"Hence it appears that the gold veins are equally rich in all parts of that most remarkable section of country. Were it wanting, there are further proofs of this in the ravines and dry diggings, which uniformly confirm what nature so plainly shows in the rivers."
It is an interesting inquiry--what was the amount of the golden treasure collected during the years 1848 and '49? The satisfaction of this inquiry will enable us to form some faint conception of the value of the gold region, and the dependence which may be placed upon its yield for a commercial return. Premising that the gold was first discovered in May, 1848, and that intelligence of it was not received in the United States till late in the following autumn, Mr. King, in his report, proceeds in making an estimate of the quantity accumulated till the close of 1849:
"No immigration into the mines could, therefore, have taken place from the old States in that year. The number of miners was, consequently, limited to the population of the territory, some five hundred men from Oregon--Mexicans, and other foreigners, who happened to be in the country, or came into it during the summer and autumn--and the Indians, who were employed by or sold their gold to the whites.
"It is supposed there were not far from five thousand men employed in collecting gold during that season. If we suppose they obtained an average of one thousand dollars each--which is regarded by well informed persons as a low estimate--the aggregate amount will be $5,000,000.
"Information of this discovery spread in all directions during the following winter; and, on the commencement of the dry season in 1849, people came into the territory from all quarters--from Chili, Peru, and other States on the Pacific coast of South America; from the west coast of Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, China, and New Holland.
"The immigration from the United States came in last, if we except those who crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and went up the coast in steamers, and a few who sailed early on the voyage round Cape Horn.
"The American immigration did not come in by sea, in much force, until July and August, and that overland did not begin to arrive until the last of August and first of September. The Chilenos and Mexicans were early in the country. In the month of July, it was supposed there were fifteen thousand foreigners in the mines. At a place called Sonoranian Camp, it was believed there were at least ten thousand Mexicans. They had quite a city of tents, booths, and log-cabins; hotels, restaurants, stores, and shops of all descriptions, furnished whatever money could procure. Ice was brought from the Sierra, and ice creams added to numerous other luxuries. An inclosure made of the trunks and branches of trees, and lined with cotton cloth, served as a sort of amphitheatre for bull-fights. Other amusements, characteristic of the Mexicans, were to be seen in all directions.