{"id":189,"date":"2018-03-18T21:17:52","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T21:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=189"},"modified":"2019-06-04T16:31:51","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T16:31:51","slug":"document-1-hazlitt-the-great-gold-fields-of-cariboo","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/chapter\/document-1-hazlitt-the-great-gold-fields-of-cariboo\/","title":{"raw":"Document 2: Hazlitt, <em>The Great Gold Fields of Cariboo<\/em>","rendered":"Document 2: Hazlitt, <em>The Great Gold Fields of Cariboo<\/em>"},"content":{"raw":"<center><iframe src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/greatgoldfields00hazlgoog\" width=\"360\" height=\"247\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/greatgoldfields00hazlgoog\">William Carew Hazlitt,\u00a0<em>The Great Gold Fields of Cariboo<\/em>, (London: Routledge, Warne, &amp; Routledge, 1862), 158-161.<\/a>\r\n\r\nWe conclude with a few selected extracts from the\u00a0<em>Journal<\/em> of the Bishop of Columbia...\r\n\r\nJune, 1860. \u2014 One of the most interesting things\u00a0in connexion [sic.] with gold-mining is the courage and\u00a0enterprise of the miner. Water is absolutely necessary for two purposes : washing away the earth above\u00a0the gold, and washing the earth or 'pay dirt' which\u00a0contains the gold. For the former work an immense\u00a0power of water is frequently necessary; this is brought\u00a0from a distance in wooden canals, aqueducts, and\u00a0courses excavated in the soil or rock, and this is\u00a0made to descend upon the workings, and applied by\u00a0a hose to wash away vast masses of earth.\r\n\r\nAt Hill's Bar I visited to-day an aqueduct\u00a0two miles long, which had cost $12,000, or2400l.;\u00a0a company accomplished it in twelye shares, eight\u00a0of which were held by one man. The miners of\u00a0the various claims pay for a head of water five\u00a0dollars a day. Sometimes there will be forty claims\u00a0and this flume will be making to the proprietors 200\u00a0dollars, or 40l. a day. We visited spots where,\u00a0by working without the sluicing power, Chinese\u00a0were making five dollars a day. The sluice is\u00a0where the water is brought in a body from the\u00a0flume, and continual shovelling of earth into the\u00a0sluice boxes produces a large return of gold,\u00a0because more earth can be washed, and the more\u00a0earth washed in a given time, the greater the yield.\u00a0The rocker is by the river-side. It is a sort of\u00a0wheelbarrow on rollers, with a scuttle front; within\u00a0is a sieve, beneath which are two blankets, and at\u00a0the bottom is a copper plate with quicksilver ; the\u00a0'pay earth ' is cast into the sieve, and the machine\u00a0rocked with one hand while the other hand keeps pouring in water ; the earth and water pass through\u00a0the sieve and blankets; the sieve stops the stones\u00a0and larger particles, the blanket catches other atoms of\u00a0gold, &amp;c., and the quicksilver retains the golden\u00a0dust.\r\n\r\nJune 5. \u2014 I heard a strange noise in passing\u00a0near an Indian hut; when I approached I found it to be that of Skiyon, the Indian bear-hunter.\u00a0His wife had her sick child in her lap. Before her\u00a0was the medicine man practising enchantments\u00a0upon the child. He was a strong-featured man of\u00a0about forty. He repeated over and over a few\u00a0words with considerable gesture. Occasionally he\u00a0would stroke the breast and stomach of the child.\u00a0Beside him was a basin of water with some whitening mixture in it ; this he would take and rub\u00a0upon his hands, or he would blow into his hands\u00a0and upon the child, then burst forth again into his\u00a0lament and incantation. The mother held the\u00a0infant towards him, and evidently felt considerable faith in the enchanter.\r\n\r\nOvertook a miner from California, with a\u00a0revolver on one side and a bowie-knife on the other. I spoke about the former; he said they\u00a0were needed in California, but not here.\r\n\r\nI have met very few miners with their weapons;\u00a0once none went without. Things are now as quiet\u00a0and orderly as possible. All classes are well\u00a0treated. Chinamen, Indians, and Blacks, have\u00a0justice equal with others. Indeed it is evident\u00a0that what the Californian looked upon as a sign of\u00a0high spirit and courage he now thinks little of, and\u00a0these terrible weapons are put away.\r\n\r\nJune 7. \u2014 I took a walk with Mr. Pringle along\u00a0a beautiful and romantic trail, following a stream\u00a0and glen to Lake Dallas, and then through a gorge\u00a0into a valley on its northern side, where was a\u00a0stream wending its way to the Frazer. I visited\u00a0some of the Indian potato grounds in that valley;\u00a0the soil is very rich. The rows of potatoes were\u00a0laid with great regularity, indeed in figures and\u00a0patterns such as you see on their basket-work.\u00a0They also 'earth up' at the proper time, which shows a more advanced state than I expected. We ascended a height, and upon a rocky, mossy knoll,\u00a0shaded by pines, we had an extensive view of\u00a0mountain and river scenery. I could have sat there\u00a0for hours, impressed with the grandeur of the works\u00a0of God. How insignificant the most gigantic\u00a0accomplishments of man! We were then on the\u00a0east side of the Quequealla. A canoe, paddled by\u00a0an Indian and his squaw [sic], brought us quickly down\u00a0the rapid, rolling, swelling Frazer, to Hope, for\u00a0which we paid the sum of a dollar, 4s. 2d., for\u00a0half an hour's paddle. These Indians are well paid.","rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/greatgoldfields00hazlgoog\" width=\"360\" height=\"247\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/greatgoldfields00hazlgoog\">William Carew Hazlitt,\u00a0<em>The Great Gold Fields of Cariboo<\/em>, (London: Routledge, Warne, &amp; Routledge, 1862), 158-161.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We conclude with a few selected extracts from the\u00a0<em>Journal<\/em> of the Bishop of Columbia&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>June, 1860. \u2014 One of the most interesting things\u00a0in connexion [sic.] with gold-mining is the courage and\u00a0enterprise of the miner. Water is absolutely necessary for two purposes : washing away the earth above\u00a0the gold, and washing the earth or &#8216;pay dirt&#8217; which\u00a0contains the gold. For the former work an immense\u00a0power of water is frequently necessary; this is brought\u00a0from a distance in wooden canals, aqueducts, and\u00a0courses excavated in the soil or rock, and this is\u00a0made to descend upon the workings, and applied by\u00a0a hose to wash away vast masses of earth.<\/p>\n<p>At Hill&#8217;s Bar I visited to-day an aqueduct\u00a0two miles long, which had cost $12,000, or2400l.;\u00a0a company accomplished it in twelye shares, eight\u00a0of which were held by one man. The miners of\u00a0the various claims pay for a head of water five\u00a0dollars a day. Sometimes there will be forty claims\u00a0and this flume will be making to the proprietors 200\u00a0dollars, or 40l. a day. We visited spots where,\u00a0by working without the sluicing power, Chinese\u00a0were making five dollars a day. The sluice is\u00a0where the water is brought in a body from the\u00a0flume, and continual shovelling of earth into the\u00a0sluice boxes produces a large return of gold,\u00a0because more earth can be washed, and the more\u00a0earth washed in a given time, the greater the yield.\u00a0The rocker is by the river-side. It is a sort of\u00a0wheelbarrow on rollers, with a scuttle front; within\u00a0is a sieve, beneath which are two blankets, and at\u00a0the bottom is a copper plate with quicksilver ; the\u00a0&#8216;pay earth &#8216; is cast into the sieve, and the machine\u00a0rocked with one hand while the other hand keeps pouring in water ; the earth and water pass through\u00a0the sieve and blankets; the sieve stops the stones\u00a0and larger particles, the blanket catches other atoms of\u00a0gold, &amp;c., and the quicksilver retains the golden\u00a0dust.<\/p>\n<p>June 5. \u2014 I heard a strange noise in passing\u00a0near an Indian hut; when I approached I found it to be that of Skiyon, the Indian bear-hunter.\u00a0His wife had her sick child in her lap. Before her\u00a0was the medicine man practising enchantments\u00a0upon the child. He was a strong-featured man of\u00a0about forty. He repeated over and over a few\u00a0words with considerable gesture. Occasionally he\u00a0would stroke the breast and stomach of the child.\u00a0Beside him was a basin of water with some whitening mixture in it ; this he would take and rub\u00a0upon his hands, or he would blow into his hands\u00a0and upon the child, then burst forth again into his\u00a0lament and incantation. The mother held the\u00a0infant towards him, and evidently felt considerable faith in the enchanter.<\/p>\n<p>Overtook a miner from California, with a\u00a0revolver on one side and a bowie-knife on the other. I spoke about the former; he said they\u00a0were needed in California, but not here.<\/p>\n<p>I have met very few miners with their weapons;\u00a0once none went without. Things are now as quiet\u00a0and orderly as possible. All classes are well\u00a0treated. Chinamen, Indians, and Blacks, have\u00a0justice equal with others. Indeed it is evident\u00a0that what the Californian looked upon as a sign of\u00a0high spirit and courage he now thinks little of, and\u00a0these terrible weapons are put away.<\/p>\n<p>June 7. \u2014 I took a walk with Mr. Pringle along\u00a0a beautiful and romantic trail, following a stream\u00a0and glen to Lake Dallas, and then through a gorge\u00a0into a valley on its northern side, where was a\u00a0stream wending its way to the Frazer. I visited\u00a0some of the Indian potato grounds in that valley;\u00a0the soil is very rich. The rows of potatoes were\u00a0laid with great regularity, indeed in figures and\u00a0patterns such as you see on their basket-work.\u00a0They also &#8216;earth up&#8217; at the proper time, which shows a more advanced state than I expected. We ascended a height, and upon a rocky, mossy knoll,\u00a0shaded by pines, we had an extensive view of\u00a0mountain and river scenery. I could have sat there\u00a0for hours, impressed with the grandeur of the works\u00a0of God. How insignificant the most gigantic\u00a0accomplishments of man! We were then on the\u00a0east side of the Quequealla. A canoe, paddled by\u00a0an Indian and his squaw [sic], brought us quickly down\u00a0the rapid, rolling, swelling Frazer, to Hope, for\u00a0which we paid the sum of a dollar, 4s. 2d., for\u00a0half an hour&#8217;s paddle. These Indians are well paid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":173,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/189"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1267,"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/189\/revisions\/1267"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/173"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/189\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=189"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=189"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openhistoryseminar.com\/canadianhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}