OF PLACER-MINING IN CALIFORNIA. 51
there still remained a few of the rich surface deposits which had formerly been so numerous.
First Drift-Mining.—The
first extensive drift-mining in the old river channels was commenced
in 1852 at Forest Hill, Placer County; though in 1851 a surface claim
at Brown's Bar, on the Middle Fork of the American River, was drifted
out by Joseph McGillivray.
In
1854, in consequence of the reported discovery of gold-diggings in Kern
County, California, numbers of miners nocked to the southern part of
the State, only to find there poor deposits of a very limited area.
Table Mountain.—Some
miners engaged in sinking a shaft near Jamestown, Tuolumne County,
where the gravel had been washed away, discovered gold at Table
Mountain. Simultaneously other miners traced a seam of gravel
containing gold along its sides, and it was found that this seam ran
into a deep, rocky channel lying under the mountain. The presence of
water in great quantity frustrated all attempts to work this deposit.
Deep Tunnels.—Further
explorations developed the existence of channels running under this
ridge, which were fovind to have a westerly course and to pitch deeper
as work advanced. After several ineffectual attempts to drain the
deposit, the gravel, which proved later to be exceedingly rich, was
finally bottomed by a deep tunnel. " Ten square feet, superficial
measurement, yielded $100,-000, and a pint of gravel not unfrequently
contained a pound of gold." *
An
impetus to deep gravel mining or drifting was given by these
developments, and extensive explorations of a similar character were
undertaken subsequently in other parts of the State.
During
the years 1856 and 1857 river, bar, and gulch mining were less
productive, but quartz and ditch interests became more valuable.
The Frazer River excitement of 1855 caused a stam-
* See Ross Browne, "Reports on the Mineral Resources of the United States," 1867.
