LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, TRANSMITTING REPORT UPON THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES WEST OF TEE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. WAS HINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1867. THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, January 23, 1867. On motion of Mr. LAFLIN, chairman of the Committee on Printing, Resolved, That there be printed for the use of the House five thousand extra copies of the report of J. Ross Browne on the mineral resources of the country. Attest: EDWARD McPHERSON, Clerk. LET TE R FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, TRANSM1TTING A report upon tlte mineral resources of the States and Territories west of the Rocky Mountains. JANUARY 8, 1867.-Referred to the Committee on Mines and Mining and ordered to be printed. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 8, 1867. SIR: 1 have the honor to transmit a preliminary report upon the mineral resources of the States and Territories west of the Rocky mountains by Mr. J. Ross Browne, who was appointed special commissioner under a provision of the appropriation act of July 28, 1866, authorizing the collection by the Secretary of the Treasury of 1" reliable statistical information concerning the gold and silver mines of the western States and Territories." An introductory communication from Mr. Browne is also enclosed, which will indicate the scope of the report, with some suggestions in regard to the future prosecution of the inquiry into the situation and prospects of gold and silver mining in the United States. The commissioner has evidently availed himself of the best experience of the State of California, especially in the department of geological and mineralogical observation; and the present compilation of its results cannot fail to be a welcome contribution to the public information. If Congress shall make the necessary appropriation for this object, it is the purpose of the Secretary to secure a similar body of scientific and statistical information in regard to the mining districts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Montana. A report upon the production of gold and silver in those Territories, and in the Vermillion and Alleghany districts of the United States, by NMr. James W. Taylor, will be forwarded from this department to the House of Representatives at an early day. I am, very truly, your obedient servant, H. McCULLOCH, Secretry of the Treasury. Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House (f Representatives. 4 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, August 2, 1866. SIR: In entering upon your duties as special commissioner to doloect mining statistics in the States and Territories west of the Rocky mountains, it is important that you should clearly understand the objects. designed to be accomplished by this department and by Congress. The absence of reliable statistics in any department of the government on the subject of mines and mining in our new mineral regions, and the inconvenience resulting from it, induced Congress at its last session to appropriate the sum of ten thousand dollars for the collection of information of all kinds tending to show the extent and character of our mineral resources in the far west. The special points of inquiry to which your attention will necessarily be directed are so varied, and embrace so large a scope of country, that it will scarcely be practicable for you to report upon them in full by the next session of Congress.' I entertain the hope, however, that you will be enabled by that time to collect sufficient data to furnish, in the form of a preliminary report, the basis of a plan of operations by which we can in future procure information of a more detailed and comprehensive character. The success of your visit to the mineral regions, in carrying out the objects contemplated, must depend in a great measure upon the judicious exercise of your own judgment, and upon your long practical acquaintance with the country, your thorough experience of mining operations, and your knowledge of the best and most economical means of procuring reliable information. The department will not, therefore, undertake to give you detailed instructions upon every point that may arise in the course of your investigations. It desires to impress upon you in general terms a few important considerations for your guidance, leaving the rest to your own judgment and sense of duty. 1. All statistics should be obtained from such sources as can be relied upon. Their value will depend upon their accuracy and authenticity. All statements not based upon actual data should be free from prejudice or exaggeration. 2. In your preliminary report, a brief Htistorical review of the origin of gold and silver mining on the Pacific coast would be interesting in connection with a statement of the present condition of the country, as tending to show the progress of settlement and civilization. 3. The geological formation of the great mineral belts and the general characteristics of the placer diggings and quartz ledges should be given in a concise form. 4. The different systems of mining in operation since 1848, showing the machinery used, the various processes of reducing the ores, the percentage of waste, and the net profits. 5. The population engaged in mining, exclusively and in part; the capital and labor employed; the value of improvements; the number of mills and steam-engines in operation;'the yield of the mines worked; the average of dividends and average of losses, in all the operations of mining. 6. The proportion of agricultural and mineral lands in each district; the quantity of wood land; facilities for obtaining fuel; number and extent of streams and water privileges. 7. Salt beds, deposits of soda and borax, and all other valuable mineral deposits. 8. The altitude, character of the climate, mode and cost of living; cost of all kinds of material;'cost of labor, &c. 9. The population of the various minining towns; the number of banks and banking institutions in them; the modes of assaying, melting, and refining bullion; the charges upon the same for transportatiou and insurance WEST OF TIHE ROCKY MOJUNTAINS 10. Facilities in the way of communication; postal and telegraphic lines; stage routes in operation; cost of travel; probable benefits likely to result from the construction of the Pacific railroad and its proposed branches. 11. The.necessity for assay offices and pubiic depositories; what financial facilities may tend to develop the country and enhance its products. 12. Copies of all local mining laws'and customs now regulating the holding and working of claims. 13. The number of ledges opened and the number claimed; the character of the soil and its adaptation to the support of a large population. Upon all these points it is very desirable that we should possess reliable information. Whatever tends to develop the vast resources of our new States and Territories must add to the wealth of the whole country. I am extremely solicitous that the information collected should be ample and authentic. Trusting that you may be enabled to make such a report as will be of great public utility, and at the same time promote the interests of the miners to whose industry and energy so much is due, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, I-. McCULLOCHI, Secretary of the Treasury. J. Ross BBOWNE, Esq, TWashington, D. C. LETTER FROM J. ROSS BROWNE, SPECIAL COMMISSIONER FOR THE COLLECTION OF MINING STATISTICS, TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, November 24, 1866. SIR: I had the honor to send you by last steamer a preliminary report on the mineral resources of the States and Territories west of the Rocky mountains. Congress, at its last session, appropriated ten thousand dollars " to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to collect reliable statistical information concerning the gold and silver mines of the western States and Territories," &c. Under a letter of appointment, dated August 2, 1866, and in accordance with detailed instructions of same date, I entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned to me, immediately upon my arrival at San Francisco, September 3, ultimo. The views of the department as to the impracticability of reporting in detail by the next session of Congress were fully realized when I came to consider the magnitude of the subject and the immense scope of country over which the inquiry extended. You were pleased to express the hope, however, that I would be enabled to collect by the meeting of Congress -" sufficient data to furnish, in the form of a preliminary report, the basis of a plan of operations " by which information of a more detailed and comprehensive character could be procured in future. To obtain any geological or statistical data whatev, within the brief space of two months, precluded the possibility of a personal visit to the mineral regions prior to the transmission of my report. The experience of Mr. William Ashburner and Mr. A. Rerdond, members of the State geological survey, satisfied me that it would be utterly impracticable to examine the mines of a single district, much less of all the States and Territories west of the Rocky mountains, within that time. Mr. Ashburner spent eight months in procuring data for a single table, showing the operations of the principal quartz mills in Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, Eldorado, Plumas, Sierra, and Nevada counties. Mr RemOnnld spent three months in visiting the principal mines and mills in that part of Mariposa and T'uolumne counties lying between the Merced and Stanislaus rivers, and three months more in preparing tables showing the results of his observations. Under these circumstances, and in view of the fact that I had already visited nearly every mining district within the range of my instructions, and was familiar with the topography of the country and the general condition of the mining interest, I deemed it best to avail myself of such reliable sources of information as were immediately accessible. San Francisco being the central point of trade and commerce for the Pacific coast, afforded facilities in the way of statistical data and scientific aid which could not be obtained elsewhere. From this point nearly all the capital radiates, here the records of all mining enterprises are kept, and here centre the products of the mines. 8 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES The report to which your attention is respectfully invited embodies the results of many years of careful and laborious research. It is compiled from original data furnished by the most intelligent statisticians and experts known on this coast, as well as from notes made by myself during the past three years. In many respects this report is imperfect. No reliable system has hitherto existed for the collection of mining statistics, such as the governments of Europe have long since deemed it expedient to establish. The existing system in the British colonies of Australia and North America, though not adapted to our mineral regions, or to the habits and customs of our people, is both thorough and comprehensive. Surveyors and registrars are appointed for each district, and all mining operations are carried on under their inspection. Monthly and quarterly reports are made by them, under the direction of a supervising officer, whose duty it is to collect and arrange all the data thus furnished for publication. These reports show the actual condition of every branch of mining industry from month to month and quarter to quarter, so that at the expiration of the year a complete history is given of the progress of development and the profits and losses of mining. A permanent system like this, established upon a somewhat different basis, is greatly needed in our country. One of the difficulties already experienced in the collection of mining statistics on this coast is the disinclination of parties interested to expose the secrets of their business. Either the business is not remunerative and they desire to encourage further investments by false representations, or by withholding the truth; or, if unusually successful, they may consider it to their interest, in view of further purchases, arrangements, or contracts, to avoid giving publicity to the facts. I am inclined to believe, however, that the advantages of fair and truthful stateinents, in the encouragement of immigration, the reduction of the cost of labor, the promotion of confidence in. mining enterprises, and the establishment of a more uniform system of laws, will soon become apparent. Indeed, the difficulty to which I Iefer is not so general, even now, as might be supposed. I have found mining companies, doing a steady and reliable business, nearly always disposed to furnish the desired information. The cases of refusal are exceptional, and there is usually a cause for it, well understood by persons familiar with mining enterprises. Another difficulty, which, however, will not exist to so great an extent hereafter, has been the conflicting character of statements made by different parties. In many instances where the sources of information are equally reliable, but where conflicting influences p:evail, it is almost impossible, after the lapse of any great length of time, to get at the exact truth. Even facts, seen from different stand-points, appear differently to the most conscientious persons. In cases of this kind, where the proofs on either side are not positive, I have preferred-sometimes at the expense of prolixity-to give the different statements, especially where there is a general concurrence of testimony as to the main facts. Thus, it will be seen that the amount of bullion produced on the Pacific coast is variously estimated by the best informed and most intelligent fien. Mr. Ashburner's estimates are somewhat lower than those usually accepted by the public, but I believe they are well-considered. Gold and silver are so generally blended together under the head of 1" bullion," that none of the express companies or bankers have hitherto kept separate records of the products of each. It would be very difficult to obtain correct returns on this point, unless the numerous assay offi ces and the authorities at the branch mint could furnish details of the quantity obtained by parting, or by estimating the bullion passing through their establishments-the two metals are so universally alloyed with each other. Mr. Swain, superintendent of the branch mint at San Francisco, a gentleman possessing both the means and the disposition to inform himself on this subject, WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 9 estimates the product of gold and silver for Oregon, California, Nevada, and Washington Territory. as follows: In'1861........................................ $43,391, 000 In 1862..-........................... 49, 370, 000 In 1863............................................. 52, 500, 000 In 1864............................................ 63, 450, 000 In 1865.............................................. 70, 000, 000 Well-informed parties estimate the product for 1866 as follows: California.....-................................. $25, 000, 000 Montana............................................. 18, 000, 000 Idaho.................................. 17, 000, 000 Colorado..... -...-................ 17, 000, 000 Nevada................................ 16, n00, 000 Oregon.......................................... 8, 000, 000 Other sources...........-........................... 5, 000, 000 Total.-............................. 106, 000, 000 Great differences of opinion, however, exist as to the accuracy of this estimate. To some it appears exaggerated, while others pronounce it far below the actual yield. The imperfect returns received for the last nine months would seem to warrant the conclusion that it is not an unreasonable estimate. For instance, the product of Oregon is assumed to be $8,000,000. Statistical tables, supposed to be worthy of credit, show a probable yield for that State of $20,000,000. In 1865 the generally accepted estimate for Oregon was $19,000,000, though that was probably above the actual product. There is good ground for believing that the result this year will be considerably above that of the last year. The same may be said of,the Territories of Idaho and Montana. In like manner, the capital in circulation in California, and necessary for the transaction of business within the limits of the State, is variously estimated at from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000. It is believed that $10,000,000 is annually shipped up to the mines to defray the current expenses of mining; but there is no record of the return of this amount in the form of a circulating medium. Assuming the estimate of the product of bullion, as above given, to be approximately correct, it will be seen that the States and Territories on the Pacific slope produce annually upwards of $100,000,000 of the precious metals, a quantity more than four times as great as the total product of the world less than thirty years ago. The improved processes for the extraction of these metals from their ores, made within the past two years, and the constantly increasing area over which gold and silver mines are being developed, fuirnish strong guarantees that there will be no abatement in the product for years to come, provided government places no impediments in the way by impolitic legislation. The recent financial panic in Europe afforded an illustration of the importance of encouraging this branch of industry. Within sixty days during that panic there was exported from San Francisco the enormous sum of $12,000,000 in gold and silver, without which, it is well known, the commercial interests of the United States would have suffered in sympathy with those of our best customers in England. The shipments of specie from San Francisco to New York during the first eight months of 1866 amounted to $27,729,010. There is a more striking form in which the importance of the gold and silver mines of the Pacific coast on the national welfare may be illustrated. The product of these metals for the present year exceeds in amount all the gold and silver in the national treasury, and in all the banks in all the States. 10 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES The report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows that the bullion in that department on the 1st of Angust last was.....-.... $61, 000, 000 The banks at New York, at same date, report having......... 5, 000, 000 The banks at Boston and Philadelphia report.. 600, 000 The last quarterly report of all the national banks in the United States, outside of the above cities, reports...-.............. 1, 600, 000 State banks outside of those cities estimated at.............. 1, 500, 000 Total.-............................ 69, 700, 000 Tile approximate estimate already given of the gold and silver product of the Pacific States and Territories for 1866 shows a total of $106,000,000, or nearly double the combined bullion of the government and all the banks in the country. For convenience of reference the report transmitted to you is divided into sections and clauses, of which the following is a brief summary: Section 1 contains a historical sketch of the discovery of gold and silver in the territory of the United States west of the Rocky mountains; the excitement consequent upon the development of rich placer diggings in California; the crude meaiis adopted in the early stages of gold mining on the Pacific coast; the introduction of improved processes, and the extraordinary results that followed in the sudden increase of commerce and the extension of the area of civilization. In this section a sketch is also given of the discovery of the Comstock lode and the development of the silver mining interest east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Section 2 refers chiefly to the geological features of California, and the prominent characteristics of the principal lodes in tie great mineral belt. The present production of the gold mines is given fiom actual data derived from investigations made by Professor Ashburner, of the State geological survey, and a comparison is made between the products of California and Australia. Detailed descriptions are given of a few leading mines in Grass valley and Mariposa, showing the expenses and profits of gold mining as a permanent business. Section 3 gives minute details and statistics of the gold and silver mining interests on the Pacific coast; the improved processes and results; the exports of treasure from San Francisco, with the amount received from the mines; cost of extracting the ore and reducing it; the average yield; the machinery in use; capital and labor employed, and cost of working. Section 4 gives a 1historical and topographical sketch of Nevada; the prominent characteristics of the principal silver mines; the alkali lakes, salt-beds, wood and water privileges, and general products. Carefully prepared statistics are given in this section, showing the expenses of silver mining, the various processes of crushing and amalgamating the ores, the number of mills in actual operation, the profits and losses, with a general review of the condition of the mining interest. It also contains brief sketches of Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington Territory, Montana and Arizona, with such reliable data, showing the condition and prospects of the mines, as could be obtained. Section 5 is devoted to the copper mines of the Pacific coast. In this paper a history of the discovery of every notable copper lode is given; the extent of the veins; the quality of the ore; the process of reduction; the costs of machinery and working; the yield, and the profits and losses. Special attention is called to the great national importance of this interest. Section 6 contains a report on the quicksilver mines of California, with statistics of production. Section 7 gives the history of the discovery of borax in California; the process of working the borax deposits; their extent and value; some account of WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 11 the sulphur deposits; and reports on the tin mines of Temescal, and the coal and iron resources of the Pacific coast. Section 8. Mining regions, population; altitude, &c. Section 9. An annonated catalogue of the minerals found west of the Rocky mountains. Section 10. Mining titles; the laws and customs of foreign governments; the crown right, and peculiar doctrines held under that right; the recent legislation of our own government; recommendations of the Secretary of the Treasury; passage of a law for the sale of mineral lands, and general approval of the policy adopted. Section 11. Local customs; difficulties arising therefrom; the necessity of some uniform system; importance of congressional legislation for the systematic working of the mines, and the establishment of a permanent policy for the development of the great mineral resources of the country. Section 12. A list of the most important works published in reference to the geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy of the Pacific coast. Section 13. Population of the mining regions; agricultural resources; table of distances, &c. From the above synopsis it will be seen that an earnest attempt, at least, has been made to meet the wishes of the department as expressed in the letter of instructions hereto appended. Want of time for a more systematic arrangement has been the only serious obstacle to mote satisfactory results. One of the most important subjects considered in the report is the discrelances existing between the local rules and customs upon which a material part of the late mineral land law is based and the statutes of the States and Territories. The policy of granting titles to the miners in fee-simple has met with such universal approval, and the time has been so short since the law went into operation, that I have serious doubts as to the expediency of an immediate change. Attention has been called to some of the difficulties arising from the loose interpretations given to local rules and customs, and in many cases the entire impracticability of determining what they are or asce rtaining where they are to be found. Some provision requiring official records to be kept might, perhaps, have a beneficial effect. Reasons doubtless exist for the differences in the size of the claims in different districts. The rules which would apply to the Reese River district, where the ledges are extremely narrow and close to each other, would scarcely be applicable to districts in which the ledges are of great width and far apart. Still, without descending to details in a general law, some regard should be had to uniformity; and especially some fixed principle should be adopted as to the local laws which shall govern in all conflicting cases. The policy of giving every advantage to the practical miner over the mere speculator will at once be conceded. This, I think, can only be carried into effect by national legislation. A general law, based somewhat upon the principles incorporated in the milling law of Mexico, but more liberal in its provisions, will probably be required before long. The holding of claims without working; the seizure of mining property for debt; the abandonment of claims; the destruction of timber; the monopoly of salt-beds; these are subjects worthy of serious consideration. In the preparation of a preliminary report I have been compelled to depend chiefly upon the labors of other and abler hands. rTo MIr. Hittell, author of a very excellent work on the resources of California, Professor Whitney, Mr. Ashburner, and Mr. Gabb, of the Siate geological survey, Professor Blake, author of various standard works on the geology and mineral resources of California, Baron Von Richthofen, the distinguished German savant, Mir. Degroot, an experienced statistician and topographer, Alr. Bennett, a mining expert, thoroughly familiar with the mineral regions, to Dr. Blachley, of Nevada, and others, I am indebted for nearly all that is really valuable in the report. 12 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES It is my intention to visit the various mineral districts of the Pacific slope during the coming spring and summer. Personal examination of the mines, increased experience, and sufficient time for the careful preparation of the material collected, will enable me, I trust, to present for your consideration, before the next meeting of Congress, a report better worthy of your approval than that just submitted. Reliable statistics and valuable information, showing the resources and products of our new States and Territories, cannot fail to result beneficially to the country and the government. Nothing can tend in a greater degree to encourage immigration and the investment of capital. The question arises, how can the object be best accomplished in the future? A statistical bureau for the Pacific coast has been recommended. It is manifest to my mind that the work cannot be properly done by bureau organization. Information derived from interested parties by means of blanks and circulars, sent out over the mining regions, would be very imperfect and for the most part unreliable. The plan that appears to me most feasible would be1st. To authorize the appointment in each State and Territory of an able and experienced geologist, familiar with all the operations of mining. 2d Annual reports to be made by each officer so appointed and assigned to duty, under official instructions, to the supervising commissioner at San Francisco. 3d. The commissioner to make a visit every year to each mining district, for the purpose of personal inspection of the mines, and conference with his assistants; after which he would be prepared to make his annual report to the Secretary of the Treasury. Proper measures, of course, would be taken to secure the official returns of assessors, surveyors, tax collectors, and other local State or territorial officers. The expense would be comparatively trifling, inasmuch as the services of professional experts could be had without requiring their entire time. A small compensation to each would be an object of some importance. An appropriation of $25,000 would probably be sufficient to inaugurate such a system, though a much larger amount could be advantageously expended. In the hope that these suggestions, hastily made and informally stated, may at least furnish some ground for action, I have the honor to Lbe, very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. ROSS BROWNIE, Special Commissio nc'r. Hon. H. MCCULLOCH,?'ecretary of the Treasury. WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 13 SECTION 1. HISTORICAL SKETCHI OF GOLD AND SILVER MINING ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 1. First mention of gold. —2. Gold found before 1848.-3. Marshall's discovery.-4. The gold discovery in print.-5. Excitement abroad.-6. Pan washing.-7. The rocker.8. Mining ditches.-.9. Miners' " rushes."-10. Gold Lake and Gold Bluff.-ll. The "tom." —12. The sluice.-13. Placer leads traced to quartz.-14. A gold-dredging machine.-15. Decrease of wages.-16. Growth of the quartz interest.-17. Failures in quartz.-18. Improvement in quart, mining.-19. The hydraulic process.-20. Hill mining. —21. Decline of river mining.-22.'Rushes" to Australia.-23. The Kern river excitement.-24. Ancient rivers.-25. The Tuolumne table mountain. —26. The Fraser fever. —27. Discovery of Comstock lode.-28. The Washoe excitement.-29. The barrel and yard process.-30. The pan process.-31. Growth of the Washoe excitement.32. Virginia City.-33. The silver panic. —4. Litigation about the Comstock ledge.35. The many-lode theory.-36. Expenses increasing with depth.-37. Some characteristics of Esmeralda, Humboldt, and Reese rivers.-38. Sutro tunnel project and-39. Baron Richthofen's report.-40. Columbia basin and Cariboo mines. 1.-FIRST MENTION OF GOLD. The first mention of gold in California is made in Hakluyt's account of the voyage of Sir Francis Drake, who spent five weeks in June and Jduly, 1579, in a -bay near latitude 380; whether Drake's bay or San Francisco bay is a matter of dispute. It certainly was one of the two, and of neither can we now say with truth, as Hakluyt said seriously, " There is no part of the earth here to be taken up wherein there is not a reasonable quantity of gold or silver." This statement, taken literally, is untrue, and it was probably made without any foundation, merely for the purpose of embellishing the story and magnifying the importance of Drake and of the country which he claimed to have added to the possessions of the English crown. If any "reasonable quantity" of gold or silver had been obtained by the English adventurers, we should probably have had some account of their expeditions into the interior, of the manner and place in which the precious metals were obtained, and of the specimens which were brought home, but of these things there is no mention. Neither gold nor silver exists "' in reasonable quantity" near the ocean about latitude 380, and the inference is that Drake's discovery of gold in California was a matter of fiction more than of fact. 2.-GOLD FOUND BEFORE 184~. Some small deposits of placer gold were found by Mexicans near the Colorado river at various times from 1775 to 1828, and in the latter year a similar discovery was made at San Isidro, in what is now San Diego county, and in 1802 a mineral vein, supposed to contain silver, at Olizal, in the district of Monterey, attracted some attention, but no profitable mining was done at either of these places. Forbes, who wrote the history of California in 1835, said " No minerals of particular importance have yet been found in Upper California, nor any ores of metals." It was in 1838, sixty-nine years after the arrival of thie Franciscan friars, and the establishment of the first mission, that the placers of San Francisquito, 14 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES forty-five miles northwest from Los Angeles, was discovered. The deposit of gold was neither extensive nor rich, but it was worked steadily for twenty years. In 1841 the exploring expedition of Commodore Wilkes visited the coast, and its mineralogist, James D. Dana, made a trip overland from the Columbia river, by way of Willamette and SacrameMto valleys to San Francisco bay, and in the following year he published a book on mineralogy, and mentioned in it that gold was found in the Sacramento valley, and that rocks similar to those of the auriferous formations were observed in southern Oregon. Dana did not regard his discovery as of any practical value, and if he said anything about it in California no one paid any attention to it. Nevertheless, many persons had an idea'that the country was rich in miherals, and on the 4th of May, 184G, Thomas O. Larkin, then United States consul in Monterey, a gentleman usually careful to keep his statements within the limits of truth, said in an official letter t( James Buchanan, then Secretary of State:'" There is no doubt but that gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, lead, sulphur, and coal mines are to be found all over California, and it is equally doubtful whether, under their present owners, they will ever be worked." The implication here is that if the country were only transferred to the American flag, these mines, of whose existence he knew nothing save by surmise, or by the assertion of inconpetent persons, would soon be opened and worked. In sixty-six days after that letter was written, the stars and stripes were hoisted in Monterey, and now California is working mines of all the minerals mentioned by Larkin save lead, which also might be produced if it would pay, since there is no lack of its ores. 3.-MARSHALL'S DISCOVERY. The discovery of the rich gold fields of the Sacramento basin is an American achievement, accomplished under the American dominion, by a native of the United States, and made of world-wide importance by American enterprise and industry, favored by the liberal pol;cy of American law. It was on the 19th day of January, 1848, ten days before the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, and three months before the ratified copies were exchanged, that James W. Marshall, while engaged in digging a race for a sawmill at Coloma, about thirty-five miles eastward from Sutter's Fort, found some pieces of yellow metal, which he and the half dozen men working with him at the mill supposed to be gold. He felt confident that he had made a discovery of great importance, but he knew nothing of either chemistry or gold mining, so he could not prove the nature of the metal or tell how to obtain it in paying quantities. Every morning he went down to the race to look for the bits of the metal; but the other men at the mill thought Marshall was very wild in his ideas, and they continued their labors in building the mill, and in sowing wheat, and planting vegetables. The swift current of the mill-race washed away a considorable body of earthy matter, leaving the coarse particles of gold behind. so Marshall's collection of specimens continued to accumulate, and his associates began to think there might be something in his gold mine after all. About the middle of February, a Mr. Bennett, one of the party employed at the mill, went to San Francisco for the purpose of learning whether this metal was precious, and there he was introduced to Isaac Humphrey, who had washed for gold in Georgia. The experienced miner saw at a glance that he had the true stuff before him, and after a few inquiries he was satisfied that the diggings must be rich. He made immediate preparation to go to the mill, and tried to persuade some of his friends to go with him, but they thought it would be only a waste of time and money, so lie went with Bennett for his sole companion. He arrived at Coloma on the 7th of March, and found the work at the mill going on as if no gold existed in the neighborhood. The next day he took a WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 15 pan and spade and washed some of the dirt from the bottom of the mill race in places where Marshall had found his specimens, and in a few hours Humphrey declared that these mines were far richer than any in Georgia. He now made a rocker and went to work washing gold industriously, and every day yielded him all ounce or two of metal. The men at the mill made rockers for themselves, and all were soon busy in search of the yellow metal. Everything else was abandoned; the rumor of the discovery spread slowly. In the middle of March, Pearson B. Reading, the owner of a large ranch at the head of the Sacremento valley, happened to visit Sutter's Fort, and hearing of the mining at Coloma, he went thither to see it. He said that if similarity of formation could be taken as proof, there must be gold mines near his ranch, so after observing the method of washing, he posted off, and in a few weeks he was at work on the bars of Clear creek, nearly two hundred miles northwestward from Coloma. A few days after Reading had left, John Bidwell,,now representative of the northern district of the State in the lower house of Congress, came to Coloma, and the result of his visit was that in less than a month he had a party of Indians from his ranch washing gold on the bars of Feather river, seventy-five miles northwestward from Coloma. Thus the mines were apened at far distant points. 4.-THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN PRINT. The first printed notice of the discovery was given in the California newspaper published in San Francisco, on the 15th of March, as follows: "' In the newly made race-way of the saw-mill recently erected by Captain Sutter on the American Fork, gold has been found in considerable quantities. One person brought thirty dollars to New Helvetia, gathered there in a short time." On the 29th of May the same paper, announcing that its publication would be suspended, says: "' The whole country, from San Francisco to Los-Angeles, and from the seashore to the base of the Sierra Nevada, resounds with the sordid cry of gold! gold! gold! while the field is left half planted, the house half built, anAl everything neglected but the manufacture of picks and shovels, and the means of transportation to the spot where one manl obtained one hundred and twenty-eight dollars' worth of the real stuff in one day's washing; and the average for all concerned is twenty dollars per diem." The towns and farms were deserted, or left to the care of women and children, while rancheros, wood-choppers, mechanics, vaqueros, and soldiers and sailors who had deserted or obtained leave of absence, devoted all their energies to washing the auriferous gravel of the Sacramento basin. Never satisfied, however much they might be making, they were continuallylooking for new placers which might yield them twice or thrice as much as they had made before. Thus the area of their labors gradually extended, and at the end of 1848 miners were at work in every large stream on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, from the Feather to the Tuolumne river, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, and also at Reading's diggings, in the northwvestern corner of the SacramentQ valley. 5.-EXCITEMENT ABROAD. The first rumors of the gold discovery were received in the Atlantic States and in foreign countries with incredulity and ridicule; but soon the receipts of the precious metal in large quantities, and the enthusiastic letters of army officers and of men in good repute, changed the current of feeling, and an excitement almost unparalleled ensued. Oregon, the Hawaiian islands, and Sonora sent their thousands to share in the auriferous harvest of the first year; and in the 16 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES following spring all the adventurous young Americans east of the Rocky mountains wanted to go to the new Eldorado, where, as they imagined, everybody was rich, and gold could be dug by the shovelful from the bed of every stream. Before 1850 the population of California had risen from 15,000, as it was in 1847, to 100,000, and the average increase annually for five or six years was 50,000. As the number of mines increased, so did the gold production and tfhe extent and variety of the gold fields. In 1849 the placers of Trinity and Mariposa were opened, and in the following years those of Klamath and Scott's valleys. During the last sixteen years no rich and extensive gold fields have been discovered, though many little placers have been found, and some very valuable deposits, previously unknown, have been brought to light in districts which had been worked previous to 1851. 6 —PAN WASHING. In the first two years the miners depended mainly for their profits on the pan and the rocker. The placer miner's pan is made of sheet iron, or tinned iron, with a'flat bottom about a foot in diameter, an8. sides six inches high, inclining outwards at an angle of thirty or forty degrees. We frequently see and hear the phrase "golden sands," as if the gold were contained in loose sand; but usually it is found in a tough clay, which envelops gravel and large boulders as well as sand. This clay must be thoroughly dissolved; so the miner fills his pan with it, goes to the bank of the river, squats down there, puts his pan under water and shakes it horizontally, so as to get the mass thoroughly soaked; then he picks out the larger stones with one hand and mashes up the largest and toughest lumps of dlay, and again shakes his pan; and when all the dirt appears to be dissolved so that the gold can be carried to the bottom by its weight, he tilts up the pan a little to let the thin mud and light sand run out; and thus he works until he has washed out all except the metal which remains at the bottom. 7.-THE ROCKER. The rocker, which was introduced into the California mines at their discovery, is made somewhat like a child's cradle. On the upper end is a riddle, made with a bottom of sheet-iron punched with holes. This riddle is filled with paydirt, and a man rocks the machine with one hand while with a dipper he pours water into the riddle with the other. With the help of the agitation, the liquid dissolves the clay and carries it down with the gold into the floor of the rocker, where the metal is caught by traverse riffles or cleets, while the mud, water, and sand run off at the lower end of the rocker, which is left open. The riddle can be taken off so that the larger stones can be conveniently thrown off. In places where there was not water enough for washing, and where the gold was coarse, the miners sometimes scratched the metal from the crevices in the rocks with their knives; but the pan and rocker were their main reliance for three or four years. In many places the rich spots were soon exhausted, and there was a rapid decrease in the profits. of the miners. It was necessary that they should devise new and more expeditious methods of working, so that they could wash more in a day, and thus derive as much profit as they had obtained by washing a little dirt. 8.-MINING DITCHES. The chief want of the placer miner is an abundant and convenient supply of water, and the first noteworthy attempt to convey the needful element in an artificial channel was made at Coyote Hill, in Nevada county, in MEarch, 1850. WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 17 This ditch was about two miles long, and, proving a decided success, was imitated in many other places, until, in the course of eight years, six thousand miles of mining canals had been made, supplying all the principal placer districts with water, and furnishing the means for obtaining the greater portion of the gold yield of the State. Many of the ditches were marvels of engineering skill. The problem was to get the largest amount of water at the greatest altitude above the auriferous ground, and at the least immediate expense, as money was worth from three to ten per cent. per month interest. As the pay-dirt might be exhausted within a couple of years, and as the anticipated profits would in a short time be sufficient to pay for an entirely new ditch, durability was a point of minor importance. There was no imperial treasury to supply the funds for a durable aqueduct in every township, nor could the impatient miners wait a decennium for the completion of gigantic structures in stone and mortar. The high value of their time and the scarcity of their money made it necessary that the cheapest and most expeditious expedients for obtaining water should be adopted. Where the surface of the ground furnished the proper grade, a ditch was dug in the earth; and where it did not, flumes were built of wood and sustained in the air by frame-work that rose sometimes to a height of three hundred feet in crossing deep ravines, and extending formiles at an elevation of a hundred or two hundred feet. All the devices known to mechanics for conveying water from hill-top to, hill-top were adopted. Aqueducts of wood and pipes of iron were suspended upon cables of wire, or sustained on bridging of wood; and inverted siphons carried water up the sides of one hill by the heavier pressure from the higher side of another. The ditches were usually the property of companies, of which there were at one time four hundred in the State, owning a total length of six thousand miles of' canals and- flumes. The largest of these, called the Eureka, in Nevada county, has two hundred and five miles of ditches, constructed at a cost of $900,000; and their receipts at one time from the sale of water were $6,000 per day. Unfortunately these mining canals, though more numerous, more extensive, and bolder in design than the aqueducts of Rome, were less durable, and some of them have been abandoned and allowed to go to ruin, so that scarcely a trace of their existence remains, save in the heaps of gravel from which the clay and loam were washed in the search for gold. As the placers in many districts were gradually exhausted, the demand for water and the profits of the ditch companies decreased; and the more expensive flumes, when blown down by severe storms, carried away by floods, or destroyed by the decay of the wood, were not repaired. 9.-MINERS' "RUSHES." The year 1850 was marked by the first of a multitude of "rushes" or sudden migrations in search of imaginary rich diggings. The miners, although generally men of rare intelligence as compared with the laborers in other countries, had vague ideas of the geological distribution of gold, and the marvellous amounts dug out by them, sometimes ascending to thousands of dollars per day to the laborer, excited their fancy so much that they could scarcely have formed a sound judgment if they had possessed the information necessary for its basis. Many believed that there must be some volcanic source from which the gold had been thrown up and scattered over the hills, and they thought that if they could only find that place, they would have nothing to do but to shovel up the precious metal and load their mules with it. More than once, long trains of pack animals were sent out in the confident expectation that they would get loads of gold within a few days. H. Ex. Doc. 29- 2 18 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES No story was too extravagant to command credence. Men who had never earned more than a dollar a day before they came to California were dissatisfied when they were here clearing twenty dollars, and they were always ready to start off on some expedition in search of distant diggings reputed to be rich. Although the miners of to-day have better ideas of the auriferous deposits than they had sixteen years ago, and no longer expect to dig up the pure gold by the shlovelful, they are now, as they have been since the discovery of the mines, always prepared for migration to any new field of excitement. 10.-GOLD LAKE AND GOLD BLUFF. In the spring of 1850 a story was circulated that gold was lying in heaps on the bank of Gold lake, a small body of water eastward of where Downieville now is. Thousands of men left good claims to join this rush, but after weeks or months they returned much poorer than they started. The next year witnessed a rush to Gold Bluff, on the ocean shore.about latitude 41~. The sea beating against a high auriferous hill had left a wide beach containing much gold, which was mixed with sand that was very rich in spots, but was shifted about under the influence of a heavy surf. A gentleman of much intelligence, secretary of a mining company which claimed a portion of the beach, examined the place and seriously wrote to his associates that each one would receive at least $43,000,000 if the sand proved to be only one-tenth as rich as that which he had examined. Several other similar statements were made in corroboration. The mining population were wonderfully excited by these reports, and preparations were made for a large migration to the golden beach; but more precise information was soon published, and most of the adventurers who liad started were disenchanted before the vessels in which they were to sail could get to sea. 11.-THE "TOM."' The construction of hundreds of ditches within three or four years after the successful experiment at Coyote Hill gave a great impulse to placer mining, and had much influence to change its character. Before the water had been carried in artificial channels to the tops or high upon the sides of the hills, nearly all the miners spent their summers in washing the dirt in the bars of the rivers and their winters in working the beds of gullies, which were converted into brooks during the rainy season. In the gullies the supply of pay-dirt was usually small, and the claims were exhausted in the course of a few weeks. On the bars the water was below the level of the pay-dirt, and had to be dipped or pumped up by hand. These circumstances were favorable to the use of the rocker; but the ditch brought the water to places where the dirt was far more abundant and could be obtained with more facility, though it was poorer in quality, and, therefore, the washing of a larger quantity would be necessary to yield an equal profit. New modes of working and new implements must be introduced to accomplish the greater amount of work, and the tom and the sluice came rapidly into use. The tom had been employed for years in the placers of Georgia, and some Georgians had their sluices in Nevada county in the latter part of 1849, and in February of the following year a party at Gold Run, in that county, finding that the bed of the ravine did not give.them enough fall, made a long board trough on the hill-side leading down'to their tom, and the pay-dirt from the claim was thrown up to a board platform, and from that thrown up to the head of the trough, and the water carried the dirt down to the tom. I am indebted for information on this point to B. P. Avery, esq. The purpose of this trough was mainly to save the labor of carrying the dirt by hand from the claim to the tom; but the trough having been once built, its WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 19 value in washing gold was soon apparent. It was, however, the ditch that gave opportunities for the general introduction of the tom and sluice, and in most districts they were unheard of until late in 1850 or 1851. The tom is a trouglh about twelve feet long, eight inches deep, fifteen inches wide at the head and thirty at the foot. A riddle of sheet-iron punched with holes half an inch in diameter forms the bottom of the tom at the lower end, so placed that all the water and their mud shall fall down through the holes of the riddle and none pass over the sides or end. The water falls from the riddle into a flat box with transverse cleets or riffles, and these are to catch the gold. A stream of water runs constantly through the tom, into the head of which the pay-dirt is. thrown by several men, while one throws out the stones too large to pass through the riddle, and throws back to the head of the tom the lumps of clay which reach the foot without being dissolved. 12.-THE SLUICE. The tom was a great improvement on the rocker, but it was soon superseded by a still greater, the sluice, which is a board trough, from a hundred to a thousand feet long, with'transverse cleets at the lower end to catch the gold. With a descent of one foot in twenty the water rushes through it like a torrent, bearing down large stones and tearing the lumps of clay to pieces. The miners, of whom a dozen or a score may work at one sluice, have little to do save to throw in the dirt and take out the gold. Occasionally it may be necessary to throw out some stones, or to shovel the dirt along to prevent the sluice from choking, but these attentions cost relatively very little time. The sluice is the best device heretofore used for washing gold, and is supposed to be unsurpassable. It has been used here more extensively than elsewhere, although it has been introduced by men who have been in our own mines, into Australia, New Zealand, British Columbia, Transylvania, and many other countries. The sluice, though an original invention here, had been previously invented ih Brazil; but it was never brought to much excellence there nor used extensively, and no such implement was known in 1849 in the industry of gold mining. At first the sluices were made short, and afterwards lengthened, until some were a mile long, the length being greater as the gold was finer; that is, if the surface of the earth in the direction of the sluice was favorable. There were many little variations in the form of the sluice, to suit different circumstances. The ground sluice is a mere ditch on a hill side or slope, and the miners dig up the bottom and dig down the banks, while the water carries away the clay and leaves the gold; but the dirt at the bottom of the ground sluice must afterwards be washed in a board sluice. The ground sluice has been used to grade roads and to carry away snow from the streets of mining towns, as well as to wash gold. In claims where many large stones were found in the pay-dirt, and had to be carried by the water through the board sluice, or where the sluice was to be used for a long period, they were paved with stones, because any wooden bottom was rapidly worn out. Sometimes the bed of a stream into which many sluices emptied was converted into a "tail sluice," which yielded a large revenue, with no labor save that of occasionally " cleaning up" or washing out the metal from the sand deposited in the crevices between the stones. 13.-PLACER LEADS TRACED T(1 QUARTZ. The placer gold had originally been confined in rocky veins which were disintegrated by the action of chemical or mechanical forces, and the lighter 20 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES material was swept away by the water, while the heavier remained near its primeval position. The gold found in the bars of large streams far from the mountains, after having been carried a long distance, is in small smooth particles, as though it had been ground fine and polished by long attrition. In small gullies in the mountains the gold is usually coarse and rough, as if it had suffered little change after being freed from the quartz by which it was once surrounded. In hundreds of instances the abundance of gold in a gully has been traced unmistakably to an auriferous quartz lode in the hill-side above it, and the placer miners, following streaks of loose gold, have been brought to the rocky source from which it came. In this manner the Allisen mine and the Comstock lode, not to mention other less celebrated mines or veins, were found. Such discoveries were made in 1850, and in the following year capitalists in New York and London, anxious to get their share of the marvellous wealth of the Sierra Nevada, formed companies to work the quartz mines at Grass valley and at Mariposa. Millions of dollars were invested in machinery, and superintendents, witt, the wildest ideas, were sent to erect mills and to take charge of the precious metals. All these ventures proved complete failures. In most instances the machinery was utterly useless, and the superintendents utterly incompetent. The castings for the mills lay about the wharves of San Francisco for many years, objects of curiosity for experienced miners, and of ridicule for the general public. In one mill the metal was to be caught in a course sieve, and in another the quartz was to be crushed by a rolling ball. The mismanagement was so gross and the losses so severe that foreign capitalists became very shy of California quartz mines, and the development of that branch of industry was much retarded. 14.-A GOLD-DREDGING MACHIINE. It was not, however, in quartz mining alone that ridiculous blunders were made. Large sums of money were expended in the eastern States by men who had never seen a placer mine, and had no correct idea of the nature of the gold deposits, in making machinery to take gold more expeditiously from the river beds and bars than could be done by hand. One enterprising New York company sent a dredging machine to dig the fnetal from the bottom of the Yuba river, never questioning whether that stream was deep enough in the summer to float such a machine, or whether the tough clay and gravel in its bed could be dug up by a dredger, and entirely ignorant of the fact that the gold is mostly in the crevices of the bed-rock, where the spoon and knife of the skilful and attentive miner would be necessary for cleaning out the richest pockets. 15.-DECREASE OF WAGES. With the introduction of the sluice, the ditch, and the hydraulic process, it became customary to hire laborers. The pan and the rocker required every man to be his own master. In 1849 each miner worked for himself, or the exceptions were so few that they were almost unknown. The method of working made it impossible for the employer to guard against the dishonesty of the servant, who could always make more in his own claim than any one could afford to give him. Men become servants usually because they have no capital, and cannot get into profitable employment without it; but there was no lack of profitable employment for the miner in 1849, nor did WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 21 he need any capital, even if he had it. But the sluice brought deep diggings, with large masses of pay-dirt, into demand, and the claims were held at high prices, so that their possession was in itself a capital. There had been an abundance of rocker claims in 1849; but there were not enough good sluice claims three years later to supply one-third of the miners. The erection of a long sluice, the cutting of drains, often necessary to carry off the tailings, and the purchase of water from the ditch company, required capital, and the manner of cleaning up rendered it possible for the owner of a sluice to prevent his servants from stealing any considerable portion of his gold before it came to his possession. Thus it was that the custom of hiring miners for wages became common in the placer diggings. In 1852 the wages were $6 or $7 per day; the next year about $5, since which time they have gradually fallen, until now they are from $2 to $3 50 per day,; the skilful quartz miner commanding the latter sum. 36.-GROWTH OF THE QUARTZ INTEREST. The development of the quartz mining interest of the State has been slow and steady, unlike the placer mining, which, rising suddenly to gigantic proportions, soon reached its culminating point, and then began to decline rapidly. The placers had been discovered by miners who were searching for them, -and who spent much time and labor in the.search; but in early years most of the richest auriferous lodes were found by men who were not looking for quartz. Hunters, travellers,klacer miners and road makers occasionally came, without tihinking of it, upon valuable veins, which they immediately claimed, and proceeded to work or sell. The first quartz miners in California were Mexicans, w-ho knew how goldbearing rocks were reduced in their native country. They pounded up the quartz in mortars, or, if not rich enough to pay for reduction in that way, they made an arrastra or little circular stone pavement in the centre.of which stood a post. To an arm extending out from this was hitched a mule which dragged round a heavy piece of granite, between which and the pavement, the quartz was pulverized, and, when fine, the gold was caught with quicksilver and separated from the base matter by washing. This process required neither capital nor skilled labor, nor delay, nor a number of laborers. The owner of the arrastra could dig out his -own rock one day, and reduce it the next. As a matter of profit lie usually selected only the richest pieces to work in -the arrastra, throwing aside those portions that would not yield at the rate of $75 or more per ton. With experience in the observation of quartz, and a mode of working in which failure was almost impossible, these Mexicans frequently did very well. 17. —FALURE IN QUARTZ. Their success excited the envy of the Americans, who would purchase the claims at high prices, and tell the Mexicans to see the wonders that would be done by American enterprise The common result was that a large and costly steam-mill was erected; a multitude of laborers were employed; they did not know how to select the rich from the poor quartz; the mill was so large that it could not be kept going at its full capacity without receiving all the poor as well as the rich rock aecessEible in the vein; the amalgamator did not understand his business; the rich rock in which the Mexicans had been at work was soon exhausted; the creditors who had loaned money for the erection of the mill brought suit to foreclose 22' RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES their mortgage; the work stopped; the title of the property was insecure; and the people in the neighborhood said quartz mining was a very uncertain business. And so it is under that system of management; and that system, leading to failure, was followed in more than a hundred cases. Mills were built in places where only a little pocket of rich quartz had been found, and if the payquartz was abundant it was not properly selected; or, if selected, the amalgamation was intrusted to a man who knew nothing of the business, and the gold war lo3t. Horace Greeley was near the truth when he said, "I am confident that fully three out of every four quartz mining enterprises have proved failures, or have at best achieved no positive succdss."* And yet ill nearly every case prudent and competent management would have secured success, perhaps on only a small scale, because in many instances the quantity of pay-rock was small. But the failure of three-fourths of the quartz mills built in early years did not prevent the continuous increase of mills, and of the yield of gold from quartz. When a miner found a vein yellow with gold, he could not turn his back on it because his neighbor's mill did not pay. Gradually more caution was used; competent milers and metallurgists became numerous, and the veins were carefully examined as to the quantity of pay-rock before mills,were built. As the placers declined the miners were compelled to turn their attention to quartz, and prospecting for quartz became a regular business. 18.-IMPROVEMENT IN QUARTZ MINING. In the mode of pulverizing and reducing quartz comparatively few changes have been made. In some mills the same machinery and processes have been used without alteration or addition for ten years. There is, however, a general belief that the business has not been properly studied by any one, and it is certain that there is much difference of opinion in regard to the various important questions involved in the reduction of ores. The practice is not uniform either in regard to the fineness of pulverization, or the size and speed of the stamps, or the mode of amalgamation. Wood, as a material for the shafts of stamps, has given way to iron; the square form has been replaced by the cylindrical; and the stamps, instead of falling with a simple downward motion, now come down with a twist. The mortar into which the stamps fall is now always of iron, and the stamps stand in a straight line instead of forming a circle, as they did in some mills years ago. Two of the main improvements in gold quartz mining have been in the concentration and the chlorination of sulphurets. 19.-THE HYDRAULIC PROCESS. The sluice, though perfect as a device for washing the dirt, was not the last invention in placer mining. The shovel did not furnish earth to the sluice fast enough, and the wage; of a dozen workmen must be saved if possible. In 1852, Edward E. Mattison, a native of Connecticut, invented the process of hydraulic mining, in which a stream of water was directed under a heavy pressure against a bank or hill-side containing placer gold, and the earth was torn down by the fluid and carried into the sluice to be washed; thus the expense of shovelling was entirely saved. The man with the rocker might wash one cubic yard of earth in a day; with the tom he might average two yards; with the sluice four yards and with the hydraulic and sluice together fifty or even a. hundred yards. *An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco, in the summer of 1859, by Horace Greeley, page 289. WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 23 The difference is immense. A stream of water rushing through a two-inch pipe, under a pressure of two hundred feet perpendicular, has tremendous force, and the everlasting hills themselves crumble down before it as if they were but piles of cloud blown away by a breath of wind or dissipated by a glance of the sun. And yet even this terrific power has not sufficed. When the hills have been dried by months of constant heat and drought, the clay becomes so hard that the hydraulic stream, with all its momentum, does not readily dissolve it, and much of the water runs off nearly clear through the sluice, and thus is wasted for the purposes of washing. The sluice could wash more dirt than the hydraulic stream will furnish when the clay is hard and dry. To prevent this loss, the miner will often cut a tunnel into the heart of his claim, and by powder blast the clay loose, so that it will give way more readily to the water. There have been instances in which two tons of powder have been used at one blast in a hydraulic claim. 20.-HILL MINING. "'