That the country is pregnant with an enormous quantity of the precious metal is unquestionable. But that severe and weakening labor, together with tough constitutions, are indispensable requisites for procuring it, scarcely admits of a doubt. Very few spend any considerable time in working at the "diggings," who do not suffer from exposure, and lose a portion of their constitutional stability. So far, all attempts at the construction of machines for washing the gold from the sand, have been of little avail. Machines have been invented and carried out to the gold region by some of the numerous companies, which, upon trial, have soon been abandoned for the "cradle," and common wash pan; but still, the field for invention is open, and the labor now necessary for procuring the gold is susceptible of considerable diminution. Of course, the means of transporting provisions and other necessaries to the mines are constantly improving, as the country is becoming settled; and thus, one great source of privation and disease is rapidly diminishing. FOOTNOTES: [6] Four Months Among the Gold Finders of California, by J. Tyrwhitt Brooks, M.D. [7] Personal Adventures in Upper and Lower California, by William Redmond Ryan. [8] Sights in the Gold Region, or Scenes by the Way, by Theodore T. Johnson. [9] Four Months Among the Gold Finders of California, by J. Tyrwhitt Brooks, M.D. [10] Six Months in the Gold Mines, by E. Gould Buffum CHAPTER VIII. DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF CALIFORNIA, BEFORE AND AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE GOLD MINES. At the time of the discovery of the existence of gold in the region of the Sacramento, San Francisco was a very inconsiderable town. As soon as the news of the discovery was spread among its inhabitants, it became almost deserted. Indeed, at one time, there was only seven male inhabitants left in the town. The site of the present city of San Francisco was not then occupied by more than fifty houses in all. These were occupied by a few foreign merchants and some native Californians. The houses were rudely constructed, the principal materials being adobés, or unburnt bricks. They were generally one story high, and most of them were erected near the beach; while at the rear of the "town," was a sandy plain terminated by a range of hills. But as soon as the news of the gold discovery reached the United States, and other countries, companies for mining purposes were immediately formed, and emigrants soon crowded every route to the "Land of Promise." Then San Francisco began to be the great receptacle of the emigrants and the merchandise of various kinds necessary for their maintenance. The following is a very complete picture of the city after the spreading of the gold news, and the flood of emigration had commenced.