very foot of it, I found several pieces entirely covered with the black cement or lava, of which I have previously spoken. From all these evidences, I am fully satisfied that at some early date in the world's history, by some tremendous volcanic eruption, or by a succession of them, gold, which was existing in the form of ore, mixed with quartz rock, was fused and separated from its surrounding substances, and scattered through every plain, hill, and valley, over an immense territory. By its own gravity, and the continual washing of the rains, it sank into the earth until it reached a rock, or hard, impenetrable clay. It still continued washing and sliding down the hill-side, until it reached the rivers or ravines, and in the former was washed along with its current until it settled in some secure place in their beds, or was deposited upon their banks; and in the latter rested among the crevices of rocks."[13] The following from Mr. King's report, presents the opposite theory, with its evidence in full. The two accounts are at variance both in regard to fact and theory. But that of Mr. King, who enjoyed every facility of obtaining information from observation, and from the statements of intelligent miners, is considered most reliable, in respect to matters of fact, and, therefore, of more dependence in forming a theory. He says-- "The principal formation, or substratum, in these hills, is talcose slate; the superstratum, sometimes penetrating to a great depth, is quartz. This, however, does not cover the entire face of the country, but extends in large bodies in various directions--is found in masses and small fragments on the surface, and seen along the ravines and in the mountains, overhanging the rivers, and in the hill-sides in its original beds. It crops out in the valleys and on the tops of the hills, and forms a striking feature of the entire country over which it extends. From innumerable evidences and indications, it has come to be the universally admitted opinion, among the miners and intelligent men who have examined this region, that the _gold, whether in detached particles and pieces, or in veins, was created in combination with the quartz_. Gold is not found on the surface of the country presenting the appearance of having been thrown up and scattered in all directions by volcanic action. It is only found in particular localities, and attended by peculiar circumstances and indications. It is found in the bars and shoals of the rivers; in ravines, and in what are called the 'dry diggings.'