HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



47 



found in the Cosumnes to the south of the American 

 Fork. In each of these streams the gold is found in 

 small scales, whereas in the intervening mountains it 

 occurs in coarser lumps. 



" Mr. Sinclair, whose rancho is three miles above 

 Sutter's, on the north side of the American, employs 

 about fifty Indians on the north fork, not far from its 

 junction with the main stream. He had been engaged 

 about five weeks when I saw him, and up to that time 

 his Indians had used simply closely woven willow 

 baskets. His net proceeds (which I saw) were about 

 $16jOOO worth of gold. He showed me the proceeds 

 of his last week's work fourteen pounds avoirdupois 

 of clean-washed gold. 



" The principal store at Sutter's Fort, that of 

 Brannan and Co., had received in payment for goods 

 $36,000 (worth of this gold) from the 1st of May to 

 the 10th of July. Other merchants had also made 

 extensive sales. Large quantities of goods were daily 

 sent forward to the mines, as the Indians, heretofore 

 so poor and degraded, have suddenly become con 

 sumers of the luxuries of life. I before mentioned 

 that the greater part of the farmers and rancheros 

 had abandoned their fields to go to the mines. This 

 is not the case with Captain Sutter, who was carefully 

 gathering his wheat, estimated at 40,000 bushels. 

 Flour is already worth at Sutter's thirty-six dollars a 

 barrel, and soon will be fifty. Unless large quantities 

 of breadstuffs reach the country, much suffering will 

 occur ; but as each man is now able to pay a large 

 price, it is believed the merchants will bring from Chili 

 and Oregon a plentiful supply for the coming winter. 



" The most moderate estimate I could obtain from 

 men acquainted with the subject, was, that upward of 



