It
may be that a tree of exceptional size caught the eye of the first
explorer, that he camped under it, and named the place in its
honor; or, maybe, some fallen giant lay in the bottom and hindered
the work of the first prospectors. At any rate, Pine Tree Gulch
it was, and the name was as good as any other. The pine trees were
gone now. Cut up for firing, or for the erection of huts, or the
construction of sluices, but the hillside was ragged with their
stumps.
The principal camp was at the mouth of the Gulch, where the little
stream, which scarce afforded water sufficient for the cradles in
the dry season, but which was a rushing torrent in winter, joined
the Yuba. The best ground was at the junction of the streams, and
lay, indeed, in the Yuba Valley rather than in the Gulch. At first
most gold had been found higher up, but there was here comparatively
little depth down to the bedrock, and as the ground became exhausted
the miners moved down towards the mouth of the Gulch. They were
doing well, as a whole, how well no one knew, for miners are chary
of giving information as to what they are making; still, it was
certain they were doing well, for the bars were doing a roaring
trade, and the storekeepers never refused credit--a proof in
itself that the prospects were good.
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