318 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



coast, gold, silver, copper, coal, quicksilver, petroleum, borax, sulphur, 

 and ochre — all now objects of extended, successful, and ra])idly growing 

 mining enterprises, several of them having been from the first Amerieaa 

 settlement of the country its principle staples and articles of export. 

 Tin, iron, lead, sulphur, alum, manganese, saltpetre, bismuth, chromium, 

 gypsum, salt, zinc, and many other substances of less present value, are 

 met with in different portions of the State, and generally in sufficient 

 quantity to warrant the belief that they will become of great com- 

 mercial value when labor and transportation shall be cheapened, or a 

 market be created for them nearer home. Platinum, iridium, magnesia, 

 the several alkalies, cobalt, arsenic, antimon}', nickel, plumbago, nitre, 

 etc., are found in many localities, and sometimes in unexampled abun- 

 dance. With the different varieties of slates and marbles, chalk, lime, 

 fuller's earth, alabaster, buhr stone, potter's clay, and like useful com- 

 modities of low value, the country abounds. The more common of the 

 precious stones have been obtained in many places, and even diamonds 

 of small size have been picked up in the washings of our stream-works; 

 while, if report may be credited, a number of these gems, of large dimen- 

 sions and pure water, have lately been found in the southern part of 

 Idaho Territory. 



Gold mining, which, as the leading arm of the business, first claims 

 attention, is divided into several branches, the earliest practised being 

 that of 



PLACER, OR SURFACE DIGGINGS. 



This consists in washing the loose particles of gold from the earth 

 whei-ein it is contained, bj' the use of water applied in a variety of ways; 

 the principal implements emploj^ed and modes resorted to being the pan, 

 rocker. sluice-Y'.and hj-di-aulic washing. The pan and rocker, at first uni- 

 versall}' used, have now been pretty much laid aside, except by the 

 Mexicans and Asiatics, who find in the smaller amounts of physical 

 exertion required for their use a strong argument in favor of retaining 

 them. Placer mines in spots have been found spread over a wide stretch 

 of country on the Pacific slope of the Eocky Mountains; remunerative 

 diggings, often of great extent, have been discovered in every State and 

 Territory west of that range. In California there is scarcely one in the 

 eastern tier of counties, reaching from Oregon to Mexico, but which con- 

 tains a greater or less extent of this class of mines; and onlj^ a few 

 in which actual operations are not now being prosecuted. Stretching 

 across the northern part of the State, from its eastern boundary to the 

 ocean, and extending into southern Oregon, is also an auriferous belt 

 abounding in this description of mines, and Avhich for several years past, 

 as it still does, has constituted one of the most active and profitable fields 

 for this class of operations. In Eastern Oregon, Washington Territory, 

 Idaho, and Montana, large districts containing these superficial deposits 

 have lately been discovered, every year adding to their extent as these 

 vast but hitherto little known regions become more thoroughly explored. 



Near Fort Colville, and at other points on the Upper Columbia, placers 

 have been worked for nearl}" ten 3-cars, and much of the time with results 

 that would have been satisfactory but for the great expense of obtaining 

 supplies, and trouble with the Indians, by whom the pioneer minei's were 

 much annoyed. The product of gold dust front these northern countries 

 has for several years past been considerable, and is steadily and rapidly 

 on the increase, the most of it being, of course, obtained from surface 

 diggings. Considering the population, the individual earnings may not 



