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CROFUTT’S NEW OVERLAND TOURIST

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to this station, where they branch off. Let
us step into them, and see where they go.
Patterson’s is five miles; Salsbury’s six
miles; Alder Creek, three miles, and three
miles more brings us to
Forsom—twenty-five miles east from
Sacramento, in Sacramento county, on the
south bank ofthe American River popu-
lation about 2,000 The Telegraph is pub-
lished here, weekly Vine culture is an
important industry. Some of the finest
vineyards in the State are near here, in-
cluding the Natoma, which is celebrated
for its fine quality of raisins and wine. To
the north and east of the town, placer
mining is the principal business; to the
south and west, farming and grazing.
There are extensive granite quarries in
the vicinity. From the bed of the river,

near this point, large quantities of cobble- |

stones have been obtained, taken to Sacra-
mento, and used in strengthening the levees
around the City. Most of the cobble pave-
ment in San Francisco was obtained from
the same source.

Folsom is ornamented with fruit and
shade trees, and has many fine public and
private buildings, with magnificent scenery.

Regular stages leave for Coloma, daily,
via. Mormon Island, Salmon Falls and
Greenwood Valley, 24 miles distant.

Passing on seven miles to White Rocks,
eight to Latrobe, and eleven to Shingle
Springs, brings us to the end of the rail-
road, 49 miles from Sacramento.

PLACERVILLE.—is twelve miles from
Shingle Springs, with which it is connect-
ed with daily stages. It is the county
seat of El Dorado county, 66 miles east of
Sacramento, at an altitude of 1,880 feet
a tide—present population, about

Who has not heard of Placerville, El
Dorado county ? It was in this county, at
Coloma, eight miles northeast of the city,
where the

First GOLD DISCOVERY—was made Jan-
uary, 19th, 1848—by J.W. Marshall, in the
mill race of Gencral Sutter. The an-
nouncement of this discovery caused the
wildest gold fever excitement ever expert-
enced not only in America, but in every
part of the civilized world.

The news of these rich discoveries sped
with the wings of the wind, and thousands,
ie tens of thousands, in the Atlantic States

eft homes, friends, and all they held dear,
to make their fortunes in this, the new El
Dorado. With many the excitement be-

 

came intense, ships, steamers, barks, brigs,
and all manner of sailing vessels were char-
tered or purchased for a trip “around the
Horn ;” and no sacrifice was thought tobe
too much to make to procure the necessary
outfit for the expedition. Again there were
thousands who, choosing the land, boldly
struck out toward the setting sun to cross the
then almost unknown trackless deserts,
and pathless mountains. Horses, mules
and cattle were pressed into service, as well
as all kinds of conveyances, while many
started with hand-carts, propelling them
themselves, upon which they packed their
tools and provisions for the trip. Again,
others started on foot, with only what they
could pack on their backs, “trusting to
luck.’ Very few, if any, had a thought of
the privations to be endured, or the obsta-
cles to be overcome, so anxious were they
to arrive at the Land of Gold.

Those who came by water, passed in at
the Golden Gate, and up the Sacramento,
while those by land came pouring over the

{Sierra Nevada Mountains, by natural

passes, down, down into this beautiful val-
ley, where a city ofmany thousands sud-
denly sprang into existence. From a “lit-
tle unpleasantness” the place was first
known as “Hangtown,” but in 1852 it was
changed to Placerville, which indicated at
that time, the nature of the mining done
in the vicinity. Of the many thousands
who started across the plains and moun-
tains, hundreds died by the wayside, and
were buried by their companions, while
the greater number were “lost”? by the
hand of the frzendly Indian or the hostdle
Mormon.

It has been estimated, and we think cor-
rectly, could the bones of these emigrants
be collected, and those of their animals, to-
gether with their wagons and carts, in one
continuous line, between the Missouri
river and the Pacific coast, since the rush
commenced in 1848, they would be more
numerous and closer together than the tele-
graph poles on the line of the Pacific rail-
road across the Continent.

The early mining done about Placerville
was done by hand, the pan, rocker, and
long Tom; these have long since given
place to the quartz mills—there are 32 in
the county—and the hydraulic process,
by which nearly all the mining is now
done.

Vine culture and fruit culture are now
the most important occupations of the peo-
ple of the county. Fresh and dried fruits