Synopsis History of Amador County, California by : Jesse D. Mason
Excerpt from History of Amador County, California: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers Many things will creep in which were better left out, and others of importance are omitted. Some matters will receive undue importance, and few will be accurately related. Not until edition after edition has been brought before the public will the prominent events receive due notice, or the doubtful ones have justice done them. A thousand eyes will be sharp ened to criticise the narrative. A thousand new witnesses will arise to contradict, affirm, or correct. The publishers hope that the public will make due allowance for errors unavoidable in the first attempt to collect the facts pertaining to the early history of the county. In many instances the testimony, even of eye-witnesses, is very conflicting. This is true of the aifairs of August, 1855. Hardly any two agree in their narratives of the circumstances. In this, as in other matters, the most probable statements are recorded. Nothing has been set down in malice, and some things have been left out as being too much like tales told out of school; as far as possible con signing them to oblivion. Having resided over a quarter of a century in the county, and acted a part, though a humble one, in many of the circumstances narrated, the writer has drawn largely on his own memory for many of the incidents. The chapters on geology and mining, will, it is hoped, furnish interesting and profitable reading to all, especially those engaged in mining. The facts and theories are the result of years of observation, and many miles of travel, and are not retailed at second hand from Whitney or other scientists. The observations on mining have been compiled from the statements, opinions and experiences, of hun dreds of intelligent miners. Thanks are due to all the superintendents, especially to those of the Amador Consolidated, the Keystone, the Oneida, the Empire, the Downs and the Zeile mines for valuable information on gold mining, and to Edward Johnson of the Newton mine, for statistics and methods of copper mining. The habits of the early miners will be read with interest. The writer hopes that some of the false impressions, produced by Bret Hart, Joaquin Miller, and other writers, regarding early Californians, will be dissipated by a true description thereof. The stories of the YubaDam, Tuolumne Debating Society and others of that kind, have truth enough for a hint to a lively imagination arid no more; and those who, in after years, judge California by those things, will be wide of the mark. The writer, having been a resident of the State since 1850, has an interest in the good reputation of the pioneers, and is glad to enter his protest to such absurdities being re corded as history. With him, the work has been one of love, and a design to do justice to our countrymen, with no desire to hold them up to derision. The publishers intended to give statistics of the growth of the mining and agricultural industries, but found the published returns entirely worthless. In some instances, the estimations were utterly ab surd. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
