Originally printed in the ‘Alta California’, a San Francisco newspaper during the Gold rush. this edition is the Dec. 10th 1849 copy;


[For Alta California.]
Sacramento City, Nov. 3 1849.

SIR: -- About the middle of September I had occasion to visit the Gold Mines on the South fork of the American River.  While at Coloma, (or Sutter’s Fort) I discovered on some remarkable hills near the river about three miles in the direction of Weaver’s Creek, with frequent and nearly vertical escarpments, green stone, consisting of an iron-brown limestone and which had the appearance of being worked into picturesque forms be wind and rain. About two miles from this, towards the west of Weaver’s Creek I passed a hill where I saw a remarkable strata of a conglomerate formation; fragments of which were scattered over the surface. 

Among the river hills at Coloma I found strata of fosiliferous rock having a colitic structure, which, in connection with the neighboring strata induces Me to believe that here on the west side of the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, I find repeated the modern formations of Great Britain and Europe, which have hitherto been wanting to complete the system of North American Geology. 

In returning from Coloma I discovered on the west side of Weaver’s Creek as far as the Willow Spring, large beds of the Anthracite Coal in great abundance.  On trying experiments I became fully satisfied of the fact that large mines of coal exist between the Sacramento River and Weaver’s Creek, which will be of great importance in a few years to the inhabitants of California. On account of the scarcity of wood in some parts of the valley of the Sacramento, the fast and rapid settling of this section of country by emigration, cannot fail to bring these mines of coal into useful and profitable operation. Thus Nature has provided and laid up a needful treasure, to supply the deficiency of timber for fuel and other needful purposes for the future inhabitants of the State of California. 
Yours respectfully, 

WARREN MIX.

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