Gold Placers of California #224399

In spite of the fact that the gold placers of California have produced over a billion dollars since their discovery in 1848, the idea that they are now completely exhausted is entirely erroneous. The closing down of the hydraulic mines of the State was accomplished by the famous Sawyer decision of 1884, and their attempted reopening, under the terms of the Caminetti Act of 1893, was so bitterly fought at every turn by the agricultural interests of the State, that the industry, so far as tributaries of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers are concerned, has lapsed into a moribund condition. The primary cause of this was the complete disregard of the. Rights of the farmers of the State by certain mining interests prior to 1884 and a revengeful spirit shown by certain farming interests toward the miners when the agricultural interests gained the upper hand in the courts.