Manuscripts
Historical accounts of trouble between Chilean, French, and American miners
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- Description
- HM 4384, dated January 1850, describes the problems between Chilean and American miners in the Calevaros mining district. The Chileans had been driven from the mines in northern California, and responded "with pistols, knives, and other weapons of offence," threatening to shoot the Americans if they did not leave. At a meeting of resident American citizens, twelve resolutions were passed in an attempt to quell the problem. The Chileans protested, and did not abandon the mines, and were fined as per the resolutions. The Americans then disbanded the Chileans by force. HM 4385, dated April 1851, relates the issues between American and French miners of the Garde Mobile at Mokelumne Hill. The French government sent members of its Garde Mobile to California to protect mining interests at Mokelumne Hill, and "caused a great excitement, as they marched on the Hill." They made an attempt to raise the French flag but were told "the Stars and Stripes...was on the only one that could fly." The French struck a rich vein, and then claimed the entire hill for France. A skirmish ensued, and the French eventually left the hill at the request of a French consul. These items are handwritten transcriptions taken from HM 322, Journal of a voyage from Newburyport, Mass., to San Francisco, Cal.
- Type
- Manuscripts

