California mines and minerals . ried on, and where some of the most exciting early scenesin California have occurred. The American, having its source inPlacer County, was the richest river in the State. From its bars andbed, and the deep gorges of its tributaries, fiowed the golden streamthat added hundreds of millions to the wealth of the world in thefew years following the discovery of gold. From 1849 to 1857, there had been made constant and largeshipments of gold, secured mainly from river and bar beds of the present rivers were rich in gold, and the bars ofnearly all streams co
California mines and minerals . ried on, and where some of the most exciting early scenesin California have occurred. The American, having its source inPlacer County, was the richest river in the State. From its bars andbed, and the deep gorges of its tributaries, fiowed the golden streamthat added hundreds of millions to the wealth of the world in thefew years following the discovery of gold. From 1849 to 1857, there had been made constant and largeshipments of gold, secured mainly from river and bar beds of the present rivers were rich in gold, and the bars ofnearly all streams contained gold. In some instances, bars, whendiscovered, were denuded of gravel, and the gold lay exposed uponthe rough places of the bedrock. Some of the earliest miners gath-ered thousands in a single day from the exposed bedrock of the riverbars. The river-bed was first approached by wing-dams, consist-ing of obstructions made of stones and brush packed with soil,extending some distance into the river and then down the curren:. PLACER countys MINING STORY 291 sufficient to drain a portion of the river-bed. Dams and races werealso constructed, draining portions of the streams. Later came the work of fluming the rivers with lumber and canvasflumes. Fluming continued during the first decade of gold mininguntil nearly every stream in the county had been turned from itsnatural channel. The only operations in fluming at present in PlacerCounty are being made on the North Fork of the American, five milessouth of Blue Canyon, where a company is engaged fluming a portionof the river this season. The Bear River Gold Mining Company is operating a hydraulic ele-vator at their river mine on Bear River, two and a half miles fromColfax. The company has acquired several miles of river tailings,which cover the bed of the stream to a depth of from eighteen totwenty-four feet. The hydraulic plant has been equipped at a cost ofseveral thousand dollars. Five hundred inches of water, conveyed in ap
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