SAILORS IN THE MINES. 
103 
As I have already remarked, the supply of gold is inexhaust¬ 
ible, and late discoveries show that the rocks constituting the 
base of the mountains are cemented with it. When proper 
machinery is brought to bear, and the bowels of the earth 
opened, discoveries will undoubtedly be made, that will eclipse 
the most exaggerated calculation. The original deposits were, 
undoubtedly, in the depths of the earth, and all that has yet 
been found is that which has been thrown to the surface, by the 
convulsions of nature. The form and general appearance of the 
gold, together with the appearance of its places of deposit, are 
conclusive proofs of this theory. That the country has been con¬ 
vulsed by internal fires, no one who has visited it, can doubt. 
Mountains of lava are seen towering up, and caverns yawning 
at their base. The natural conclusion is that many of the origi¬ 
nal deposits or veins are still undisturbed; and, in the vicinity 
of the original deposits of those that have, gold must exist, and 
will be discovered to an extent almost beyond conception. 
A system of mining was adopted near the commencement of 
the rainy season, which went to show that gold is much more 
plentifully distributed, as you near the original deposit. It was 
called in California parlance , coyotaing. It was by digging holes or 
pits in the ground, generally into the base of the mountains, 
sometimes penetrating to the depth of fifty or one hundred feet, 
with the opening just sufficient to admit a man. This mode was 
found extremely profitable. Miners now also commenced pros¬ 
pecting among the rocks on this side of the mountains, and 
with very fair success. 
Among the operators in the mines, there were none, as a class, 
so generally successful as sailors. They were numerous, and 
carried with them those estimable traits for which they are so 
universally celebrated. They were always, both hand and purse, 
at the disposal of their neighbors. Nothing afforded them more 
pleasure than to administer to the wants of others, always act¬ 
ing upon the principle that what they had belonged to the world 
at large, and they were merely the agents to superintend its dis¬ 
tribution. There was a bar in the immediate vicinity, called 
“Neptune’s Bar,” worked entirely by sailors, and of the twenty 
canalling operations in the vicinity, it was the only successful 
one. They were well remunerated, and no one envied their 
