e gold and silver mineral that may be contained
in the land. The precious metals are not only regarded in law as
treasure-trove, but they carry with them to the lucky discoverer the
right to enter upon another person's land, and to appropriate so much
of the land as is necessary to avail himself of his prize. Colonel
Fremont's Mariposa claim, and all other California land claims, are
subject to this legal condition.

PETER TERREROS.

Peter Terreros, then a man of limited means, conceived the idea of
draining this abandoned mine by means of a tunnel or adit (_socabon_)
through the rock, one mile and a quarter in length, from the level of
the stream till it should strike the Santa Brigeda shaft. Upon this
enterprise he toiled with varied success from 1750 until 1762, when he
completed his undertaking, and also struck a _bonanza_, which continued
for twelve years to yield an amount of silver which in our day appears
to be fabulous. The veins which he struck from time to time, as he
advanced with his _socabon_, furnished means to keep alive his
enterprise. When he reached the main shaft, he had a ruin to clear out
and rebuild, which was a more costly undertaking than the building of a
king's palace. Yet his _bonanza_ not only furnished all the means for a
system of lavish expenditure upon the mines and refining-works, but
from his surplus profits he laid out half a million annually in the
purchase of plantations, or six millions of dollars in the twelve
years. This is equal to about 500,000 pounds' weight of silver. Besides
doing this, he loaned to the king a million of dollars, which has never
been paid, and built and equipped two ships of the line, and presented
them to his sovereign.

The humble shop-keeper, Peter Terreros, after such displays of
munificence, was ennobled by the title of Count of Regla. Among the
common people he is the subject of more fables than was Croesus of
old. When his children were baptized, so the story goes, the procession
walked upon bars of silver. By way of expressing his gratitude for the
title conferred upon him, he sent an invitation to the king to visit
him at his mine, assuring his majesty that if he would confer on him
such an exalted favor, his majesty's feet should not tread upon the
ground while he was in the New World. Wherever he should alight from
his carriage it should be upon a pavement of silver, and the places
where he lodged should be lined with the same precious metal.