Letter from R. M. Patterson to Robert Walker

Moint of she United Shales 11 Decem: 1848 Sir: on the 5th inst we received, as I have already had thehonerto inform you, the first deposite of gold from California. It was deposited by Onr. David Carter, who brong hr is from San francisco by the isthmus route. It eneighed 180459 curces troy; of which 1423,80 was from the lower surface mines, and 380.79 from those as reather airier. On the instance another deposite was sent by the secretary of ebow, which eneighed 228 ounces. The gold was of two sorts in Epternal character, though appomently not different as to quality. she first disging was an gaanus. which aver aged from one to two penrying hts; the other banety, from the swamps or margins of the streams, being in small flat spangles of which on an average it would take sip or seven to weigh one grain. of these, by far the larger part of the deposites was composed The gold was melted in sue pancels, an d the lossby metting matter due to the earthy +oridable which disappears in this operations over veraged about 2% percent, of the original weight. she loss reported is moder ate schows than the gold had been carefully washed. assays of the snelted gold were made with great cane and the results showed a variation in fineness from 892 to 597 thousandths, the over age of the whole being 894.