Tuolumne County, CA History Transcribed by Kathy Sedler This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://calarchives4u.com/ These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. A History of Tuolumne County, California - San Francisco, B.F. Alley, 1882. Mills and Manufactures. The earliest demands of the bustling population who early arrived within the gold region were for articles of provision, for tools, and for lumber with which to construct the flumes, rockers, and other accessories of mining life, and for the important uses of house building. During the first years the production of lumber was necessarily limited, and the article was of correspondingly high price. Men earned extravagant wages by sawing planks out by hand—pit sawing, it was called. The first records that we have of any important move in the direction of lumber making, are the accounts of Major Charbonell's steam saw mill, situated in Sonora, on land bought from C. F. and T. Dodge, for $150. The existence of this pioneer mill was short, but it was succeeded by numerous others, driven by either steam or water power, and situated in various portions of the county. Soon after Charbonell's experiment, Messrs. Heslep & Manning built a sawmill on Woods' Creek, on the present site of Mr. Bell's Flouring Mill. Subsequently a run of stones was added, and Heslep & Bell commenced the manufacture of flour, Mr. Bell succeeding to the present business. Somewhat later than Messrs. Heslep & Manning's venture, Mr. Caleb Dorsey erected a mill on Mormon Creek, near Springfield, with the double object of sawing lumber and of hoisting water for the use of the miners of Shaw's Flat. Failing in his objects, he removed his mill to Sawmill Flat, and engaged. in lumber making, with good success. At about the same time, or a little later, Messrs. Stacy, Bennett & Turner built also a sawmill on the Flat, selling out at a later period to J. W. Brazee. This gentleman failed in business, and Messrs. Whitney & Van Vechten became proprietors of the mill. Mills were erected in the vicinity of nearly every important mining camp, but the enormous demand for lumber was but partially met. Extravagant prices ruled at first, but the multiplicity of sawmills, by the year 1853, had brought them down to a reasonable figure. Thus, after the great fire in Sonora in October, 1853, boards were quoted at $50 to $60 per thousand. Not a very high price, considering the times and the great demand for rebuilding purposes. In the course of time the lower and central portions of the county were denuded of trees, and the mills were compelled to remove eastward, to keep within reach of the forests which they were so rapidly consuming. Somewhat later—in the year 1856—there were twenty-four sawmills in the county, running thirty-four saws. Of these mills, fourteen were driven by steam, and the remainder by water power. This is the list: Clapp & Brazee, 8 miles east of Sonora, 4 saws; Heslep & Trayler, 7 miles east of Sonora, 4 saws; Whitney & Van Vechten, steam, 3 miles east of Columbia, 2 saws; Smith, Morse & Co., 6 miles east of Columbia, 2 saws and a planing machine—the only one in the county; Nye, 11 miles east of Sonora, steam, 2 saws; Major Prevost, 11 miles east of Sonora, 1 saw; Davis & Co., 15 miles east of Sonora, 2 saws and a shingle machine; Severance & Co., 4 miles southeast of Sonora, 2 saws ; Latimer, steam, 1 saw; Mountain Pine Mill, steam, 10 miles east of Sonora, 1 saw; Reed & Co., near Garrote, steam, 2 saws; Smith, Hunt & Co., between Garrote and Coulterville, steam, 2 saws; Bean & Co., between Garrote and Coulterville, steam, 2 saws; Bailey & Morgan, 12 miles east of Sonora, steam, 1 saw; Sugar Pine, 18 miles east of Sonora, water, 2 saws; Enterprise, 11 miles east of Sonora, water, 2 saws; Charbonell, east of Sonora, 1 saw; Lewis & Engle, 2 miles Last of Columbia, water, 1 saw; Woodham & Co., 6 miles east of Columbia, water, 1 saw; Street, Tuolumne River, above Jacksonville, 1 saw; Vine Springs, near Columbia, water, 1 saw; Mountain Brow, Mormon Creek, near Springfield, water, 1 saw; Zootman, Mormon Creek, water, 1 saw; Talbot, mouth of Woods' Creek, water, 1 saw. The amount of lumber manufactured by the above mills in 1855 was about 15,000,000 feet, worth an average of $30 per M. The total cost of the mills was perhaps $375,000. In and about them 250 men found active employment, at wages ranging from $50 to $100 per month and found. About two thirds of the lumber was used for mining purposes, the remainder for building and fencing. The timber cut was mainly sugar, yellow, and nut pine, and cedar, with some oak and spruce. Quartz Mills. The Alabama Mill may be taken as the typical gold mill, a description of which will enable the reader to seize in his mind the salient facts connected with the simple process of milling gold quartz. In 1880 this magnificent forty-stamp mill was put up, and has been kept in almost continual operation ever since. The mill consists of a wooden building, arranged in successive levels, in order to facilitate the movement of the quartz by gravity. There are forty stamps, each weighing 800 lbs., which receive broken rock from two Dodge rock-breakers, by means of intermediate automatic feeders of the Tulloch patent. The stamps, moving at the rate of eighty-five drops per minute, having a small drop, probably not over five or possibly six inches, crush the quartz to suitable fineness, to the amount of sixty tons daily. Within the battery, plates take up by far the greater percentage of the gold, the remainder, with the slimes, passing over electroplated copper plates, contained in the bottoms of sluices, from the ends of which the slimes run over blankets, for the purpose of catching the contained sulphurets. The course taken with the quartz upon its removal from the vein by blasting, etc., is as follows: A car, running upon a railroad track, transports it to the mill, by way of the tunnel. Reaching the mill, a distance of some two hundred feet, it enters the building at the top, and is discharged over " grizzlies " (inclined grate bars, about an inch apart), thus separating the finer particles from the coarse masses. The latter enter the jaws of the powerful rock-breakers (massive cast-iron-and-steel constructions, whose moving parts approach with irresistible force, crushing even the hardest stone, as if it were brittle wood). From thence it takes its way downward, without the intervention of human exertion, into the huge ore-bins, whence gravity, in due time, assists it into the feeders. We have seen that the whole progress of the quartz is unattended with the slightest muscular exertion on the part of any employee; all the apparatus supplies its own wants, working automatically, and as efficiently as if guided and directed by the acutest brain power and the most unwearied attention. For purposes of comparison, let us turn to the description of the mill of the Experimental Quartz Company, which was erected in the Summer of 1854, in Experimental Gulch, at a distance of a mile or two from Columbia. This mill, one of the very first of the kind ever put up in California, is thus described: " The motive power was water, of which there was sufficient to drive sixteen stamps, but only eight stamps were used. The quartz was shoveled [probably after preliminary breaking] into two large receivers, or boxes, by means of a spout at the back; four stamps work in each box, and crush the quartz to any desired degree of fineness required. A stream of water ran continually through the box, and carried the finer particles of stone out through sieves in front of each box. The powdered quartz, with the water, falls into " riffles" (boxes fitted with grooves), in which about twenty pounds of quicksilver was placed, to which the gold was supposed to adhere, leaving the mud and water to run off as waste. The stamps, each of which weighed five hundred pounds, were raised by means of iron horns affixed to the main shaft or drum, and have a fall of about eighteen inches upon the rock. The ends of the stamps, working upon the rock, are made of cast iron, and as there can be no friction by the gravel sloshing upon the woodwork, they will last for years without repairs. * * * The mill crushes fifteen tons of rock in twenty-four hours, and, what is better, saves all the gold. " The mill is but a short distance from the vein, which is of exceeding richness, and, as it is but five or six feet below the surface, is easy of access. The top soil is removed by ground sluicing, and two carts keep the mill in operation day and night. The whole force employed in and about the mill is but six men, and the total expense of working it is but $250 per week. The mill cost $4,000. The rock pays from fifty cents to two dollars per pound." There are many points in the above sketch (taken from the Columbia Gazette, of October 28, 1854) which will be found worthy of reflection. The existence of a vein paying from fifty cents to two dollars per pound, in sufficient mass to keep an. eight-stamp mill going, is truly a wonder, in the light of modern experience in mines in Tuolumne. The first and earliest stamps were made with wooden stems, four sided, and not capable of revolving. Usually these stems were from five to eight inches square. Later, wrought iron stems came into use, which, when the useful effect of rotation was discovered, were made round. At present the practice is to have these stems from thirteen to fifteen feet long, with a diameter of two and a half to three and. three-eighths inches. Every part of the stamp battery has been modified and its efficiency increased, while the main principles of its action remain the same. The mortar, the shoes and dies, the stem, tappet, head or boss, cam and cam shaft, have been subjected to successive improvements, until the art of quartz crushing has been adapted to rock which pays, not one or two dollars per pound, but two or three or four dollars per ton! This great and useful result has been brought about, in part, by the improvements on mills and processes, and in part by the reduced prices of labor. LIST OF QUARTZ MILLS IN TUOLUMNE COUNTY. STAMPS. Confidence. 40 App 25 Heslep 15 Silver 10 Quartz Mountain 20 Rawhide Ranch 20 Harris 10 Alabama 40 Golden Gate 10 Big Creek. 10 Mount Jefferson 10 Nonpareil. 10 Big Basin 10 Hunter 10 Ferguson 20 Spring Gulch 10 New Albany 10 Golden Rule. 20 Soulsby 15 Telegraph 20 Daegener 10 Louisiana 8 Grizzly 20 Consuelo 20 Riverside 20 Starr King 5 Eureka 10 Buchanan 8 Raymond 10 Patterson 20 Excelsior 10 Keltz 20 Kelsey 10 Atlas 10 Evans 5 Hazel Dell 5 Chandler & Beal. 4 Bear Creek 5 Knox & Boyle 10 Santa Maria 10 Van Tromp 5 Seeber 3 Tuolumne Reduc. Co 5 Several of these are in such a state of dilapidation that they do not appear on the Assessor's tax list. Thirty-seven are regarded as being in order for future work. It is probable that 700 stamps have, at one time and another, been operated in Tuolumne County. Reduction Processes. Within the limits of the county there exist no ores save the commonly found sulphurets, which require the agency of heat to free the contained gold. Of silver, we have no ores that contain more than a trace; so the whole question of rebellious or refractory ores settles upon the before mentioned iron pyrites, commonly known as "sulphurets." The chemical composition of these pyrites is variable. There may be plain sulphide of iron, of a specific gravity of 4.6, light colored and comparatively hard; or it may be a complex substance containing copper, arsenic, or antimony, besides the iron and sulphur. Perhaps the commonest type is that which contains iron and sulphur, and with them, copper amounting to from five to thirty per cent of the whole. This is copper pyrites. It is of a darker color, of greater specific gravity, and softer than the sulphide of iron. Arsenical sulphurets, common in the claims about Arastraville, is like the copper pyrites chemically, with the addition of arsenic. No two mines, it may be said, produce sulphurets of exactly the same character. The various types of sulphurets are alike in this respect: That they all contain gold; and that they require to be roasted to set free this gold, and enable it to be acted upon by the quicksilver or the chlorine gas in the saving processes. Roasting is indispensable: thorough roasting is equally so. And it may safely be said, that any process that pretends to extract gold from sulphurets without first roasting is a swindle, or else it is the invention of some one who is profoundly ignorant of the subject. Once thoroughly roasted, these sulphurets can be treated by the simple processes of amalgamation in pans with quicksilver, or they may be subjected to treatment with chlorine gas. The latter process has been introduced into this county, and in a certain sense may be said to be successful. At the Golden Gate Works, near Sonora, it is conducted in a manner of which the outlines are these: Preliminary roasting in a four-hearth reverberatory furnace is carried to a very high pitch. Twenty-four hours' exposure to an increasing heat, with influx of atmospheric air, serves to drive off the sulphur as sulphurous acid. Withdrawn from the furnace, and cooled upon a brick floor, the ore, now changed by the substitution of oxygen for sulphur, from sulphide to oxide, is sprinkled with water, sifted, and placed in tanks of a capacity of a ton and a half. Chlorine gas, manufactured by acting upon a mixture of common salt and black oxide of manganese, with oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid), is conducted through lead pipes into the bottom of each tank, and, dispersing itself into all parts of the contained ore, comes in contact with the minute particles of gold therein, and combines chemically with them, producing just as many atoms or particles of chloride of gold. Now, this chloride of gold dissolves in water; and by taking advantage of this fact, the valuable substance is leached out, just as potash is leached out of ashes, in the form of lye. Collecting the lye, as we may term it, in large tanks, the next step in the process is to extract the gold, now totally invisible. To effect this, some green copperas (sulphate of iron) is dissolved in water and poured into the tanks, when instantly the chlorine gas which was in alliance with the gold forsakes it, and attaches itself to a portion of the iron in the copperas. This leaves the gold particles by themselves, in the shape of a fine brown powder, which, as they can not dissolve in water, sink slowly to the bottom, forming there a sort of mud. The last step is the gathering up of the mud and melting it, when a mass of pure yellow gold is produced. From an economic standpoint, the chlorination process is a superior one. Compared with amalgamation, we may say, that for very rich sulphurets, or for those sulphuretted ores which contain neither talc, nor lime nor magnesia as carbonates, the chlorination method is superior. But for pyrites carrying little gold, or for those gangues which when calcined produce caustic lime or magnesia (or baryta), which have a faculty of taking up the chlorine before it can reach the gold, then amalgamation should be resorted to. The reverberating furnace seems to possess the greatest advantages for roasting preparatory to chlorinating. A thorough roast is indispensable for the success of that process, it happening that some of the substances formed at the lower temperatures act injuriously on its application, hence must be driven off by long continued heat. The number of processes for the extraction of gold from pyrites, that have been tried or proposed in this county is enormous. There is no limit to the ingenuity that has been laid out to effect this end. Early in the history of the county a man proposed to convert the quartz into a liquid, when, as he said, the gold would settle to the bottom, and could then be shoveled out. We find the newspapers of that day applauding the invention, and prognosticating the time when the process would come into general use. It is almost unnecessary to say to a community so well read as this that the inventor had hit upon the old chemical discovery that quartz (silica) is soluble in hydrofluoric acid. There was, a short year or two previous, a parallel invention which, although not germane to this subject, may possess interest enough to deserve mention here. It is the goldometer of Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher, described as a gentleman of education and refinement, was the first of the numerous horde of divining-rod men—a tribe who were born too late by many centuries, to profitably pursue their seductive ways of entrapping the gold from the pockets of worthier men. Still there are men who believe in such things, as there are men who believe in the sea serpent and in perpetual motion. Fletcher's apparatus, we are told by the directory of Heckendorn & Gist, consisted of a rod of steel, cane, or other elastic material, having a length of three feet, and provided with a ball at one end. What this ball contained no one was permitted to know. Fletcher said the apparatus would not act in other hands but his own, because of his peculiar electrical condition! Holding the rod in his hand he walked over the ground, and if gold existed in the vicinity the rod would bend toward it. He explained it thus: " The motive power was an animal magnetic influence acting through a metallic agency, the action of the instrument depending upon his peculiarity of temperament, and therefore it would not work in other hands." Not very intelligible this, but nevertheless it duped many, among them a Dr. Sprague, who wrote intelligently upon its virtues and effects. Returning to the subject of sulphurets, it is noticeable that the failures in working sulphuret mines have been almost universal. This is rather to be attributed to the limited supply of rich ores rather than to errors of management, though the latter cause can be saddled with a great many failures. In very few cases have science and practical judgment combined to lead the way to success, so room yet remains for capital, aided by experience, to do an immense deal toward developing the yet remaining resources. A great fault thus far has been the character of some of those men who have come from abroad to introduce processes. Perhaps the leading characteristic of process vendors has been dishonesty rather than ingenuity; a disposition to trick workmen and tradesmen rather than to honestly carry out their pretended objects. Want of space forbids mention of many of these projects, but cases in point may be cited. Mr. Eames, of San Francisco, engaged in the business of extracting gold from sulphurets, by a process of his own invention, which he, no doubt, believed efficient. In proof that he was sincere or partly so, it may be remembered that he expended tens of thousands of dollars, bankrupting himself and certain credulous friends. This pseudo-scientific man, having erected costly works at Saucelito, and supplemented them by the purchase of three mines near Tuttletown, and the erection of a mill, commenced mining where, and in what manner, his " knowledge of geology told him to." The consequence was that he failed at once, and suspended operations, leaving everything to his creditors, who at last accounts had realized some few cents on the dollar. Flouring Mills. The earliest flour or grist mill, of which mention can be found at this day, was fitted up in February, 1854, by W. G. Heslep. It stood on Wood's Creek, ten miles below Sonora, and was merged into the mill of Bell & Heslep, now owned by the former partner. Before this, the Talbot Mill Company had incorporated (October, 1853), with the objects of "manufacturing flour and meal and grinding barley, of sawing lumber, and of farming." The corporation was to exist for twenty-five years. Its capital stock was $40,000, and the Trustees of the enterprise were David Talbot, Major Alva Farnsworth and B. W. Horr. Their mill was built upon the Tuolumne River, near Horr's ranch. For awhile the enterprise was successful, but its promising business was cut short by a freshet in 1855, which swept away the mill, with the dam, the buildings, flour, grain, etc., the total loss being about $30,000. The work was never resumed. Since then the flouring mills have kept even pace with the progress of the county. In 1876 there were six such mills, but that number has now decreased to four. The building of Messrs. Hampton, Divoll & Smith's flour and planing mill, in 1872, marked quite an epoch in the business, but that structure has been since thrown in the background by the more pretentious Star Mills, also in Sonora. The former structure, still occupied for its original purpose, is 50x60 feet, three stories high in front, but so situated upon a hillside as to be but one story in the rear. There were three pairs of burrs, arranged to be driven by a 60-horse power steam engine in time of drought, but by a 30-foot overshot water-wheel at other seasons. The mill was capable of grinding from 100 to 150 barrels of flour daily. Connected therewith was a planing mill. This mill was and still is known as the Sonora City Flouring and Planing Mill, and is yet in existence and. constantly doing good work. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF TUOLUMNE COUNTY. The County of Tuolumne (which derives its name from an Indian word signifying "stone wigwams") lies upon the western slope of the Sierra, reaching from pits summits to the valley land of the San Joaquin. It closely resembles, in its general features, the Counties of Mariposa and Calaveras, which adjoin it upon the south and north, respectively. These features may be summed up as follows: The general slope of drainage is toward the west. The country is very uneven, the knolls of the lowermost portion verging into the majestic mountains of the higher, or eastern part. All classes of scenery are comprised therein, from the monotonous rolling hills, bordering the San Joaquin Valley, through the beautiful rural landscapes of the middle region, to the grand and awful Alpine scenery of the Upper Sierra. Throughout this whole extent as great a diversity exists in the soil and drainage as in the scenery. Comparatively little of the large area is level land, the hills, mountains and narrow valleys between making up the most of the surface. Agriculturally considered, Tuolumne County does not by any means take a high rank. For a long time known as a mining region, it is only at a comparatively recent date that the adaptability of her soil to special agricultural products has become known. Limited in the extent of her arable land as she is, the culture of general crops, as the raising of wheat, etc., in competition with the valley lands, is impossible, for obvious reasons. Leaving aside a discussion of why this is so, an examination of her advantages in the way of special crops is in order. The soil is composed of the fine particles washed down from the more elevated regions, decomposing and disintegrating in its passage. It is mostly of granitic origin, and so of reasonable fertility. The tracts of arable land are confined to the borders of water-courses, usually narrow and hard of access. This gravelly soil, containing all of the chemical elements necessary to plant growth, is easily worked, and is found to be peculiarly adapted to the useful products, more, perhaps, than in any other part of the State. The list of productions is a long one indeed, embracing most of the useful plants and trees of the Temperate Zone, together with a considerable number of tropical and sub-tropical, productions. The cereals, in consequence of the limited area of the farms, as above observed, do not attain great prominence. Not enough of wheat or barley are raised to supply the local demand, but the " plains" are depended on for the difference. Hay, from the sowing of wheat or barley, is raised in large quantities, and usually commands a round price, varying at Sonora from $15 to $25, averaging, perhaps, $20 per ton. Potatoes have been a rather successful crop, if well irrigated, and corn, too, may be raised. In fact, it would be difficult to mention an agricultural product of any industrial value which could not be successfully raised here. The land and climate seem adapted to the raising of tolerable yields of nearly every known food crop. It is, however, in the culture of fruit that the foothill region most excels. The products of the orchard here attain a flavor unequaled by the insipid growths of the lower country. The small fruits and berries are reared in profusion. Too much can not be said in favor of the strawberry and the raspberry, which are susceptible of high cultivation, and attain a remarkably perfect flavor, taking a high rank as important adjuncts of the dining table. But the blackberry, the most valuable of all the berries, finds here its chosen habitat, where it grows to a size and luxuriousness hitherto unnoted. Its native heath is here, and the porous soil rewards the propagator of this inestimable berry a thousand-fold. Cherries we have, but the fruit degenerates, becoming undersized, puckery, and comparatively unwholesome. The characteristics of different fruits furnish subjects for prolonged discussion; but at present it may be well merely to outline the salient points connected with the practice of horticulture in Tuolumne, and dismiss the subject. The apple claims attention as the most important fruit grown, and deservedly so, as it is the surest of all fruit crops, and marvelous when we come to regard the thriftiness of the trees and their regular and prolific bearing. Somewhat more than the demand would warrant is raised of this delicious fruit. Equally admirable for flavor, beauty and size, are the pears grown in this section. Peaches, too, that are raised under the conditions here surrounding, take rank with the apple and pear as being most perfectly adapted to the climate and soil. Considering the perfect adaptability to the cultivation of these three most important fruits—the apple, the pear, and the peach—it is not too much to say that the raising of these alone, in such quantity as can and will be done, would suffice to make this a favored and prosperous region. The grape shows quite a high degree of adaptability to the soil. Excellent varieties for wine and for table use have been raised, and it would seem that viniculture should have taken a permanent place as one of the very foremost industries. Such it once seemed to do. The time was, when it was deemed that grape growing was to take the place of mining; and that these hills, robbed of their underground wealth, should continue to yield, through the vines upon their flanks, a yet richer harvest. Many vineyards were planted, but the hopes of their owners were not realized. From some real or fancied reason, wine and raisin making has not been found to pay as richly as was anticipated, and those men who entered largely into grape growing, saw, in the course of a few years, that they had not found therein a certain road to wealth. These vineyards, planted some dozen years since, are scattered through the middle foothill region, on the sides of the hills and in the valleys, but have mostly been suffered to go to decay, through lack of care and attention. Magnificent grape fields, capable of producing each year from three to five tons per acre, have been so allowed to run to waste, and the grass and weeds have choked the vines until desolation rules the scene. Tourists and others often ask why this is so; why is a promising source of wealth neglected thus ? The reasons seem to be that, first, the art of wine-making has not been studied sufficiently, the production of poor, sour, red wines constituting the greater part of the vintage, they being the handiwork of certain Italians and Portuguese, whose taste in such matters is as coarse as can be imagined, and who control the greater part of the vines and wines of this section. Next, we have the exorbitant prices of freight—prices that amount to, at the least calculation, six cents per gallon for transporting to San Francisco, exclusive of the cost of casks. It must be admitted that the grape crop of the foothills has not yet been able to compete with that of the most favored districts of the wine counties, par excellence, in the yield per acre, the comparative status of the two sections being that four tons per acre in Napa constitute an average crop, while three tons in Tuolumne are regarded as an average. It would not be proper to assume that this difference is owing to deficiencies in the soil or climate of our section, although it is possible that the discrepancy is in part owing to those reasons. It is more likely, however, to arise from the following causes: It is well known that grape raising and wine making have received an extraordinary amount of attention in Napa, Sonoma, Los Angeles and other counties, fortunes having been spent in the introduction of new and better species of vines, and well proved methods of manufacture. Books have been written upon these subjects, and viniculture has risen to the dignity of a much practiced and. grandly important art, upon which the prosperity of very important sections of the State depend. Success has crowned these strenuous efforts, which have at length brought viniculture to its present high standing as one of the very first interests of the State. Intense study of the subject has resulted in the production of wine of first-rate quality, champagnes, sherries and ports being imitated to a nicety that makes it nearly impossible to tell the false from the genuine. In the foothills, on the contrary, very little intelligence has been directed to the subject, and only enough good wine has been produced to prove beyond a doubt the fitness of this region for such pursuits. A few gentlemen among us have from time to time devoted themselves to experimenting in this branch with splendid results, and it is only from their labors that we are able to speak emphatically upon the subject. Hence, we can say that it is more than likely that the same amount of care and experience that has been given to the wine culture in the lower counties would, if bestowed upon our vineyards, result in producing crops as large and as certain as any land can boast of ; and, in addition, we might claim, what is known as a fact, that our grapes are, considering the inferior varieties, superior in flavor to any others grown in California. It is useless to enlarge upon this theme, though much might profitably be written upon it. The want of cheap transportation prevents wine making, as it does every other branch of manufacture or trade, from assuming the immense proportions that Nature and the surroundings would permit. No intelligent person who has traveled in Tuolumne can have failed to remark the vast extent of hillside and valley which is adapted to this branch of horticulture. Probably one-half of all the land of the entire county is capable of raising large average crops of grapes. The conditions are so favorable that we may safely record wine making as one of the pursuits which, in the future, will be of the most importance in the county, and very likely the foremost of all. A variety of the minor or incidental fruit products claim attention next. The making of raisins has always been regarded as profitable, although not much has been done in that direction. These always command a comparatively high price, but native raisins seem never to be able to compete successfully with the foreign varieties. At present that branch of industry can only be regarded as of possible great future importance. Similar language may be used in regard to fig growing—the more common varieties of that fruit, doing remarkably well in all the inhabited sections of the county—but the slight estimation in which the crop is held proves its present unprofitableness. In various parts of the county exist apparatus for the manufacture of cider from apples. The Messrs. Macomber, of Sonora, have distinguished themselves in this and its related branches, building up an extensive and profitable business. From a small beginning they have achieved a great success, their brands of champagne cider, cider vinegar and pickles being of extensive sale and widespread celebrity. A demand for their products comes from distant places, as well as from the nearer towns and cities of California. It may be that these busy gentlemen are the pioneers of a large number who will engage in these and similar pursuits in the near future, to realize fortunes for themselves and great benefits for the county. As before remarked, it would seem that nearly every soil production had been known to flourish in the fruitful land of Tuolumne. In times past a vast variety of such products (those of the Torrid and Temperate Zones, with their various subdivisions) have been tested; and such widely separated plants as rye and coffee, representing the extremes of the North Temperate and the Torrid Zones, have succeeded in considerable degree. This is a remarkable fact, and one that is unprecedented in the annals of agriculture. After such evidence as this, we may well believe that the county is highly favored by nature; and we may also be well assured that the future will see the farmers of this section in a prosperous condition, and their prosperity based upon a far surer foundation than if their sole occupation was in grain or cattle raising. Experience has shown that a system of mixed farming is the most advantageous for a people and a State. Communities which are self-supporting, producing their own provisions, and also their own clothing, are not only more permanently prosperous, but always exercise a greater moral influence than those who devote themselves to a single branch of husbandry, as wheat-raising, or some similar occupation. Here in Tuolumne the tendency must always be to the raising of a variety of products on each farm—and of a very large number within the borders of the county. It is to be expected that in addition to the present everyday occupations of raising pork, beef, mutton, a little wheat, a great deal of hay and barley, unlimited amounts of fruit, and potatoes, with bees-honey, garden products, etc., each farmer shortly will gather a considerable quantity of grapes, to sell to the neighboring winery, of which Tuolumne will doubtless contain many—"when we have a railroad"—and also derive from his flock of sheep a quantity of wool enough at least to clothe himself and his family, when made into cloth at the woolen factory, which the section will doubtless possess. Nature must have intended that this should be a region of HOMES. She has bestowed on it a climate which is unequaled. No less an authority than Bayard Taylor, the great traveler, pronounced the climate superior to that of Italy. Healthful to a degree, no epidemic or endemic diseases of a severe type exist; and there is no reason why a long life should not be the lot of its inhabitants. The soil (some of it capable of renewal by means of the ditches carrying mud) is of sufficient fertility, and is very easily worked. Good water abounds, " hardness " in some locations being an objection. This mention of the water supply leads to the interesting topic of irrigation, which enables the domain of agriculture to be so greatly extended. Only those who have traveled over the mining country can have an adequate idea of the extent and number of the ditches which have been dug to carry water to the placers. They ramify in all directions. Every sidehill has one, and frequently a dozen. Hardly any spot exists in the middle region of the county which cannot be reached by water from these ditches. After serving their purpose in assisting the miners to extract the gold particles, they now stand ready and mostly uninjured to carry their streams to the aid of the farmer, whose work needs their aid as much as his predecessor's. Here, then, is a water supply worth millions, ready at hand to aid the deserving agriculturist. As if nature, in conferring on the foothill region its glorious climate, valuable soil, and other unequaled advantages, had not done as much as she desired for the favored people who were to inhabit these hills and valleys, she causes man himself to extenuate her work, by digging for himself (but unconsciously for a more lasting object) those endless miles of ditches and canals. With all these advantages, it would be a wonder indeed if the future population were not a numerous, happy, contented and useful people, such as farmers usually are. These farmers will not farm as is done in many sections of this State; they will raise no immense crops in one season, to be bankrupted by drouth in the next. There will be no astonishing yields, and no startling pecuniary returns. There will be only moderate, painstaking farming, as it is conducted in the older-settled States. It is impossible to believe other than that, after the lapse of a few scores of years, these small valleys and the pleasant uplands will be dotted thickly with the tasteful houses (not cabins) of actual settlers, who will live for comfort and not for speculation. There is room for every one who covets a home. Whoever can live on a small farm of tolerably fertile land, in a good neighborhood, and in the enjoyment of the best climate in the world, should settle in these foothills. Already there is an active and enterprising population, with whom farming and kindred pursuits find favor, living useful and agreeable lives, believing in "a little farm well tilled," and who constitute the most permanently valuable class in existence. Many of these present farmers are former miners, who look upon the certain though slow gains of the farmer as preferable to the more hazardous rewards of their former calling. Now, grown older, they recognize the value of a home and home comforts, and have sat down content with the yearly bounty that Nature provides. This class generally take great pride in their new pursuit, and fully realize the worth of good, careful farming. Their homes are often romantically situated, embowered with vines and shaded by broad-spreading oaks and the cultivated acacias and eucalypti, and ornamented by gardens, with their beautiful contents, of all the open-air flowers common to this latitude. Having now pointed out some few of the many advantages with which, in an agricultural way, Tuolumne is blessed, it is time to take leave of the subject. It is not easy to conclude expressions which the extent of the theme force upon one's mind. Volumes of matter concerning the advantages of these foothills might be written, but the subject belongs in common to the whole range of territory on this slope of the Sierra. Finally, these reflections will recur to the intelligent thinker: There are in this county thousands of acres of hillsides susceptible of irrigation, and capable of raising unlimited quantities of grapes, yearly, for the production of wholesome wine and raisins. We could, on demand, pour forth tons of figs, apples, plums, apricots, melons and berries, finer flavored than Eastern epicure ever dreamed of, for the supply of the home and foreign markets. The silkworm would flourish here, tea can be cultivated, and cotton for our clothing may be grown. In the upper mountain ranges exist thousands of acres of succulent grasses for the sustenance of myriads of cattle and sheep; on the verge of the snowbanks there can be made the finest butter. There are great tracts of timber. There is water power sufficient to run a thousand grist, quartz and saw-mills. Our soils are renewable. Every stroke of the miner's pick loosens and sets moving a mass of fine slum, containing all the elements of fertility. If we cause this to settle upon our wastes of rocks and cobbles we produce an additional area of good land—a garden spot, suited for the production of the choicest edibles. We have many mines of gold. There are rich pockets to be exposed each year following, and there are milling veins which are richly worth working. There are other sources of wealth too numerous for even hasty mention in this article, which will be fittingly closed by the reproduction of data derived from the Assessor's Reports, which will be sufficient to exhibit the present standing of the county in comparison with the year 1876: EXTRACTS FROM ASSESSMENT LIST OF 1882. Total value of real estate $1,052,095 Personal property. $1,034,075 Total valuation $2,086,170 Land inclosed, acres 135,707 Land cultivated, acres 34,450 Wheat, acres 6,200 Wheat, bushels 124,000 Barley, acres2,800 Barley, bushels 57,500 Oats, acres 550 Oats, bushels 16,500 Rye, acres 25 Rye, bushels 625 Corn, acres 85 Corn, bushels1,700 Peas, acres 15 Peas, bushels 650 Beans, acres 25 Beans, bushels 500 Potatoes, acres 200 Potatoes, tons600 Onions, acres 50 Onions, bushels 2,750 Hay, acres 25,000 Hay, tons 25,000 Butter, pounds 23,000 Cheese, pounds 1,500 Wool, pounds 28,890 Wine, gallons90,400 Brandy, gallons2,500 Beer, porter, etc., gallons23,000 Lemon trees100 Orange trees200 Olive trees25 Apple trees45,000 Pear trees21,000 Fig trees1,540 Plum trees30,500 Peach trees22,500 Quince trees250 Grape vines, acres775 Value of fruit crops, dollars75,000 Grist mills (1 by steam, 3 by water power)4 Barrels of flour made in 188014,500 Saw mills (5 by steam, 1 by water power)6 Lumber sawed in 1880, feet5,400,000 Shingles made235,000 Quartz mills34 Tons of quartz crushed85,000 Ditches17 Mining ditches (having an aggregate length of 152 miles, and using 10,240 inchese of water daily)7 Irrigating ditches (30 miles in length, irrigating 2,550 acres of land)7 Swarms of bees440 Cows2,660 Other cattle2,800 Goats2,605 Hogs2,290 Horses2,075 Mules113 Jacks and jennies44 Sheep13,932 Lambs3,456 Statistics for 1876. Real estate, dollars 823,000 Personal property, dollars 631,000 Land. inclosed, acres 164,600 Land. cultivated, acres 8,142 Grist mills 6 Quartz mills 34 Ditches 6 Length of ditches, miles 150 Horses 3,285 Mules 187 Horned cattle 8,650 Sheep and lambs. 20,800 Goats 8,600 Hogs4,919 Wheat, bushels 30,900 Barley, bushels18,534 Hay, tons 3,074 Oats, bushels 300 Potatoes, tons 220 Lumber, feet 6,100,000 Product of mines, dollars 713,150 Apricot trees 450 Apple trees 30,780 Peach trees 15,000 Pear trees4,500 Plum trees4,900 Cherry trees880 Fig trees765 Quince trees450 Grape vines500,000 Wine, gallons90,000