“On account of the inconvenience of washing, the people have, up to this time, only gathered the metal on the banks, which is done simply with a shovel, filling a shallow dish, bowl, basket, or tin pan, with a quantity of black sand, similar to the class used on paper, and washing out the sand by movement of the vessel.  It is now two or three weeks since the men employed in those washings have appeared in this town with gold, to exchange for merchandise and provisions.  I presume nearly 20,000 dollars of this gold has as yet been so exchanged.  Some 200 or 300 men have remained up the river, or are gone to their homes, for the purpose of returning to the Placer, and washing immediately with shovels, picks, and baskets; many of them, for the first few weeks, depending on borrowing from others.  I have seen the written statement of the work of one man for sixteen days, which averaged 25 dollars per day; others have, with a shovel and pan, or wooden bowl, washed out 10 dollars to even 50 dollars in a day.  There are now some men yet washing who have 500 dollars to 1,000 dollars.  As they have to stand two feet deep in the river, they work but a few hours in the day, and not every day in the week.

“A few men have been down in boats to this port, spending twenty to thirty ounces of gold each—­about 300 dollars.  I am confident that this town (San Francisco) has one-half of its tenements empty, locked up with the furniture.  The owners—­storekeepers, lawyers, mechanics, and labourers—­all gone to the Sacramento with their families.  Small parties, of five to fifteen men, have sent to this town and offered cooks ten to fifteen dollars per day for a few weeks.  Mechanics and teamsters, earning the year past five to eight dollars per day, have struck and gone.  Several U.S. volunteers have deserted.  U.S. barque Anita, belonging to the Army, now at anchor here, has but six men.  One Sandwich Island vessel in port lost all her men; and was obliged to engaged another crew at 50 dollars for the run of fifteen days to the Islands.

“One American captain having his men shipped on this coast in such a manner that they could leave at any time, had them all on the eve of quitting, when he agreed to continue their pay and food; leaving one on board, he took a boat and carried them to the gold regions—­furnishing tools and giving his men one-third.  They have been gone a week.  Common spades and shovels, one month ago worth 1 dollar, will now bring 10 dollars, at the gold regions.  I am informed 50 dollars has been offered for one.  Should this gold continue as represented, this town and others would be depopulated.  Clerks’ wages have risen from 600 dollars to 1000 per annum, and board; cooks, 25 dollars to 30 dollars per month.  This sum will not be any inducement a month longer, unless the fever and ague appears among the washers.  The Californian, printed here, stopped this week.  The Star newspaper office, where the new laws of Governor Mason, for this country, are printing, has but one man left.  A merchant, lately from China, has even lost his China servants.  Should the excitement continue through the year, and the whale-ships visit San Francisco, I think they will lose most all their crews.  How Col.  Mason can retain his men, unless he puts a force on the spot, I know not.