HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



177 



tember, would give sixty-five working days, and to 

 each laborer, at 16 per ounce, 1,040. If, there 

 fore we assume 1,000 as the average collected by 

 each laborer, we shall probably not go beyond the mark. 



" This would give an aggregate of 20,000,000 for 

 the first half of the season 15,000,000 of which 

 was probably collected by foreigners. During the 

 last half of the season, the number of foreigners was 

 very much diminished, and, perhaps, did not exceed 

 five thousand. At this time, the American immigra 

 tion had come in by land and sea, and the number of 

 our fellow-citizens in the mines had, as was estimated, 

 increased to between forty and fifty thousand. They 

 were most of them inexperienced in mining, and it is 

 probable the results of their labors were not so great 

 as has been estimated for the first part of the season, 

 and experienced miners. Assuming that the average 

 of half an ounce per day ought to be considered as 

 reasonable, it would give an aggregate of about 

 20,000,000. If from this we deduct one-fourth on 

 account of the early commencement of the wet sea 

 son, we have an estimate of 15,000,000 ; at least 

 five of which was collected by foreigners, who pos 

 sessed many advantages from their experience in 

 mining and knowledge of the country. 



" These estimates give, as the result of the opera 

 tions in the mines for 1848 and 1849, the round sum 

 of 40,000,000 ; one-half of which was probably col 

 lected and carried out of the country by foreigners. 



From the best information I could obtain, I am led 

 to believe that at least 20,000,000 of the 40,000,000 

 were taken from the rivers, and that their richness 

 has not been sensibly diminished, except in a few 

 locations, which had early attracted large bodies of 



