doubtless by disappointed hopes sacramento city is a country village built on a flat point between a lagoon and the river just below the junction of american river so low as to be 18 inches under average high watermark it has been a source of such speculations as 36 never heard of I wish on a plot of some half dozen half lots which cost last fall two hundred and fifty dollars the gentleman who owned them doctor Pearson told me he had sold two of them about a quarter of the whole for three thousand hundred dollars after holding them six months truly people did come to california to make money and some made it but california will for the present lower the moral tone of all who come here there are few refining influences and men become coarse and profane and language while the hard life does not improve the temper the sight of the gold they see dug and the fortunes they have been made in months some few even in weeks make them avaricious many lots of land valued last year at one thousand dollars are now valued at ten thousand dollars but sooner or later the fall must come. Sutter's fort appears to have been built with great care as to its means of defense though at first sight a visitor would be puzzled to know why it was called a fort at all closer examination shows that it once had from all appearances four square towers some twenty five feet high one at each corner each tower mounting four eighteen or at most twenty four pounds garrinades and the effect of these on the indians was all that was required for protection for the indians here are very low class and poor race far inferior to the eastern tribes and like the Mexicans a cowardice is their chief trade or at least their most prominent one and if Mr. Sutter could have had twenty faithful followers he must have been monarch of all he surveyed the swampy neighborhood bad atmosphere and the malarial conditions must render this section of country unhealthy to a great degree for half the year for as autumn comes on the daily supply of freshly melted snow here from the mountains will no longer purify the lagoons and bayous of the vicinity fever and AGU is very prevalent now and isn't very feared by all many of the farmers I find here tell me that they are only working to get money enough to get back with and that nothing would induce them to settle here they have unfortunately not seen the lower part of the valley and what lies about Los Angeles and to the south forward that is the flower of California April twenty ninth alas is it for good or for bad luck that I have just learned that Leighton and myself cannot travel with safety across the country here as below on account of the ill will of the Indians and that a party of less than six will be unsafe up and across the middle fork of the American River how stories of Indians are told to every traveler though often near them I have never found any who were not greater cowards than myself and we leave today for Sutter's mills Georgetown etc in good health and spirits May fourth Coloma Sutter's mill is about 50 miles distant nearly east of Sacramento the road to it after passing the first four or five miles runs through a sandy soil covered at present with what we call sneeze weed there is no water until after leaving the river American fork we crossed a pretty little spring branch as it would be called in Louisiana the grass is sparse and poor along the whole route and the face of nature looks like August in the eastern states so completely that as the refreshing cool breezes come to us each morning I must fancy it is the first of September but the valleys and on the hillsides the heat is most oppressive though as in England if you stand still for only a few moments in the shade you soon feel chilled through the valley here is not as wide as at Stockton by at least 20 miles and the grand masses of snow covered mountains seem almost within a day of you whilst south you still have distance to give additional enchantment to the view the oaks here are small not more than 18 inches to two feet in diameter if the soil in which they grew had any richness I should say the whole forest was of 40 years growth at most but for the occasional presence of a grove of magnificent pines from 100 to nearly 200 feet high I have measured many at the angle on the ground and have proved it with rods so that I know I am very nearly correct in my statement May 6th crossing the river at Coloma on a good bridge we commenced our ascent of the long and in many places very steep hill we found a start at dawn would have been much better than at 10 which it now was as our poor mule Riley felt the heat greatly but with occasional pauses up we went passing wrecked wagons and broken pack saddles in several of the narrow parts of the canyons that the road wound through we were not sorry when we found we had reached the last hill and mounted it hoping to be repaid by some distant view but on no side could we see more than a few miles and we journeyed on wondering who would be at the mushroom town Coloma renowned for being the place where gold was first found by the whites we were told that captain Sutter had made a large fortune by digging gold with many of the Indians he had about him how true the story is of course I cannot say no date starting early we had time enough to reach Georgetown and after the first few miles we're pleased to see a most favorable change in the forest we pass through a better class of white oaks appeared and following up a beautiful little creek we gradually came to a pine growth large and pleasant both yellow and white pine were there also the long comb to pine and many superb cedars over a hundred feet high in many places these trees were felled and split into laves and joists so straight and fine that but little dressing was requisite to fit them for the buildings here constructed frame houses one story high I saw some maples very like what we call soft maple and Elmer to and many specimens of the nuttles splendid dogwood in full bloom the ultramarine J is here by dozens Robbins flycatchers chats inches by hundreds I see daily new birds and plants that a year steady work could not draw but if our government would send good men what a work of national pride could be brought out geology botany zoology et cetera the views are frequently superb and the hemlocks and pines of many species most beautiful we reached Georgetown two rows of poor houses and sheds the houses all one story but some with piazzas and here we took our supper at the pine settlement as it is called end of chapter seven part two end of Audubon's Western Journal 1849 to 1850 by John Woodhouse Audubon