ock of liquors and preserved provisions." | pense, taking half the gold obtained for their heir expenses at this "hotel," it should be remuneration. Many of the Americans emmed, were eleven dollars a day, for man ployed Indians and others to work for them, d mule, exclusive of lodgings. They are, giving them half the produce of their labor, _dly enough, divided into four dollars for in addition to finding them provisions, which e man, and seven for the mule! barley would cost about a dollar a day. Rather -ing a dollar the quart, and grass a dollar poorly kept, either in quantity or quality, we e handful. should suppose they would be at this price, provisions of all kinds being "enormously dear." On their journey to the place, a little more than a bushel of wheat, for the mules, had cost them five dollars. Mr. Taylor and his friends were hospitably entertained by the miners; and were not a little surprised at the "table in the wilderness," spread for them in the airy hotel we have mentioned. Jerked beef, (they had, en route, bought Our first move was for the river bottom, nere a number of Americans, Sonorians, and anakas" (Sandwich Islanders,) "were at work the hot sun. The bar as it was called, was thing more or less than a level space at the nction of the river with a dry arroyo, or gulch," which winds for about eight miles ong the hills." The "gulch" denotes a mountain ravine of about six yards, for half a dollar) and bread very abrupt character. "It was hard and rocky, with no loose sand expt such as had lodged between the large masses stone, which must of course be thrown aside "to say table;" and next morning found the party He slept that night soundly on the "dining at work, in the sunshine, with two hours' hard labor at baling out the water before they could begin to wash. Again: was the best they had expected: and, oh, omnipotent power of gold! they saw on the table "green corn, green peas, and beans, fresh oysters, roast turkey, Goshen butter, get at the gold. The whole space, containing and excellent coffee. I will not pretend,' pout four acres, appeared to have been turned he adds, what they cost, but I be-' er with great labor, and all the holes slanting gan to think the fable of Aladdin was nothing wn between the broken strata of slate to have very remarkable after all. The genie will en explored to the bottom. No spot could ap- come-but the rubbing of the lamp! There ar more unpromising to the inexperienced gold- is nothing so hard on the hands." anter. Yet the Sonorians, washing out the ose dust, or dirt, which they scraped up among e rocks, obtained from ten dollars to two ounces ily. The first party we saw had just succeeded cutting a new channel for the shrunken waters the Mokelumne, and were commencing operaons on about twenty yards of the river bed, hich they had laid bare. They were ten in umber; and their only implements were shovels, rude cradle for the top layer of earth, and flat ooden bowls for washing out the sands. Bap ste took one of the bowls, which was full of nd, and in five minutes showed us a dozen ains of bright gold. The company had made the forenoon about three pounds; we watched em at their work till the evening, when three ounds more were produced, making an average seven ounces for each man. The gold was of e purest quality and most beautiful color.When I first saw the men carrying heavy stones the sun, standing nearly waist-deep in water, nd grubbing with their hands in the gravel and ay, there seemed to me little virtue in resisting e temptation to gold-digging; but when the ining particles were poured out lavishly from a basin, I confess there was a sudden itching in y fingers to seize the heaviest crowbar and the ggest shovel." A company of thirty, further down the ver, had cleared a hundred yards of its bed, ad begun washing very successfully. But ney quarrelled, "as most companies do;" nd finally arranged with two of their num went there again, towards noon, one of them was "The prospect looked uninviting, but when I scraping up the sand from the bed with his knife, and throwing it into a basin, the bottom of which glittered with gold. Every knife-full brought out a quantity of grains and scales, some of which were as large as the finger-nail. At last a twoounce lump fell plump into the pan. Their forenoon's work amounted to nearly six pounds. It is only by such operations as these, through associated labor, that great profits are to be made in those districts which have been visited by the first eager horde of gold-hunters. The deposits most easily reached are soon exhausted by the crowd, and the labor required to carry on further work successfully deters single individuals from attempting it. Those who, retaining their health, return home disappointed, say they have been humbugged about the gold, when in fact they have humbugged themselves about the work. If any one expects to dig treasures out of the earth in California without severe labor, he is wofully mistaken. Of all classes of men, those who pave streets and quarry limestone are best adapted for gold-diggers.' وو People's notions of what are hardships eturning emigrant strongly advised Mr. | aylor to turn back; telling him "you'll have sleep on the ground every night, and take are of your own animals, and you may think ourself lucky if you get your regular heals." This was certainly one of the "slow" nen, for which, together with the cautious nd desponding ones, our sensible traveler emarks, "California is no place. The rumbler and idler had better stay at home." Where, we are sure, they are not wanted. From 11 A.M., to 4 P.M., the mercury here ranged between 98 and 110." The discovery of this gulch was accidental. Dr. Gillette, in company with a friend, was prospecting" for gold; and as he rested ne day under a tree, struck his pick careessly into the ground, and presently threw ut a lump of about two pounds weight. They at once set to work : Deep holes sunk between the solid strata, or nto the precipitous sides of the mountains, showed here veins of the metal had been struck, and ollowed as long as they yielded lumps large nough to pay for the labor. The loose earth which they had excavated was full of fine gold, nd only needed washing out. A number of Soorians were engaged in dry washing this refuse and--a work which requires no little skill, and would soon kill any other men than these lank nd skinny Arabs of the west. Their mode of work is as follows:--Gathering the loose dry sand n bowls, they raise it to their heads, and slowly our it upon a blanket spread at their feet. Reeating this several times, and throwing out the worthless piece of rock, they reduce the dust to bout half its bulk; then balancing the bowl in ne hand, by a quick dextrous motion of the ther they cause it to revolve, at the same time hrowing its contents into the air, and catching hem as they fall. In this manner, everything is And here Mr. Taylor says, "There is more gold in California than ever was said or imagined ages will not exhaust the supply." The calm, official, Mr. King—all officials are supposed to be calm-expresses a similar opinion. The labor, however, is admitted to be excessive; and from a variety of causes--one of them, the want of a mint, is to be removed -the miners, as a rule, are not the gainers. "Those who purchase and ship gold to the Atlantic States make large profits; but those who dig, lose what others make." High prices and gambling will, to a great extent, account for this. "Only traders, speculators, and gamblers make large fortunes," says also the more desponding Mr. Ryan. It is, however, not easy to ascertain the amount of the miners' gains. Like people at home, they are apt to complain when doing very well; and are unwilling to confess disappointment. The use of chemical agents, instead of mere mechanical means, in separating the metal, will lessen both the labor and expense of the process, as well as add greatly to its remunerative returns. On revisiting this mine, Mr. Taylor found that the use of quicksilver had been introduced with great success :- "The black sand which was formerly rejected, was washed in a bowl containing a little quicksilver in the bottom, and the amalgam formed by the gold yielded four dollars to every pound of sand. Mr. James who had washed out a great deal of this sand, evaporated the quicksilver in a retort, and produced a cake of fine gold worth nearly five hundred dollars. A heap of refuse earth, left by the common rocker, after ten thousand dollars had been washed, yielded another thousand to the new machine," with quicksilver. Its scarcity and high price have hitherto interfered with its more extended employ "The city," Mr. Taylor continues, "was one place by day and another by night; and of the two its night side was the most peculiar. As the day went down dull and cloudy, a thin fog gathered in the humid atmosphere, through which the canvas houses, lighted from within, shone with a broad obscure gleam, that confused the eye, and made the streets most familiar by daylight look strangely different. The town, regular as it was, became a bewildering labyrinth of halfand deep darkness, and the perils of traversing it were greatly increased by the mire and frequent pools left by the rain. We have already given an account of a ine and its diggings; still in writing of alifornia, to omit all notice of the Sacra-light ento, and its city, would be like playg Hamlet with the part of the Prince left at. very The city, a hundred and thirty miles by ater from San Francisco, stands at the nction of what is called the American ork, and the " beautiful stream" whence it kes its name, and which is not navigable eyond it. "To one venturing out after dark for the first time, these perils were by no means imaginary. Each man wore boots reaching to the knees--or higher, if he could get them-with the pantaloons tucked inside; but there were pitfalls, into which had he fallen, even these would have availed little. In the more frequented streets, where drinking and gambling had full swing, there was a partial light streaming out through doors and crimson window-curtains to guide his steps. Sometimes a platform of plank received his feet; sometimes he slipped from one loose barrel-stave to another, laid with the convex side upward; and sometimes, deceived by a scanty piece of scantling, he walked off its further end into a puddle of liquid mud. Now floundering in the stiff mire of the mid-street, he plunged down into a gulley, and was brought up' by a pool of water; now venturing near the houses, a scaffold pole, or stray beam, lent him an unexpected blow. If he wanIt forms a square of one mile and a half-dered into the outskirts of the town, where the e streets laid out at right angles; those inning east and west named alphabetically, id those north and south, arithmetically. "The aspect of the place on landing was decidly more novel and picturesque than that of any her town in the country."" Boughs and spars ere mingled together in striking contrast; the ables were fastened to the trunks and sinewy ots; sign-boards and figure-heads were set up shore; and galleys and deck cabins were rned out to grass,' leased as shops, or occupied dwellings."-Taylor. "The original forest trees, standing in all parts the town, give it a very picturesque appearance. any of the streets are lined with oaks and sycaores, six feet in diameter, and spreading ample ughs on every side. The emigrants have ined the finest of them by kindling camp-fires at eir bases, which in some instances have burned mpletely through, leaving a charred and blacked arch for the superb tree to rest upon."— 'aylor. This has brought about the destruction of everal of them; a thing the more to be reretted, as in summer, when the mercury ands at 120, shade is a thing to be desired. Lands, rents, living, were much on the ime scale as at San Francisco. "The value f all the houses in the city could not have een less than two million of dollars." But, "in summer the place is a furnace, winter little better than a swamp, and the flux of emigrants and discouraged miners enerally exceeds the demand for labor." still worse. tent-city of the emigrants was built, his case was "Ah me! what perils do environ goes to seek his fortune in California! At the time of Mr. Taylor's visit, the city was thronged with overland emigrants, who bore striking traces of the hardships to be endured in that six or even seven months journey over the salt deserts of the Great Basin, the rugged passes of the Sierra Nevada, and the arid plains of California. Their very beasts "had an expression of patient experience which plainly showed that no roads yet to be traveled would astonish them in the least." To the credit of the sisterhood, we must record that the women who had accom amento, in a very pleasing style; sketched | with neutral tint, and a wash of warm cor passed over the lights, the higher ones eing taken out. Views of the Bay of San rancisco, in November, 1848 and 1849, to dicate the changes that had taken place ithin that period, are also given in the same anner. Mr. Ryan's "illustrations" are very eer things indeed," Pilgrim's Progress" ort of cuts. In Mr. Taylor's ride to Sacramento, we ave the following description of scenery. ave for the "burnt-up grass," which is ever an improvement to the landscape, it is very agreeable one. "Our road now led over broad plains, through ccasional belts of timber. The grass was almost tirely burnt up, and dry, gravelly arroyos, in and at of which we went with a plunge, marked the ourses of the winter streams. The air was as arm and balmy as May" (why not, seeing it was ly the beginning of September ?)" and fragrant ith the aroma of a species of gnaphalium, which ade it delicious to inhale. Not a cloud was to e seen in the sky, and the high, sparsely-wooded ountains on either hand showed softened and distinct through a blue haze. The character of e scenery was entirely new to me. The splend valley, untenanted except by a few solitary ancheros, living many miles apart, seemed to be ome deserted location of ancient civilization and ulture. The wooded slopes of the mountains e lawns planted by Nature, with a taste to hich art could add no charm. The trees have thing of the wild growth of our forests; they e compact, picturesque, and grouped in every ariety of graceful outline. The hills were cov-ed to the summits with fields of wild oats, colorg them, as far as the eye could reach, with wny gold, against which the dark glossy green the oak and cypress showed with peculiar ef-ct. As we advanced further, these natural harests extended over the plain, mixed with vast eds of wild mustard, eight feet in height, under hich a thick crop of grass had sprung up, furshing sustenance to the thousands of cattle aming everywhere unheeded. Far on our left, e bay made a faint, glimmering line, like a rod E light, cutting off the hardly-seen hills beyond it om the world." situation. The town stands about two miles from the southern extremity of the bay. The northern point, twenty miles distant, runs out so far to sea, that the Pacific is not visible from any part of the town Here, as elsewhere, the speculation in land has been excessive. Its trade is increasing, and is likely to be much promoted by the discovery of gold, in streams which, having their rise in the Sierra Nevada, discharge their waters into the Tularé Lakes. Monterey, as a port, is much more advantageously situated for the population which will be thus attracted to that vicinity, than San Francisco, which is a hundred and twenty miles further from the lakes. One quiet afternoon, while remaining here, Mr. Taylor walked out along the sands, past the anchorage, till the open sea came into view; the "slow regular swells of the great Pacific." "The surface of the bay was comparatively calm; but within a few hundred yards of the shore it upheaved with a slow, majestic movement, forming a single line more than a mile in length, which, as it advanced, presented a perpendicular front of clear, green water, twelve feet in height. There was a gradual curving in of this emerald wall-a moment's waverer-and the whole mass fell forward with a thundering crash, hurling the shattered spray thirty feet into the air. A second rebound followed; and the boiling, seething waters raced far up the sand, with a sharp, trampling, metallic sound, like the jangling of a thousand bars of iron. I sat down on a pine-log, above the highest wave-mark, and watched this sublime phenomenon for a long time. The sandhills behind me confined and redoubled the sound, prolonging it from crash to crash, so that the ear was constantly filled with it. Once a tremendous swell came in close on the heels of one that had just broken, and the two uniting made one wave, which shot far beyond the water-line, and buried me above the knee. As far as I could see, the shore was white with the subsiding deluge. It was a fine illustration of the magnificent language of Scripture: 'He maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment; one would think the deep to be hoary." It was at Monterey that the sittings of the Convention, summoned to form a constitution for the "infant state," were held. Of this we have an entertaining and somewhat enthusiastic account from Mr. Taylor, who is proud of the ability for governing which he conceives that his countrymen possess, the result, as we understand him, of their republican education. We are willing to grant them all the credit they deserve in this particular instance; but we really cannot, either and as, in this golden land, the available funds were chiefly in silver, the recipients were to be seen carrying their wages home tied up in handkerchiefs, or slung in bags over their shoulders. ascribe "a steady integrity, and inborn | the Americans, but they were over-ruled; pacity for creating and upholding law." He gives us some rather amusing election ecdotes. The candidates for state offices re almost all unknown to the electors, in sequence of which, some strange rules for ecting one, rather than the other, were opted. A Mr. Fair got many votes, on acunt of his promising name. Another gen-mentary and decorous manner." man lost about twenty, owing to his having en seen wearing a high-crowned silk hat, th a narrow brim. One enlightened elec- thus justified his voting for those whom did not know: When I left home, I was determined to go it nd. I went it blind in coming to California, d I am not going to stop now. I voted for the nstitution, and I've never seen the constitution. oted for all the candidates, and I dont know one them. I'm going it blind all through, I am.” The business of the Convention was conducted, we are told, "in a perfectly parlia And is it come to this, that both Washington and Westminster must travel to the extreme West to receive a lesson in good manners! It is some consolation to our wounded vanity to find that even in this model assemblage, they, like our own senators, love to hear themselves speak, and, with a like inconvenience attendant upon it, to that which we have experienced: business is hinWe should dered by over-much talking. have been ashamed had we been the sole sufferers from this lingual infirmity. 66 At the close of their legislatorial labors, the members recreated themselves with a ball, to which the citizens were invited. 'White kids could not be had in Monterey for love or money ;" but a pair of patent leather boots attended, at a price of fifty dollars; and our pleasant traveler, in borrowed garments (accommodated to his smaller size by a liberal use of pins) and worsted gaiters, with very square toes, was, we dare the worst dressed of the party. say, not fair specimen, we doubt not, of hundreds, whom, in other countries than this new e, the grave responsibility, for such it is, contributing to form the character of the gislature is committed; though few would found thus honestly to confess their own competence for such onerous duties. At this Convention, it will be borne in ind, it was decided, unanimously, that avery should not be one of the "domestic stitutions" of California. The southern embers of the Union are not, of course, so During his stay in Monterey, some inteell pleased with such an enactment as are resting documents were placed in his hands, e in England, who, at a "great price, have relative to the missions established in Upper tained this freedom." But, with our ideas California, by a Franciscan friar, subsequently 1 the subject, it is very amusing to find Mr. to the Jesuits being driven from the lower ing, in his report to the home government, province, in 1786. The society, it will be hich we have already alluded to, defending remembered, was suppressed by Pope Ganimself at some length, and most strenuous-ganelli, in 1773. Romish missions do not , against even the suspicion of having had ny hand in the matter. American liberty nd equality, however, still suggested a proibition of the entrance of free people of coor into the State. This, too, was rejected y a large majority; and all attempts to inoduce any modification of it failed signally. 'he provisions of the constitution thus formed, combined, with few exceptions, the most nlightened features of the constitutions of he older States." Those peculiar to itself, he boundary question, suffrage, the details f government, and even the difficult queson of the Great Seal, for which some ludirous designs were presented, were all in urn satisfactorily disposed of. The proposiion for the payment of the officers, and embers of the Convention, met with some generally command much sympathy from Protestants; nevertheless, it were unjust to doubt that the originators of these were actuated by the purest and most self-denying motives in undertaking an enterprise attended by so many dangers and difficulties. "The consolation," writes one of them, in 1772, "is, that troubles, or no troubles, there are various souls in heaven from Monterey, S. Antonio, and S. Diego." And Mr. Taylor, while far from lamenting their downfall, yet acknowledges that they have "nobly fulfilled the purposes of their creation." We are not told to what extent provision is now made for any other worship than that of Mammon, among the thousands upon thousands so suddenly placed upon these shores. To the credit of the Convention it |