Upon the discovery of hill diggings, mining assumed another form, for instead of the mines being worked out, which was the general opinion, we were only beginning to learn where to find the precious metal. The first hill diggings in Eldorado County were discovered near Upper Hangtown, early in the spring of ’51, by the Aiken brothers, who worked a small ravine located on the side of Indian Hill. When working near the upper end of the ravine their pay dirt left them, and, instead of a slate bed rock, they now found that it had changed to what appeared to be of the nature of sandstone. This, however, proved to be, upon examination, cement, under which, upon working through it, they found a deposit of rich gravel resting upon a slate foundation, and pitching into the hill. Other hills in the vicinity were soon found to be similar in character, cement capped, containing ancient river beds rich in gold.
The discovery of these ancient river beds, among a portion of the miners created quite a discussion as to their origin and the period, in geological eras, when this ancient river system was destroyed, and by what forces. Many of the discussions between these veteran, self-taught, geological expounders were interesting, as well as instructive, each one, of course, having a theory of his own which must be the only reasonable interpretation. One of the most prominent of these students of nature was an old gentleman from the State of Wisconsin, Uncle Ben Coats, and to listen to one of his geological lectures, under the shade of an aged oak, surrounded by a crowd of miners who were all anxious to be informed as to the facts of the case, was decidedly instructive and interesting—a scene, too, reminding one of Socrates or Aristotle lecturing to his pupils in the shady groves of Athens. We, the miners, soon became proficient in the use of the words tertiary, pliocene, carboniferous, spirituous, and gaseous eras or epochs, retaining even to the present time a very vivid recollection of them, but more especially of the two latter epochs.
CHAPTER XII.
Mining Speculators—The Lost Brother—Gambling—A Generous Gambler—An Important Discovery—Beginning of Fruit Culture and Wine Manufacture in California—The First Church Organization in the Mining Regions—“Old Nick” and His Animals—“Old Syd.”
MANY persons were now continually ruining into the mines, and stupendous frauds were being perpetrated upon them in the sale of mining claims.
One very enterprising individual who had drifted into the low red hill or slide in the hope of finding a lead, being disappointed, loaded his shot-gun with gold dust, and discharged it into various places. Upon finding a newcomer who desired to purchase, he was requested to take a pan and prospect for himself, which the victim would often do with remarkable success. He, however, saw the joke after he had bought the mine, and procuring a shot-gun played the same game on some other chap; and I’m not sure, but I think that their descendants have inherited the same habit, and are yet shooting and selling old claims. One sale of a mining claim is worth mentioning. It was a rich piece of ground in the lower part of Hangtown, and located on a rich lead. A chap who had been hard at work for nearly ten days stripping the top dirt from his claim, about fifteen feet square and ten feet deep, prospecting a pan of dirt in one corner and finding nothing, concluded to sell it, if possible. Presently along came three or four young men who had just arrived, and he proposed to sell it to them, explaining that there was good pay a little deeper. They paid him his price—one hundred and fifty dollars—and early next morning started in to work. By 3 P.M. they were down to bed rock in various places, and water being handy they washed a pan just for curiosity.
The seller of the claim, who lingered around to see how badly he had fooled them, was, when he saw them wash out pan after pan,
