CU03259951 ?ATISTICS OF MINES AND MINING IN THE STATES AND TERRITORIES WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUJ^TAINS. By EOSSITER W. RAYMOND, UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF MIXING STATISTICS. _ — .r^ I I WA SHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1872. 42D Congress, » HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIVES. < Ex. Doc. Is* i^ssion. ) . ( No. 10. MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE KOOKY MOUNTAINS. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, TRANSMITTING The report of the special commissioner for the collection of mining statis- tics in the States and Territories west of the BocTcy Mountains. March 21, 1871. — Referred to the Committee on Mines and Mining and ordered to be printed. Treasury Department, Washington, I). C, March 16, 1871. Sir : I have the honor to transmit to the House of Kepresentatives the report of Eossiter W. Eaymoud, special commissioner for the collec- tion of mining statistics in the States and Territories west of the Eocky Mountains. Yery respectfully, GEO. S. BOUTWELL, Secretary oj the Treasury. Hon. JA3IES G. Blaine, Speaker of the Mouse of Representatives. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY: Pagk. Part I. Condition of mining industry 9 Chapter I. California 11 II. Nevada 93 III. Oregon 176 IV. Idaho 187 V. Montana 204 VI. Utah 218 VII. Arizona 224 VIII. New Mexico 282 IX. Colorado 287 X. Wyoming 333 Part II. Metallurgical processes ; 337 Chapter XI. The treatment of auriferous ores in Colorado 339 XII. The speed of stamps in Colorado and elsewhere 380 XIII. The Washoe pan amalgamation 392 XIV. Chlorination 417 XV. Sraeltiug silver ores 432 XVI. List of stamp-mills 461 Paht III. Miscellaneous 481 Chapter XVII. Narrow-gauge railways 483 XVIII. The mining law , 490 XIX. The geographical distribution of mining districts 503 XX. The origin of gold nuggets and gold dust. .- 508'' XXI. The bullion i>roduct 510 Appbnwx 52C INTRODUCTORY. WASHrNGTON, March 16, 1871. Sm : I have the honor to transmit herewith my report on mines and mining in the States and Territories of California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. The anticipations of an increased prosperity of the mining industry, expressed in my last report, have been realized. Not only the aug- mented bullion product, a discussion of which will bo found in the accompanying report, but an improved tone in the business itself, and the progressive reduction of the burdensome expenses under which it has labored, bear witness of substantial gain. The year has been marked by comparatively few and feeble mining excitements, such as have in oth^r times caused the depopulation ot entire districts, and the emigration of vast throngs en masse to the new Eldorados. Something of this kind is the necessary consequence of the enterprise of the free-footed people of the West; it is by "stampedes" that all our new States and Territories have been explored and settled, but the waste and friction of the process are so great that we may bo grateful for its gradual subsidence into the forms of slower and more regular progress. The movements of the year, more detailed accounts of which will bo found in the following pages, may be briefly enumerated as follows : The gold mines of Southern California, near San Diego, discovered in 18G9, were the scene of some excitement and activity early iu the follow- ing season. The silver discoveries in the Burro Mountains, on the confines of New Mexico, attracted much public attention, but it was speedily shown that these mines require capital for their development, and do not invite the penniless adventurer. Eumors of rich placers on Peace River, far in the interior of British Columbia, were in circulation early in the season, but the memory of Eraser liiver, and its disastrous " stampede," seems to have quenched the zeal even of those adventurous souls who generally fiud the greatest charm of a new discovery in its remoteness and inaccessibility. Several thousand miners were attracted to the bars of Snake Eiver, mostly from other districts of Idaho ; but this region is so near the rail- road that the equilibrium of population was soon established, and a manufactured excitement was impossible. Such artificial enthusiasms are usually due to two causes : first, the presence of a crowd of unem- ployed, adventurous, and sanguine men, who keep up their couiage, 2 INTRODUCTOKY. moreover, because they cannot get OAvay ; and, secondly, to the mer- chants wlio have, at great cost, carried stocks of goods to the new dis- tricts, and who naturally encourage, by every means, the maintenance of the public interest and the increase of the population. Eapid com- munications and cheap freight paralyze both these sources of excitement. Both the motive and the means of creating false impressions of the extent and value of the new discoveries are measurably taken away, and the level of truth is reached after comparatively few and feeble oscillations. The progress of developments upon the Comstock lode gives better promise for the future, and strengthens the opinion I have formerly ex- pressed that this vast fissure will bo found metalliferous at greater depths than any yet attained. Meanwhile other parts of Nevada have sprung into sudden import- ance. The oi)erations of one or two large companies at Meadow Valley, and the base-metal smelting operations of Eureka, have added heavy sums to the buUiourproduct of the State. At Austin, Mineral Hill, and elsewhere the Stetefeldt furnace has been steadily in operation, suc- cessfully treating, at a great saving in the cost of chloridization, large quantities of refractory silver ores, and establishing itself as the most important of recent improvements in American metallurgy. The Territory of Utah has witnessed a sudden and rapid development of silver mining, facilitated by the railroad connections, which permit the shipments of ores and low-grade bullion. The comparative cheap- ness of wages, the comparatively populous settlements of the region, the advanced condition of agriculture, and the now not unfavorable attitude of the Jlormon authorities toward mining, combine to relieve this young industry in Utah from many of the disabilities which have attended its introduction elsewhere in the West. In Colorado the principal novelty of the year was the development of the silver mines iu the Caribou or Grand Island district. What will be the future importance aud extent of this group of mines is at present' uncertain. Two or three undeniably valuable and productive lodes have been opened. For further particulars as to all these mining fields, together with others of greater age and more familiar fame, I respectfully refer you to the accompanying report. The labor question, involving rates of wages, length of working shifts, and other issues between laboring miners and employers, has received, in many localities of the Pacific slope, a peaceful though, perhaps, but temporary adjustment. The general result of the disputes and conflicts of 1869 has been the reduction of wages, which the couditions of min- ing enterprises imperatively demanded, aud the cheapness of provisions and clothing rendered reasonable. The miners' leagues, however, still exist in many places, and continue a more or less successful resistance to the inevitable fall iu the price of labor. Their most unreasonable de- mand has been for equal pay to all classes of miners, without regard to INTEODUCTOEY. 3 the skill required of tbem or the danger to which they are exposed. This is a smicidal policj-, and I feel sure that it will be everywhere aban- doned iu tlie end by the workinsuieu themselves. The gradual extension of "single-hand drilling," and the changes in administration which it frequently involves, have suggested in some quarters the employment of Chinese labor underground. It is not my purpose to enter upon the discussion of the so-called "Chinese ques- tion." Indeed, I feel that this subject is hardly in a condition to be properly discussed. Before argument can be made conclusive, it is necessary that a basis of as<;crtained and acknowledged facts shall be obtained; and this vitally essential preliminary has been thus i'ar fla- grantly neglected by the disputants upon the question named. Inflamed by political and other jealousies, each party has dealt in wholesale asser- tion, and each has endeavored to suppress the facts not favorable to its position. So long as there is a dead-lock of contradiction as to the num- ber, character, habits, and capacities of the Chinese in this country, there can be nothing definitely settled as to our duty and policy toward them. I purpose at present merely to contribute some facts with regard to their employment as miners. Since most of the Chinese in the United States are engaged in placer- mining on their own account, it is evident that they are well adapted for success in that branch. Indeed, it is universally acknowledged that they work with greater economy than the M'hites. In most cases, they buy up abandoned claims, and reojien them with profit. But deep mining is quite a different matter, and requires a different kind of skill. A knowledge of the varying hardness, tenacity, and cleavage of rock and vein-stuff, and of the force of explosives and their efl'ects, is required in this work, if the gi'catest. result is to be obtained from a given expenditure of labor and material. Moi'eover, a consider- able amount of muscular strength and endurance is demanded by the incessant and intense labor of wielding the sledge or hammer. The experience of the Central Pacific Eailroad Company, which em- ployed Chinese in the construction of tunnels, first called attention to their qualifications in this direction. A number of attempts have since beeii made to introduce them into mines, and generally without perma- nent success. Sometimes the trouble has been the hostility of other miners, sometimes the difficulty of managing the Chinamen themselves. At Silver Peak, Nevada, the entire force in the Eed Jlountain mines is said to have been at one time Chinese; but I understand that a change has been made, and white miners are now emiffoyed for a part of the work. The miners in Morey district, Nevada, were last year Chinese, under a white foreman ; and the manager declares that they gave him perfect satisfaction, doing as well as an equal number of white men. But the ' foreman, during the absence of the manager, discharged the whole lot; and no more have been engaged up to this time. 4 INTRODUCTOEY. Tn many quartz-mines and stamp-mills tlirouglioiit the West, Chinese labor is employed for certain inierior jmrposes, such as dumping cars, surface excavation, etc. But in most cases thei-e is little gained by it, as those positions could i)robably be filled as M'ell and as cheaply by boys, old men, etc., from non-celestial climes. The best region for as- certaining the real qualities of this race as miners is, so far as I know, that of the southern mines of Califoi'nia. In Merced, Mariposa, and Tuolumne Counties, for instance, where the decadence of i)lacer-mining has removed a great part of the skilled white labor, many Chinese have been employed for years in quartz-mining. Even before the construc- tion of the Pacific Railroad, there were Chinese miners in the stopes of the iMariposa, Josephine, and Pine-Tree ; and in these noted mines they are still employed to a greater or less extent. I have seen in the Mari- I)osa whole shifts of brav/ny pig-tail wearers, some of whom had fol- lowed the business for ten, twelve, or fifteen years. Putting together the results of experience in all quarters, I arrive at the following conclusions: 1. either praise nor condemnation can be sweepingly bestowed upon Chinese miners as a class. They show individual character, just as other people do. Calling them all "John," and treating them all alike, is a measure of ignorance, fatal to successful management. Even the characteristics which they appear to possess in common, whether good or bad, would, I think, disappear if they were less rigorously ex- cluded from the rest of the world. 2. It is troublesome, ou some accounts, to run a mine manned entirely by Chinese. They put little faith in the promises of employers, and are pretty certain to stop work if not promi)tly paid. Even after long ex- perience of fair dealing, they do not seem to acquire confidence in this respect; and they remain to-day, as they always have been, the most reasonable in the matter of wages, and the most unreasonably exact iu the matter of payment, of all our laborers. No doubt this distrust is due partly to the difference of race, partly to the injustice and dishon- esty with which they have been treated ; but, whatever be the cause, the fact is palpable, and not unfrequently seriously injurious to mining enterprises in remote districts, where the money does not always arrive just iu time for i)ay-day, and where the miners, once lost, cannot be im- mediately replaced. Another obstacle to the exclusive employment of Chinese is tlie fre- quency of their religious festivals and holidays. Ou these occasions, according to the reports of employers in Mariposa County, they leave the mines en masse, and cannot be induced to work, for sometimes a week together. 3. Chinese skilled miners are quite equal to those of any other race. Iu some instances they surpass white men employed in the same mines. The number of those who have had suliicient experience to give them equal advantages in the comparison is of course small. Aijpareutly, INTRODUCTOKY. 5 the natural qualifications of the race for this class of work are very great; but it should be borne in mind that only those Chinese who have a fitness for it are liliely to undertake it, while many white men pretend to be miners, though unskillful, on account of the high wages paid to that class. On the other liand, good Chinese miners command increased wages. Already they are paid in many localities nearly as much as whites ; and there is no reason to doubt that in the course of time the equilibrium will be established, and the quantity and quality of labor, not the race of the laborer, will become the measure of wages. Cluuese miners are now receiving $1 75 and $2 per day, where they formerly worked for $1 and $1 25. 4. In hard rock they do best with " single'^ drills, of small steel. So do all miners. The use of the small single drill is becoming quite general in our mines, and is found, where circumstances are favorable, to effect a large saving of cost. One objection to it is, that it is likely to involve underhand stoping, since the single-handed drill cannot conveniently be used in upward holes; and underhand stoping is expensive in mines where the "deads" are packed away in the stopes, and where much timbering is required to support the hanging wall. Generally, where small drills are used, the quicker explosives, such as rifle-powder, dyna- mite, Hercules powder, (a mixture of nitro-glycerine and common pow- der.) etc., are best. 5. The greatest superiority of good Chinese miners over European miners is their fidelity. Every mining captain knows that the latter, if working by the shift, need watching to prevent them from idling, and, if working by contract, have a hundred ways of getting the better in the bargain. Now, I do not believe this to be a national character- istic. It is simply professional. When Chinamen shall have worked underground for a generation or two, they also may have acquired tliese peculiarites. For the present, however, it is certainly true that they are far more earnest and faithful than any other miners. In every de- partment they enjoy the universal reputation of conscientious fidelity. Apart from every other advantage or disadvantage attendant ui)on their employment, apart from the discrepancy in wages, even, this one attribute of fidelity to the interests of the employer will certainly carry the day for the almond-^yed laborers, if our white workmen do not recognize the danger in which they stand, and avert it by far more sen- sible means than they have hitherto employed. Good workmen, engaged in avocations whicli require skill or involve peril, must be allowed to receive higher wages than their comrades. Ambitious workmen must be free to work exti'a hours, to take odd jobs, to save monej^ for the purposes of studj', self-improvement, and advancement, and all work- men must maintain and manifest a desire to earn what they receive. These natural laws being defied, the disastrous result will be inevitable, no matter how long it is postponed; and the punishment will fall heavi- est, as it always does, upon the poor. No country, where the common 6 INTEODUCTORY. laborer receives as much as the skilled laborer, can be said to have its industry placed on a secure basis ; and no country in which every man cannot freely sell his labor in the market to the employer of his own choice is truly free or likely to be permanently prosperoiis. Both political parties on this coast ap])ear to be afraid to speak the truth on the Chinese question. They have settled on a convenient fic- tion, and they vigorously denounce the importation of " coolies." But the Chinese here are not coolies. They are quite ready to accept the best wages they can get. They even combine, like other folks, in unions, w here that is possible. I am told that the Chinese washermen of San Francisco have a union and a fixed rate of prices; and it is even reported that when some traitorous wretch washed shirts below the market rate, they " went for him" and killed him at once. I repeat, the Chinese will maintain their hold in this country, if they maintain it at all, not by the cheapness, but by the excellence of their labor. Their wages are constantly rising. Before long they will receive everywhere, as they do now in many localities, as much as any man should receive, in view of the cost of provisions and clothing, for the same character of work. The wages question is temporary and will pass away; but the question of character, industry, and skill will re- main and constitute the true ami dangerous competition of the future. The sum of the whole matter appears to be, that good Chinese miners are highly desirable; that their number is small; that the employment and training of raw hands is attended with considerable inconvenience; that the best system, where it is practicable, is to include two or more nationalities in one mining force ; and, finally, that the question of wages will probably settle itself by a rise in the demands of Chinamen and a fall in the price of Christians. This is the present aspect of the case ; and it does not seem likely, under all the circumstances, that the Chinese will either be universally introduced or universally excluded as a race. Individuals will develop, as they should do in a free country, into whatever business suits them best, without reference to their birth or blood. If thi.s seems Utopian, I point to an illustration in the Wash- ington gold mine, near Hornitos, California, where a white superintend- ent, a black foreman, and a force of yellow miners seem to do very well together. Indeed, one might expect distinctions to disappear under- ground, since there is no diiference of color in the dark. An event of considerable importance to mining engineers and metal- lurgists has been the publication of the volume on Mining Industry, of the Report of the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel. The careful and comprehensive review of the mining and metallurgical processes of some of our inincipal districts, and the sketch of their geological features and vein-phenomena, possess the highest interest and value. Unfortunately the edition of this work authorized by Congress is too small to bring it into general circulation among the communities and classes most directly interested in its contents. I INTEODUCTOEY. 7 have, therefore, thought it best to extract from it some of the most practically useful portion^, coudcusing theui whenever I could do so without material injury to their sense, and adding foot-notes of my own whenever I desired to add to the text or express an opinion at variance with it. At the request of General Francis A. Walker, Superintendent of the Census, I examined, with the assistance of Mr. A. Eilers, all the mining returns of the assistant marshals from the States and Tenitories covered by this report. As might have been expected from the imperfection of the law, which neither authorizes the employment of experts in the collec- tion of the statistics of any manufacture for the census, nor provides blanks suitable for peculiar industries like that of the raining and re- duction of ores, these returns were frequently both confused and incom- plete. A careful revision and much correspondence with the assistant marshals has doubtless improved them, and it is believed that when published they will contain much information of value. That they do. not represent fully the mining industry of the West may be inferred from the discrepancy between the aggregate number of miners ac- counted for on the " manufacturing" blanks and the number shown by the "occupation" blanks. This subject will be more explicitly discussed by the Superintendent of the Census in the volume devoted to it. Meanwhile I am indebted to the census returns for some items in corporated into the accompanying report, chiefly such as the average wages, product, &c., of certain districts, or rather, of the mines in those districts, which happened to be included in the assistant marshals' returns. In this, as in every former report, I have occasion to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance which has been generously extended to me in many quarters. The most difiScult and dangerous portion of the field-work, namely, a rapid reconnaissance of the mining distilcts of Arizona, was executed, and the chapter on that Teixitory was written, by Mr. A. Eilers, my deputy, to whom, likewise, I am indebted for in- telligent and zealous cooperation in the arrangement of materials for other chapters of the report. Mr. W. A. Skidmore, of San Francisco, traveled for me as extensively as time and means would permit, among the placer, gravel, and cement mines of CaUfornia, and assisted me greatly in the conduct of con-espondence and other means of acquiruig information from localities which it was impossible to visit personally. Messrs. Janin, Hodges, Wheeler, and many others in San Francisco ; Messrs. Welters, Von Schulze, Collier, Keichenecker, and others, of Colorado; Messrs. Alexis Janin, Luckhardt, McMurray, Gray, Boalt, Curtis, Hahn, Van Lennep, and others, of Nevada; Messrs. Atlec, Hur- ley, and Adams, of Idaho ; Messrs. McCormick, Safibrd, Wasson, and Tyug, of Arizona ; Messrs. Reed, Mills, Einehart, Eeynolds, Packwood, and others, of Oregon; Messrs. Eoberts, Morrison, and others, of Wyoming — these are but a few names out of many which I do not 8 INTEODUCTORT. enumerate here in full, since I have given credit throughout the report in the appropriate places to all who have contributed to its pages. Free transportation was furnished to me in my oflicial capacity by the Central Pacific Eailroad Company and the Colorado Stage Company ; and the powerful assistance of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s vast express sys- tem was generously placed at my disposal in the prosecution of many inquiries which would otherwise have been hopeless. During a pro- longed experience of travel west of the Missouri Eiver, I have never failed to receive at the hands of the agents of this house a ready per- sonal courtesy and a most intelligent appreciation of my work. E'o one can be more sensible of the imperfections of this report than I am. The intense labor of preparing so large a volume in so short a time gives rise by natural reaction to a dissatisfaction in the mind of the author greater than that which the casual reader is likely to ex- perience. Yet I venture to hope that, in spite of many defects, thia volume will not fall behind its predecessors in interest and value. I have the honor to be, yours respectfully, R. W. EAYMOND, United States Commissioner of Mining Statistics. Hon. George S. Bout well, Secretary of the Treasury. I>A.IIT I. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTEY. CHAPTER I. CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGO COUNTY. For tlio first time this couuty has entered the list of those producing bullion, and though the shipments are as yet small, they bid fair to im- prove rapidly. The mines are situated forty-two miles northeast of the towu of San . Diego, in a range of mountains known as the Isabella Mountains. They were discovered late in the fall of 1869 — it is said by a party of pros- pectors returning 'from Arizona — and the extraordinarily rich ore from the ledges first located, among which the Washington seems to be the most prominent, caused considerable excitement on the Pacific coast in the spring and early summer. This threatened to grow into a regular stampede at one time, but subsided soon when it was found that the » riches were not available without the aid of considerable capital. Sev- eral districts were, however, organized, and a town, Julian City, sprang up at once in the heart of the region. C. A. Luckhardt, M. E., who visited the locality early in 1870, reports to me the following: , Cuyamac or Julian mining district is situated in San Diego County, California, a distance of forty-two miles by stage-road, in a northeasterly direction from San Diego City, in a range of mountains called the Santa Isabella Mountains, which course north and south, lying between the Pacific Coast range and the San Bernardino range of mountains, and have an elevation of 3,000 feet above sea-level. It was located in the early part of 1870, and created much excitement, caused by exag- gerations of the richness of the gold veins discovered. The Cuyamac Mountain, part of the Santa Isabella Mountain, is thickly covered with nut-pine timber, abounds in sweet-water springs, and has many very fertile plateaux covered Avith verdure. Julian City, the center of the district, contains about two hundred houses and tents, with a iiopulation of four hundred, which, however, is very varying. The main mass of the Cuyamac Mountain consists of mica slate and hornbleudic por- phyry, coursing northeast and southwest, standing almost vertical, and bounded westward by basaltic rocks, which have overflowed its western boundaiy of garnet porphyry. The veins are very numerous, lie on the western and southwestern slopes of the mountain, and run in almost every conceivable direction, subject to the irregularities of the horn- bleudic porphyry. The larger veins run northeast and southwest and are imbedded in the slate. Their dip is from 70° east to almost vertical. Tliey are narrow and have no bold outcrop, and only in places have clearly defined walls been laid open. They have quartz as'gangue, and vary from ^ to 3 feet in width. Although many locations have been made, it must not be supposed that each represents a vein. Many claims are often on the same vein, and many have nothing more than a few detached boulders, embedded in alluvium and debris, for a foundation. Gold is the only precious metal ■which the veins carry; accompanying it are- traces of antimonblende, 12 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF '.THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. •whicli lias been erroneously mistaken for silver ore. Tbo gold occurs in grains and also in thin flakes, and is about 790 fine. It is disseuiinated very sparingly in the gangue, but occurs in rich pockets at intervals. No base metal accompanies the gold; the quartz is in most instances perfectly ^yhite and dense, not even stained by iron, althongh i)yrites occur in traces in some veins. Besides many others, the Washington, Hidden Treasure, Headen, Helvetia, are the most noteworthy. Tlicy vary from 18 inches to 2| feet in width, and have yielded lich pocl;ets con- taining from 4 to IJ tons of ore, but their average ore will not exceed $25 per ton. Two stamp-mills, after the Washoe pattern, comprising fifteen stamps, , have been erected in this district, and are doing well at present. The district is new, and explorations in depth are very limited, not exceed- • ing 80 feet in any mine, and as far as work lias progressed the veins show less gold in depth tlian at the surface, and pockets occur less fre- quently. In this respect Cuymac district is similar to the Aurora mining district of Esmeralda, Nevada, which also yielded iii its infancy con- siderable gold near the surface, but not cue mine has ever been prolit- ably worked. The geological features of the country lead to exi)ect substantial veins which will last in depth, but they are narrow, and it can only bo hoped that through econouiicat management their owners may meet witii sue- / cess and be enabled to explore them sufficiently to prove their actual merit. Leaving Guyamac district and descending the southwestern slope of tlie mountain for four miles, the low hills binding the Santa Isabella Valley are encountered; here iilacer-mining has been carried on, but abandoned, the gold being very thin and flaky, and too sparingly depos- ited to pay. Since Mr. Luckhardl's visit more mills have been erected in this region, among which is a Wilson steam stamp-mill. It commenced to run in the middle of June, and ran most of the time until November, though it had to lie idle often, in common with all the mills, because there was no ore to crush. In this respect the San Diego gold region has undergone the same experience that hundreds have gone through before, and it is surprising that after all the experience gathered elsewhere these blunders should be repeated to-day. I mean the erection of mills far ahead of the capacity of the mines before the latter are opened.. IMr. Hougiue, the manager of the Wilson steam stamp-mill, has made a number of experiments with from GO to 90 pounds of steam and a varying number of drops, &c., but obtained the best results v.'ith 70 pounds of steam and 200 drops per minute. On August 10 he crushed 10 tons 800 pounds of Hayden rock in eight hours forty-five minutes, using one cord of wood, (oak.) On August 11, 8,590 j)onnds of the hardest rock obtainable were .crushed in live hours, with G5 jiounds of steam. On August 12, with 08 pounds of steam, to crush 10,800 i)oun(ls of ordinary rock, required four hours fifty minutes. In July, 51 tons Avere crushed in forty-seven hours. The average amount of ore which can easily be crushed in a day (of twenty-four hours) is 28 tons, with a No. C slot-screen, and using not over three cords of 4-foot v>ood ; tho average consumption of fuel is one cord to 10 tons of ore. The durability of the mill is very great, no breakage having occui'jfed, and there being no signs of any probability of a breakage. In every part the mill has worked wonderfully well. It took just six days to set up the iiiacliiiie ready for work. It is simple, durable, economical, and eflicient. Tiiking these points into consideration, and not forgetting its comparatively CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 13 very low cost, it would secin that the mill must be pronounced a gi-eat success. It is thought that, at San Diego, $0-orc can bo mined and milled at a prolit where this mill is used and the same party owns both mine and mill. Four-foot oak costs in tlie district $3 per cord, and for custom work the mill rates are: For sample lots, $10 per ton; for 50-ton lots, $7 ; for 100 tons and upward, $G per ton. It should also be stated, in connection with the above figures, that the same boiler which supplies tlie steam for the Wilson stamps runs two steam-pumps, one for feeding the boiler, and one for pumping back the water from the settling-tank, this last being necessary on account of the rather scanty supply of that article. I insert the following milling results of lots of ore from different ledges in the district. They are instructive and give a very fair idea of the richness of the surtace ores from various points : Amotmt treated. Mino. ■ Tons. Yield per ton. Lono Star 7 $7 00 Do 5 70 00 Shamrock 7 3 50 Eagle 10 2 90 Do 5 2 7.5 San Diego 19 '. 1.5 00 Do f>l 6 00 Owen's ' 16 51 00 Keystone 4 7 00 High Teak 10 42 00 Slicrinan 4 4 83 Hannmi 3 3 50 Pride of the West H 3100 White Fawn 3 0 37 North Star 6 4 50 North Aiiierica 6 4 01) monitor 6 4 00 Ella 3 1 25 Forty-Nine 12 12 50 Hayden 19 40 00 Shipments of bullion from the Julian district commenced in April, and up to the middle of September $10,341 had been shipped by Wells, Fargo & Co., and 310 ounces, worth about $18 ])er ounce, or $5,580, by Panly & Son, making in all about $10,000. I am not informed as to the shipments made after the time indicated, but in December it was re- Ijorted that little or no rock was being taken out, the miners lacking the means and energy to develop their claims. The mills M'cre making hardly half-time, and it was feared that the law-suit, in regard to the Cuyamac grant, which threatened to deprive the miners of tUeir claims, would be decided against them. I have not learned the final result of the suit, but am informed that it has reached its termination late in De- cember. SAN BEENAEDINO COUNTY. As far as actual production is concerned, this county has little to boast, the only quartz-mining enterprise reported being that of G. E. Moore, at Belleville, who took out, with six men, inthi-ee months, 120 ounces of gold, worth $1,700. Of higher importance are the late discoveries in the Clark district, ■which, together with the mines again taken up in the Yellow Pine district, just across the line, in Nevada, have caused quite a stir in the Pacific States. 14 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. Tlic following report on this district as well as that on the Amargoza district is from the pen of JNIr. G. A. Luckhardt, M. E.: The Clark district is situated thirty-three miles southerly from Yellow Pine, in San Bernardino County, California, on the eastern slope ot Clark Mountain, which is a portion of tlie Opal Mountains. It was discovered and located in the latter part of 1S69, and contains now probably forty settlers, all ihiners. There are no agricultural lands, but water and fuel in abundance. It is worthy of record on account of the principal lode of the district, the ' Copperworld.' The Clark Mountain is composed principally of porphyries broken through by belts of gabbro, in which the metalliferous veins of the district occur. The porphyry belt on the west bounds on mica, slate, and syenite, which re.ach to the lower hills of the western boundaries of the Colorado Eiver Valley, formed of sandstones and slates. There has been but little work done in the district as yet. Several veins have been located, carrying principally copper ores, accom])anied by galena, and bearing a variable percentage of silver. As gangue matter, quartz occurs principally ; calcspar is subordinate. The Copper- world is a stupendous lode, to all ap[)eai'ances a contact-vein, having gabbro above and porphyry as footwall. It crops out from 3(t 45 i'eet in width, for 500 i'eet in length, carries quartz and calcspar as vein matter, and copper ore, with a ijercentage iu silver varying from $30 to $100 per ton, with some galena and blende. As yet only a few tons of ore have been extracted in order to ship them to San Francisco for experiment. No further explorations have been made, which prevented me from investigating the character of the vein in detail. A vast amount of ore stands in view, averagijig 38 per cent, of copper and $50 in silver per ton, and the intentions of tlie com- pany are, on receipt of the result of the shipment seat to Sivn Francisco, to commence operations on a large scale. The Amargoza district lies in San Bernardino County, State of Cali- fornia, sixty-live to seventy miles in a westerly direction from Yellow Pine, in an isolated mountain called Amargoza Mountain. Amargoza Mountain is composed of porphyry and granite, void of all vegetation. The nearest fertile soil is in Amargoza Valley, lifteeu miles north from the district; here there is also sweet water. The district was located in 1S5G lor the purpose of gold quartz and placer mining, but the owners had to ahandon the territory to the Indians. Since then it has been relocated in 18C3, when I visiteii it for the first, time, and a company established a quartz-mill and met with good success for over a year; afterward work w^as discontinued for reasons not known to me, and in 1870, on my last visit, I found the district deserted. The veins of the district are narrow, and are embedded in porphyry, have quartz as vein matter, and carry gold free; the only ac(;ompany- ing metal is iron, as a sulphuret, and in small quantity; the extreme dryness of the atmosphere preventing si)eedy decomposition. The district is remarkable for the Amargoza vein, the principal one. It varies from 6 to 10 feet in w'idth, has granite above and porphyry below, and a general north and south course, dipping 78^ west. The prominent vein-matter is a compact quartzite, carrying I'ree gold, which is xmiversally distributed throughout the vein, both as coarse and line gold, in grains of a rough surface, not in leaves. Amargoza i\Iountain has suffered Irom volcanic eruptions similar to the Potest Mountains at Yellow Pine, but the metamorphism is wanting. A curi- ous phenomenon is observable in the Amargoza vein, namely : Near the CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 15 surface it ia in places 15 feet wide, contains masses of black liornbleiidio syenite, not I'eseinbiing the granite of its overlay, mixed with and en- riched by the quartzite of the vein, and this granite bears coarse gohl, often in nests. The vein has been attacked by various tnnnels and shafts, and worked to a depth of 120 feet in i)laces, wliere this granite still occurs, bnt not in such largo masses, carrying gohl; but there is hero a difference in the quality and shape of the gold from that which the vein proper carries. No iron is visible in the granite. Near the surface gold was found in pockets, one of which yielded $11,000, bnt the average of the ore was about $00 per ton. in depth the gold became finer, more universally distributed through tlie vein, and tlie average may be called $18 to $20 per ton, of which quality thonsaiids of tons exist now, which only await the time when the surrounding country will be more settled to be benehciated profitably. The total population of this county, according to the census, is 3,988 ; Chinese, 16. LAKE, SANTA CLARA, AND FRESNO COUNTIES. These three counties contain only quicksilver mines and are the only ones in which this metal is produced. The product of quicksilver was not large, and advanced steadily during tlie latter part of 1870. Tlie following was the iiroduct of the different mines during the year from June 1, 1869, to June 1, 1870, as given by the census returns : In Lake County the Eedington Company employed 150 hands and produced 5,511 flasks, worth $160,230 In Santa Clara County the Quicksilver Mining Company employed 500 men and produced 17,000 flasks, worth 422, 450 In the same county the Santa Clara Guadalai)e Company employed 40 men and produced 524 flasks, worth 19, 000 The New Idria Mining Company, in Fresno County, em- ployed 350 men through the year and produced 10,500 flasks from 8,000 tons of cinnabar, worth 420, 000 Total, 33,565 flasks, worth 1, 027, OSO In Lake County, Knox & Asbome have started a mine, employing 35 men for some time, but no results are as yet known to me. In regard to the causes of the great rise in quicksilver, the San Fran- cisco Bulletin contained an article in December, 1870, which, on account of the clearness with which it treats the whole subject, is worth i-epro- duction in this report : The i)rii:o of er ton was obtained, and 87 feet below the outcrqp the vein, 20 feet wide, assayed $58 11 per ton. There are t\yo phenomena which speak well for the futui-e of the vein. The supposition is, that all veins change in depth, and especially when nearing the so-called water level. This change first shows itself in those ores which are easily decomposed, and requires the attention of the miner, as it influences the percentage of precious metals which the vein may carry in the croppings or surface workings. In the vein in question here we have argentiferous galena ores, accompanied priuci- lially by iron, and we find that a change has made itself already appa- rent at a depth of about 150 feet below the outcrop, namelj', t!ie ga- lena lias changed from a fine crystalline structure to coarse crystals, and the liydrated oxide of iron of the upper workings begins to resume its original state, i. e., that of sulphuret of iron. The percentage of silver in the ore has, however, remained the same, and from this we may infer that it will probably remain so to a considerable depth. On the surface the vein shows 'much irregularitj'. The intrusions of barren rock, foreign to the vein, which divide the ores in bodies, are very frequent. As depth is attained on the vein these intrusions still exist, but not in such multitude. The ore lies more regular, and we may expect to find more regularity in the occurrence of the ores as these in- trusions decrease in depth. A careful examination of the entire hill and nearly all the galena mines sitiKited on it did not detect anything of sufficient import to de- stroy the opinion formed, namely, that a vast amount of argentifer- ous galena may be expected fi-om them when they are fairly opened. General remarhs on mining and reduction. A. Mining. — The larger portion of the mine owners at Cerro Gordo are in want of suflicient capital to open and explore their mines and to fit them for the extraction of large quantities of ores. This has been the main cause that mining has been carried on without a system. Many mines have only the necessary wdrk done on them to make their titles good. Some of the mine owners seem to have worked solely with the object to extract a few tons of rich ore
arture of these worthies, coupled with the termination of legal con- flicts, has greatly assisted the management of affairs with undisturbed attention to the permanent welfare of the estate. The three mills at the river, called as a whole the Ophir (formerly Ben- ton) mills, have the following strength : Lily, (upper mill,) 10 stamps, at 050 pounds; Ada, (middle mill,) 25 stamps, at 550 pounds; Bessie, (lower mill,) 24 stamps, at 500 pounds. The Ada is considered the best mill. All the batteries are run at 05 to 70 drops per minute, and the total crushing capacity of the 05 stamps is about 00 tons daily. The ore is supplied from the Pine Tree and Josephine mines. The average of five semi-monthly cleauiugs-up on Pino Tree ore, during August, September, and October, 1870, was $10 50— or, leaving out the second clean-up of September, when a lot of poor ore was treated, the average was $11 35 per ton. No account is taken of tailings or sul- ])hurets in this statement. A similar examination of the books as to Josephine ore showed an average yield of 8S CO per ton. The amount of rock crushed from May 1 to October 1, 1870, was as follows : Month. May Juno July August September . Total Bessie. Ada. Lily. Total. 505 528 536 559 2,706 GIO G19 G54 525 493 2,907 499 542 483 451 2U1 2,241 1,G89 1,GG6 i,Gro 1,512 1,319 ,834 About one pound of quicksilver is employed to ten tons of rock, aud 35 to 40 per cent, of the- quicksilver is saved in amalgam, worth $8 per ounce. That the foregoing yield is sufiicient to leave a small margin of profit appears from the following estimates of expense at the Josephine and Linda mines : Per ton. Joseph- Linda. ine. §2 75 $5 00 75 75 2 25 2 25 1 GO 1 00 G 75 9 00 Mining cost Transportation. Milling General expense 30 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Tlie greater cheapness of ininiiin: in tlic Josepliiiie is dne to its im- mense stopes, and tlio manner in which it is o])('ned by drills from the face of the mountain. The Linda, liowever, furnished during the months referred to a better grade of quartz, principally, 1 believe, from the so- called "Garden" shoot, which has been opened in that mine at greater depths with excellent results. The average thickness of the vein in the Linda being about 5 feet, and in the Josepliine 10 feet, the work of open- ing new ground is but trifling, since every foot of drifting exposes for extraction a large amount of quartz. I measured the reserves of ore in these two mines, including only what could be extracted without dead- work in sinking or drifting, and found in the Josephine 15,810 tons, and in the Linda 14,010 tons. At the same time, the quality of ore in both mines was improving, and the yield at the mills in November was higher than the averages above reported. By the enlargement of milling facil- ities, and the treatment of a greater amount of ore, the milling cost at the river could bo reduced to $1 15, and the general expenses to 50 cents l)er ton of rock, thus securing $1 per ton of additional profit. T!ie jNIiiriposa mine contained, like^yise, immense reserves of low-grado quartz. The mill at Mariposa has been reduced to 25 stamps, and the operations of these for August, September, and part of October, 1S70, showed ail average yield of $9 !)8 ])er ton. This scarcely paid expenses, as the mill is run by steam ; and the mine has since been temporarily closed. When reopened, it will be worked by Chinese labor exclusively, as it has been, in part, the case for a long time past. The old Princeton mine, in which the population of Mariposa County still place much affectionate faith, i)rodnce(l from a single large body or chimney of ore between four anil five million dollars. This chimney was worked to a depth of some GOO feet, and it was ofiQcially reported to be exhausted just before the lirst grand collapse of the Slarlposa Comi)any. A complete sectional map of the workings came into my possession several years ago, bearing valuable memoranda as to the yield of the quartz from each stojie ; and this, with other evidence, led me to doubt whether the old Princetou chimney was really exhausted, and to suspect that the company had been too easily discouraged. Sub- sequently to the first abandonment, however, a creditor took the mine and gutted it, filling up the deep shafts with refuse, to save hoisting, taking out pillars and timbers, and leaving the workings in such a con- dition that no one would like to undertake the job of reopening them. Whether that chimney is or is not exhausted will, therefore, not be soon discovered. IMany explorations were made, without success, to find some equally promising body of ore on the continuation of the vein. It seems to part near the mine into two Iminches, in going eastwai'd ; and these are said to reunite toward Agua Fria, a mile away, inclosing be- tween them a large area. On the northerly branch operations were unsuccessful, though this was generally supposed to be the main vein. The southerly vein makes a violent bend on the top of the first hill east of the mine, ami trending northeast crosses a ravine, a smaller hill, and another ravine, beyond which the outcrop is hidden in the chapparal. On the top of the smaller hill arc the two shafts of the New Princeton, the discovery of which was the most significant event of the year for the estate. The connection between these and the old mine is distinctly established by innumerable exposures of the vein outcrop. There is not much to be said of these shafts, but wliat there is is highly important. The western one is a prospecting shaft, CO feet deep at the time of juy visit ; the other, 200 feet east, is a large working shaft, then about 30 feet deep, and showing a vein of 5 feet, the foot- CONDITION OF SIINING INDUSTEY — CALIFORNIA. 31 wall half of which is certainly very rich rock. I made several pauuiiigs, iudicatiiif?, I am confident, as much as $30 per ton of free gold ; but of coui'se 1 cannot feel sure that the sami>les were a fair average, though they were not the best that I saw, or could have taken out from the vein myself. More important, in my opinion, is the general structure of the vein and the appearance of the quartz, which is identical with that of old Pi'inceton in its prime. Taken in connection with the known char- •icter of the Princeton vein, upon which it undoubtedly is, the indica- tions it presents are such as to warrant even the' sanguine expectations of the old residents of the neighborhood. The old Princeton mill is to be refitted and started early in 1871, with 25 stamps, on the ore from this mine. This discovery shows how much miglit bo accomplished by judicious prospecting on the estate. The number of quartz veins not yet tested is very great, and the richness of the placers at many points indicates the existence of valuable lodes in the neighborhood. The Guadaloupe region, not worked at all by the company, contains numerous rich (though narrow) lodes. Some of them are worked on royalty, but there is no capital invested there. 1 understand that one of these lodes, the Buck- eye, which has paid well hitherto to operations under a lease, will be worked this year by the company. In farther illustration of the reduction df wages, the following com- parative statement of the average daily wages paid during three differ- ent periods, kindly furnished by Mr. J. G. liice, the assistant superiu- teudent, is presented. — a From 1863 to 1865. 1865 to 1868. _ 1868 to date. Firomcn Mill-feeders Laborers, (white) $3 50 to $4 00 3 00 4 00 to 6 00 4 00 4 00 to 4 50 3 50 to 4 00 2 75 to 3 00 3 50 to 4 00 3 25 to 3 50 2 50 to 3 00 $3 25 to §3 50' 2 75 4 00 to 5 00 3 75 to 4 00 4 00 3 50 2 75 3 50 3 25 2 50 1 75 1 50 $3 00 $2 25 to 2 50 3 50 to 5 00 3 25 to 3 75 3 50 to 4 00 3 00 to 3 50 2 50 to 2 75 3 00 to 3 50 3 00 2 00 to 2 50 1 02 to 1 75 . 1 60 The item of wages being at least two-thirds the whole cost of mining and reduction, it is evident that a general average reduction of some 25 per cent, in that item is no insignificant matter, in the treatment of low-grade ores especially; and in the execution of " dead-work " and new constructions. Thanks are due to Mr. Thomas Goodsell, the company's superintend- ent, for much courtesy and valuable assistance. The following data, however, are not from the company or its officers : The total production of bullion for the fiscal year 1809-'7(), from the Josephine, Linda, and Mariposa, was about $170,000. I judge that the production for the calendar year 1870 was about $200,000. This is a satisfactory increase of 100 pei: cent, on the pvoduct of the previous year, and a similar steady im])rovement may be looked for in 1871. The process of building up a large business tipon the basis of low-grade ores is a slow one, but the result is much more permanent than the brief though brilliant i)rosperity of "ricli" mines. 32 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. In tbe latter class may be ranked the Oaks and Reese, to which allu- sion has been made in former reports. This mine was on a very narrow and hard vein, and was abandoned last year by the company in spite of the extraordinary richness of occasional lots of ore. It is reported that the miners, going back to the work after the company's operations had been sus])ended, soon struck upon another pocket of free gold, and made a handsome profit by the oijeration. Tlie story is highly probable, though I do not vouch for its truth. It is quite common for skillful miners, when they foresee the suspension of operations, to conceal the occurrences of rich side-shoots, or pockets, &c., with a view to save theni until permission can subsequently be obtained to work the mine on a favorable lease, or to pay back-arrears of wages. Accordingly, when the workmen who have been employed in a mine undertake to carry it on after the owners have stopped, the first thing heard of is frequently a fortunate discovery of rich ore. But this was known to some one beforehand, or the speculation would not have been under- taken. I am not aware that miners, working in this way by themselves, for a long period, and opening new ground, have better luck than other IJeople. The Washington mine, about two miles north of Hornitos, is reported as steadily successful. The shipments of bullion in the autumn of 1870 were about §12,000 per moilth, and had i)reviously been $15,000. For the year ending June 1, 1870, the product is given at only $50,000. I presume this is due to the fact that the mill and chlorination works were not lunning at full capacity — the latter not at all — during a largo part of the year. The mill has now 30 stamps running. Tlie ore is heavily charged with suli)hiuets, which are successfully treated in the chlorina- tion-works erected lor the companj^ by Mi\ Deetkin, of Grass Valley. The Quartz Mountain mill, of 20 stamps, was idle in June. In No- vember it was working ore from the Flint Peabody mine, two miles south of Hornitos. The Mount Gaines Company, five miles east of Hornitos, was pro- ducing at the same period about $2,000 monthly. The 20-stamp mill works both custom ores and those of tbe compan3"'s mine, in which rich sulphurets are said to have been discovered. 1 am indebted to Mr. Thomas Goodsell and to Mr. John E. Hite, the owner, for the following notes on the Hite mine, which is located near the geographical center of Mariposa County, on the summit of the ele- vated ridge between and quite near the intersection of Merced liiver with the South Fork of the Merced. The course of the vein is nearly east and west, and the dip about 80° north. It is irregular in width, varying from 3 to 11 feet, and richest where widest. The average yield of the wider portions is $27 per ton ; of the narrow, $13 per ton. There are two shafts, down 300 feet. The first level is 200 feet below the sur- fiice, with a drain-adit crossing the strata coming in from the south or South Fork side. Above this level the ground is mainly stoped out. Both the east and west shafts are down 100 feet below it, and drifting is going on to connect the shafts, the east drift being in 300 feet from the shaft, and the west drift 30 feet, leaving a distance to connect of 260 feet, as the shafts are COO feet apart. A new tunnel is driving from the side of South Fork to strike the vein 850 feet below the surface. It is now in 850 feet, and will be 1,250 feet long when completed. It approaches the vein at right angles. The vein is intermixed with thin layers of black soft slate, like the country rock. There are three ore- shoots in the ground already opened, of which the most westerly is the poorest. The vein is continuous for a long distance, running nearly par- allel with tbe Merced liiver. CONDITION' OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 33 The mill is situated on Sontli Fork, whence it obtains a M-nter-powcr of 42 feet I'all. A Tyler turbine gives 150 horse-power. There are 20 stanip.s, of 550 pounds each. The gold is very line and is saved with difliculty< owing to the creamy consistency of the slimes. The method followed is to amalgamate in battery, discharge into pans, i-iflle-boxes, &(!., and save the ssmds below, as they contain a large percentage of gold. The distance from" the mine to the mill is some 2,000 feet, the niine being above the mill some 1,500 feet. The distance from Mariposa is eiglitecn miles, by a good road to the summit opjwsite the mill, whence there is a very abrupt and difficult descent to the bottom — say 2,000 feet in half a mile. Tlie present estimated value of the mine and improvements is half a million dollars. The water-power is ample for tlie present mill for ten months in the year. Timber is obtained within .live iniles of the mine. Tlie workings are dry, but owing to the softness of the M'alls heavy timbering is required. No " deads" arc left, as all the vein is taken out for crushing. The product of this mine for the year ending .Inly 1, 1870, was not far from §180,000. Of placer-mining operations in Mariposa County there is little to be said. The aggregate of gold from this source during 1870 will probably not exceed $25,000. TUOLUMNE COUNTY. No change of importance is reported to me in the mining industry ol this comity since last year. Little hydraulic mining has been going on, only four claims being reported in operation. Tliese cmi)loyed six men on an average of ten montlis, at about $00 in wages. Water costs from 8 to 10 cents per inch. The total product of these claims lor the year ending June 1, 1870, was $20,000, making the average yield per hand per day of thi.s class of mines $12 05; which must be considered as very good returns. The claims producing the most were those of Spalding & Co., Avhich yielded $5,100, employing two men ten months, and of Hayiier & Co., which yiehled $10,200, employing the same number of bands during the same time. Eight (piartz mines have been Avorked during the year, and in these sixty-seven men were employed an average of 8.7 months, at about $3 per day. The whole product for the year ending June 1, 1870, was according to the returns of the mills, $105,000, or about $13 82 for each ton of ore worked. The following mines produced : Eagle, 2,500 tons ; Golden Kule, 3,000 tons; App, 2,000 tons; Heslcp, 1,000 tons; IJeist & Co., 1,425 tons; Mount Jefferson Company, 1,400 tons. The iirincipal mills reduced ore as follows : The Eagle, 2,100 tons, yielding $31,500 ; the Golden Eule, 2,000 tons, $38,500; the App, 1,000 tons, $23,000; the Heslep, 1,500 tons, $20,000 ; Eeist & Co., l,200.tons, $13,000 ; lAIouiit Jefferson Company, tons, $21,500. The following description of some of the mines^of this county, taken from the San Francisco Scientific Press, will i)rove interesting: "The App mine, on Quartz Mountain, near Jamestown, and some 6 miles liom Sonora, is owned by Grifliug & Totten. The ledge is 1,000 feet iong, and from 15 to 30 feet wide. They have a 25-stamp mill crushing 15 tons per day, but with a capacity of crushing 25. Some twenty men are employed. Tliey are now further develojiing the mine, the reason of not running to their full capacity. Their i'0(;k will run liom $15 to $20 per ton. They have a shaft down 580 feet, on an incline of 00°. H. Ex. 10 3 34 MINING STATISTICS WEST OP THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. The hoisting works are very complete, and run by an engine of 25 Lorse« power. " The Ileslep, next adjoining the App, and parallel with it, separated only a lew hundred feet by an immense horse, is owned and superin- tended by B. F. Ileslep, esq. This ledge is well defined, 14 feet wide and l,Ci)0 feet long. Mr. H. has a 15-stamp mill, run by water-power — 40-foot wheel. His tunnel is in 700 feet on a water grade. At this point it. is 170 feet to the surface. Nine men are I'egularly employed, crushing 15 tons per day, (twenty-four hours,) and the rock averages $5 per ton. " Tlie Knox mine, ^ mile from the Heslep, and midway between this and Poverty Hill, is 1,200 feet in length, with about a 26-inch vein. It is owned by Green, Jones & Preston. Thej' have hoisting works run by a 30 horse-power engine, and a mill of 10 stamps and 2 arrastras, now crushing 7 tons per day. Tliej* employ fifteen men, and have lately in- troduced giant powder to expedite their supply of rock, as they are not running to their fidl capacity. They claim to get an average of $35 per ton out of their rock, exclusive of sulphurets. " The Golden Itule, f of a mile beyond Poverty Hill, and about 7 miles from Sonora, is owned by a joint stock company, priuei])ally of Sau Francisco. A. S. Phifer is its superintendent. The mill of 15 stamps is run by water-power, (50-foot wheel,) and is now crushing 15 tons per day, (twenty -four hours,) which average $10 per ton; six- teen men are employed. This mine M as originally owned by a com- pany of Italians, and was first struck in 1803. A tunnel 500 feet in length is run in on a grade with the mill, to which the rock is brought by car. This tunnel runs nearly east ; at this point the tunnel runs south 75 feet, where their hoisting works are situated, 87 feet under ground. It cost $30 per foot to run it. The hoisting works are run by an engine of 12 horse-power. At the hoisting works there is a vertical shaft 225 feet deep from the surface. Tlie hanging wall is of serpentine, and the foot wall of feldspar formation. Tlie vein is from 7 to 9 feet wide, and is nearly 90 per cent, slate. Free gold is found in each of the above-named formations often 4 inches deep in the foot wall, which goes to prove the old Forty-Niners' saying, that gold is just whei'e you find it. The company consume about 25 pounds of giant powder weekly for blasting purposes. Their sulphuVets pay them about $40 per ton.-' The i)opulation of this county, according to the last census, is — total, .8,150 ; Chinese, 1,523. CALAVERAS COTJKTY. The mining enterprises of this county have been prosecuted with energy during last year. The product from hydraulic shallow placer and quartz mining amounts, according to the returns to the Census Bureau, to $1,080,000 for the twelve months ending June 1. Many shallow- placer claims have been actively worked, but the majority are small afiiiirs, on which all the work is performed bj' the owners themselves. On 230 claims reported 084 hired men were employed on an average of 7.31 months. Besides these about 250 owners spent an average time of 8.0 months on their claims. The yield per hand per day was low, being $2 57 on an average. Total wages paid, $250,300. Tiie total materials consumed had a value of $109,000. The price i)aid for water has gen- erally been 10 cents per inch, and the average wages amounted to $50 per mouth. The total product of this branch of mining in the county is reported CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 35 as a little over $500,000. The largest returns were received from the following claims: Eailroad Company, $13,000; Texas Compauv. $30,000; raul & Co., $12,000; Crehr & Co., $15,000 ; Gleason, 0']S"eii & Co., $10,000; Henry Connelly, $10,000. Of liydraulic claims 40 are reiwrted. They yielded about $180,000, of which amount the following claims gave the highest yields : Bomig & Co., $15,000 ;~Strong & Mathews, $10,000 ; Leckermaii & Co., $12,000. The quartz mining enterprises of the county are mostly small and a limited amount of capital is invested. The prices of labor, lumber, and charges for milling during the year, Lave not varied much from those given in my last repprt, but it is evi- dent that a tendency to lower the wages begins to gain ground. Thorp & Co.'s mine was worked by two men during the entire year, and the quartz was worked in their three iirrastras. These are driveu by a 24-foot \yater-wheel. They have a flume connected with it 200 j'eet long. Two men worked in these i-eduction works and crushed, in twelve months, 450 tons of quartz, which yielded 187 ounces of gold, valued at $3,000. John Bachman's mine was worked by two men during six months. They took out 200 tons of quartz, valued at $1,000. A. Acerford's mine has a shaft 90 feet deep. Two men raised, in six months, 150 tons of quartz, valued at $1,200. The ore is raised by windlass. The Union lode, 5 feet wide, was woi-ked by three men throughout the year; 400 tons of quartz were raised, valued at $5,000. The shaft on this mine is 150 feet dee]). The mill of the same companj', ten stamps rovemeuts, $03,405 on mine account, and $20,887 for general expenses." Besides the Amador, the Keystone, Oneida, Potosi, Lincoln, and Marklee mines have been worked. 1 estimate the yield of tjiese mines for the year eniiing June 30, 1870, as follows: Keystone, $300,000; Potosi, $12,000; Oneida, $128,000; Lincoln, $30,000; Marklee mine, $20,000. Four hundred and fifty-six men were employed in eleven quartz mines, which were in operation for an average period of eleven months. The wages paid are about -$75 per month. Only thirty-seven i)lacer claims are reported in operation, and the yield per day per hand is little over $2, hardly wnges; two hundreil and seven men were employed on these claims on an average of 7.G mout hs, and many of those working were owners. The total product was less than $50,000. Water has been sold throughout the year at prices vary- ing from 3 to 5 cents per inch. The population of the county, according to the census of 1870, is: Total, 9,582 ; Chinese, 1,629. PLACER COUNTY. Both hydraidic and placer mining has been carried on actively and with good results. Tiie quartz mines so far worked have yielded small returns, and the business is not very encouraging. The reports^ from fifteen placer claims, worked during 8.88 months on an average, give 8170,000 as the yield for the year ending June 1, 1S70. One hundred and forty-six men were employed at about $G0 per month, and the average product per day per hand was $5. The Mountain Company, .the only one which works in the "back channel" at Forrest Hill, has 2,300 feet of main and 1,700 feet of branch tunnels completed, and produced $40,000; the ]\Ionntain Gate Com- panv, with 3,100 feet of tunnels, produced $35,000; the Morning Star, 820^000; and the Cafion Creek Company, $12,000. The total product of twenty-one hydraulic claims in operation in this county is re])orted as 8385,000. They gavC emjdoyment to one hundred and sixty-two men, who were employed for 0.25 months on an average. The average yield per day per man was $14 50, and the wages paid were • from 870 to 75 per month. Tlie largest returns were received from the following claims: Pond roduced $7,000; and the Falls Mining Cotni)any at Columnas, emx^loying ten men, during eight months took out $13,500. The remaining claims yielded, nearly all, much less than those named, and the total product of all does not exceed $120,000. The average yield per day jierhand was less than $3. Of the twenty-one hydraulic claims reported, none produced over $20,000 and the total product amounts to $90,000. These claims were worked by 89 men during an average season of 8.G months. The average wages paid have been about $05 per month, and the average yield per day per hand is $4 90. The following claims have been the most prosperous, and for the year ending June 1, 1870, produced the subjoined amounts: Excelsior Mining Company, Placerville, employed twelve men for twelve months, $19,000 ; Hook and Ladder Mining Company, Placerville, emi)loyed four men for twelve months, $9,000; Nip and Tuck Mining Company, Placer- ville, employ ed five men for twelve months, $10,000 ; McKenuey & Co. employed three men for six months, $0,000; Davenport & Co. em- ployed three men for twelve months, $9,300. The report of the quartz-miuing claims comprises fifteen mines, which were in operation the whole or part of the year, and on an average 0.75 months. They employed 90 men at average wages of $75 per month. The total product of all these claims I estimate at $120,000, and the following are credited with the highest yields : Crystal Gold Mining ' Company, employing fifteen men nine months, $10,000; Sheppard & Wil- ton, employing eighteen men six months, $29,000; Havilar Mining Company, emploj ing twenty men nine months, $44,000 ; Confidence Mining Company, employing five men twelve montlis, $7,000. The tendency to reduce wages has asserted itself in this county as in almost all the other older mining localities during the year. ' The population of the county, according to the late census, is : total, 10,309 ; Chinese, 1,559. CONDITION OP MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 39 NEVADA COUNTY. Quarfz and hydraulic mining oi)crations as well as ])i'osi)ecting liavo been more active in this county than in any other of the State. Espe- cially qtiartz mining was very successful. The shallow placer mines, although to a, great extent worked over, some of tlieni sev(iral times, have nevertheless furnished emi)loyment for a considerable number of miners, many of whom were Chinese. But this interest, as well as hydraulic mining, has suffered greatly from want of water during the .summer and fall. Tlie total yield of thirty-four jdacer claims for the year ending June, 1870, is reported at a little less than $10{),()0(). These claims employed 302 men on an average of 5.1 months, and yielded $V2 59 per day per band. They are scattered over the whole county, but the more i)romi- iient ones are rei)orted from llongli and Ready, Little York, Grass Valley, Uridgejiort, and Nevada. The most prominent of these claims, as far as their yield is concerned, are that of the Swamj) Angel Oom])any at Ijittle York, which yielded in twelve months, with the labor of six men, $14,000 ; and that of IVabody & Uall, at Nevada, which produced an e(iual amount. Tliirty-one hydraulic claims are reported to have been woriced by 2.'35 men an average of 7.5 months. Tlie average wages paid w(!ro $78 per month, and the average yield ])er day i)er hand was $8 40. Charges of the water companies to these claims varied from 7 to 12.^ cents i)er inch, according to the locality. The total yield of id! the hy- draulic claims during the year ending June 1, 1870, was about $l>80,()00. The following claims are distinguished by their higii yield: W. II. Dureas, Ijittlc Y'ork, employing twelve men for live months, 'S'Jl, 000; E. Williains, Little York, employing ten men for nine mouths, 820,000; Ijittle York Mining Company, Little Y'ork, employing forty men for nine months, .yO 1,325; Union Ciravel Mining Comi)any, Bloomfield, emjdoy- ing (ifteen men for twelve months, $30,000; It. C. Dlack, IJloomlield, employing ten men for five months, $18,500; Q. 1). Ilickeye, Eureka, emplf>yi"S" "i"*'' ^^^^ ^"'^ nine months, $17,000; Omega Water Com))any, AVashington, employing twenty men for ten months, $05,000; \V'. M. Eddy, Bridgeport, employing fifteen men for twelve months, $35,000; Sailor Flat, Nevada, employing two men for five months, $9,000. In the fall gravel mining seemed to come into more prominent notice, and several new enter|)iises were started, and old nnnes taken uj) again. In August, Messrs. Eddy, Bell, and others had about perfected ar- rangements for running a tunnel from the South Yuba side of the ridgo to their claims near En^nch Corral. The tunnel will be 2,000 feet in length, having a width of 10 feet, and will be run on a level to drain all of Empire Flat , and the most of Kate Hays Flat. The tunnel will open a bed of rich cement gravel 40 feet in depth and co\'ering many acres in area. Tlie projectors have had offers frosn reliable parties to run the tunnel for $15 a foot, and they may ])robably get the work done at a less rate than that. The intention is to have two ilxnnes i)ut down theentire length of the tunnel, and extend them as far beyond the mouth as may be desirable, as there is plenty of fall for dumps and under-cinrents. By this means they calculate tluit the cement, which they have been crushing in stamp-mills, will be com])letely disintegrated and the gold set free. The enterprise is one of the most important in its j)r()spective results of any ever uudei-taken in the county. The ground opened would ])robably yield a great deal of gold. A little later in the fall it was reported in the press that Randolph Hill, or Alta Hill, (for these names are applied to different parts of the 40 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. same contiguous ridge,) was worked systematically and scientifically, from one end to the other, a distance of about four miles, and with the most flattering ])rospects of success. A number of "diggings," to be worked by the hydiaulic process, as well as by drifting and raising gravel to the surface to be washed, were soon to be opened. The claims located at the westeru point of the hill, ou the north side of it, are those of McSorley & Co., and ou the south side of the hill are the claims of Giiham, JIacauley & Co. Both sets of claiuis have been strongly pros- pected, and are known to be rich. Coming east from these claims we lind H. Q. and E. W. Eoberts ou the north side of the hill, and Frank Torpey & Co. ou the south side. Both companies have done a large amount of work, and both have found good gravel. Still farther east, on the north side of the hill, are Webster & Co., the Picayune Com- pany, Coombs, (iraut & Co., and the Mammoth Company. On the south side are Ilayes, Johnston & Co. These last-named parties adjoin the Hope Company's ground, and the ground of the Brown Brothers ou Squirrel Creek. At the east end of the ridge we (;an see that the gravel is rich, for Brown Bi others and the Hope have already o])ened a splendid channel. Ou the west end of the ridge McSorley & Co. demonstrate that a good lead exists. Between the two points prospectors show that an old river-bed is in the ridge, and that the gravel thereof contains gold. Webster & Co.'s i)rospects are very good, and that state of affairs in their ground settles the matter of the value of the middle part of the hill. Extensive gravel mines are intended to be opened between Grass Valley and Eongh and ]{eady. East Grass Valley is also au extensive deposit of gold-bearing gravel. The Town Talk mine, on the soutli bank of Wolf Creek, has proved a success, although it is scarcely touched. The lead is there of washed gold. The Independence ground, adjoining the Town Talk, is no less valuable. Buena Vista slide, and the hills by the slide, are shown to be rich in gold. Between Grass Valley and Nevada City, it will soon be demonstrated that tlie ridge has under it gTavel which is more or less rich in gold. In this extensive gravel region prospectors are busy, and Grass Vallej- will undoubtedly soon be noted for its gravel mines, as it has been for years past for the successful working of quartz. The new appliances and machinery introduced in this branch of min- ing during tlie year, and especially in Nevada county, are more fully discussed in another part of this report, and it is thei-elbre luiuecessary to repeat here what is already suflicieutly treated elsewhere. The quartz mines of the county have again been exceedingly prosper- ous, and, with the exception of the great fire at the Empire mine in Septeuibei', which swept the company's milling and hoisting works out of existence, nothing has occurred to hinder steady prosperity. Few gold quartz veins in the world have yielded the precious metal as regularly and abundantly, year by year, as the Eureka of Grass Val- ley. The claim includes now, since the Eoauuaise, au adjoining claim, has been acquired by the Eureka company, 3,700 feet on the lode. The works are located a short distance (hardly a mile) from the town of Grass Valley, and overlook the village, which is one of the most delightfully situated places in California. The veins at Grass Valley may be classed, according to their strike, into two systems — those running east and west, and those with a northwesterly and southeasterly strike. The Eureka belongs to the lirst class. It has, like all the veins of this system, a steep dip, the first 300 feet in depth, inclining 78° south, while the por- tion so far opeued below this point varies from 05° to 70°. The main shaft is very large, G by 18 feet inside the timbers, and is divided into CONDITION OP MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 41 fovir compartments — two for hoisting, one for sinking ahead, antlonefor pumping. The nine-inch pumps are built in three sections, the first reaching down to the second level, 200 feet; the second from here to the fourth level, 460 feet in depth, and the third to the sixth level, 255 feet lower. A sump of ten feet below this point is the deepest spot so far reached, making the total depth of the mine at the present time 725 feet on the incline. The thickness of the vein in the portions now accessible varies from 3 to 7 feet, and can be safely put down as 4 feet on an aver- age. I should mention in this connection ai)eculiarity of this veju, which contributes largely towards cheai)euing and facilitating the work of ex- tracting the ore. This is the distinct arrangement of two streaks of quartz — one along the foot-wall, and one on the hanging-wall — which are very frequently separated by a horse of from a few inches to G feet in thickness. This horse is interwoven with manj- small quartz-stringers, Avliich are generally so rich in sulphurets that the whole horse uuist go through the stamps. On the hanging- wall is a distinct selvage, and by undermining ahead on the foot-wall, enormous masses of ore can be thrown down along the hanging-wall at a single blast. In a few locali- ties both layers of quartz come together in the middle of the vein, with- out having the horse between. In these cases there is a line of quartz crystals visible, which fill the narrow cavity sometimes left. The whole vein shows very good evidence of the manner in which it has been formed. So-called banded quartz " preponderates throughout the vein, and it is always found the richest in free gold and sulphurets. The vein is worked thionghout by overhead stoping, shutes, 30 feet apart, being left open diuing the subsequent filling-iu of the stopes throughout the mine. The Eureka Company has always been noted for its good management of the mine, and has shown its business tact by keeping plenty of re- serves ahead at any time. At present, for instance, the reserves in the mine furnish work for the force employed for the next three years; but they are nevertheless sinking slowly, and opening the mine farther in depth. The ores now raised come mainly from between the fourth and fifth levels, a few tons only being taken from the upper levels, where a good deal of twenty-dollar rock has beenleft standing informer times. The amount crushed per month during the last half-year has been 1,000 tons, ■which have yielded in the neighborhood of $50,000 per month, enabling the company to declare a regular monthly dividend of $30,000, and an extra dividend of §30,000 in Julj\ Ninety-six men, at $3 per day, are employed in stoping, and one foreman for each shift at ten hours at $4 per day. Thirty men are employed for sinking and driving tunnels. They do contract work, and receive in the tunnels from §10 to $12 per foot. The Eureka ore shows very little free gold, and little sulphurets. The latter, after concentration, are found to be about one and a quarter per cent, of the rock raised, and are further worked by the Plattner chlo- rination process. The company have their own works, but though they do custom-work besides their own, they can run the works only period- ically, as it takes a long time to gather enough sulphurets to make a campaign. Nevertheless, five more chlorination establishments have been built in the county, all of which lie idle during the large portiou of the year. The Eureka mill is a large structure running a crusher and thirty stamps, which reduce 00 tons of ore per day. The amalgamation pro- cess in iiae is the well-known blanket process. The annual report of the Eureka Company for the fiscal year ending 42 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE KOCICY MOUNTAINS. September 30, 1870, is one of great interest, and shows the situation of the Enrclca in tlio completest niannei-. Mr. William Watt, superin- tendent, reports tlie working of tlie mill and mine for the year as fol- lows : We have driven 747 feet of tlrifts, and snnk 89 feet of winze, and 86 feet of main slial't. Wo have also retimbered 100 feet of the main shaft, run 22 feet of a ciosa-cut and cut cisti-ru plat 12 by 12 by 12 feet below the bottom of the sixth level. The cx- trcino ienglh of the sixtli-levcf drifts is 228 feet, and of the fifth-level drifts 1,107 feet, and wo are still extending the same. Wo have hoLsted 19,962 tons of (luartz, and crushed 20,5G2 tons in 30()| days, averaging a little over 67 tons per day witli 30 stamps, losing three and a h.alf days in couseqnence of scarcity of water, and three days for repairs, two of which were holidays. Wo have concentrated 20:i tons of sul- ])hurets, and worked 267 tons, leaving six tons on hand, which I value at it>l,000. There are 1.198 tons of quartz on the surface, and 1,200 broke in tho mine ready for hoi.sting. Wo have extracted this year from tho various levels as follows : Third level 1,290 tons. Fourth level 4,727 " Fifth level 13,945 " Making a total of 19,962 " Provided the resources of tho fifth level are as good as thoso of tho fourth, wo may reasonably expect 27,000 tons of quartz more from the fifth ler month, with sixty hands in all, and as soon as rains canio would have mined and worlved l,()Ot) tons per month, with not over eighty-four men. This, with a ledge from 1'2 to '2i inches is, yo\i will allow, good work. The new null wiM consume one and a half cords wood less jier day, andreiinire two men less, so the old cost of reduction (§2) will he nuiterially re- duced. 1"0£- the month of August it C08t§l'2 25 to mine anstoM ravin<', ami the rock will give somotliing like $40 per ton, acconliiig to past yields from the ledge taken witli the present appearance of the rock. Tlie North Star has 1)(h;u rnnning fall-handed at the mine for the month, with "ood resnlts. I>ast I'riday wc saw some very rich rock which hail just been hoisted, ttie beautiful heavy gold running through and tlirnugh the i>ieees. The North Star is a paying mine. The Idaho, situated next adjoining the Eureka to the east, has shown some Improvement in tile month past. In the lower levels this improvement w.ls very manifest. The AViseonsiu has not linished its moiith as yet. The run will come np to about tho aver- age of this steady-iiaying mine. The three weeks' run, which has been conqileted, in- dicates r & Co. liave their diggings well pre])ared for profitable washing when the plu- vial shall fall. Hayes & Co. have their Humes and pii)es ready for moisture, whenever moisture shall ainonut to a pressure. Other companies on the same ridge are making arrangements to soon commence work. Tin* .\lta Comi)auy, No. 3, have steam-works ready for hoisting and pumping. The ground of this company is located northea.st of the Hoiie. The Hope company is runuiug in rich gravel, with more than paying resnlts. Gravel claims east of this are being extensively worked. Shea «St Co., at linena Vista, the Town Talk, awaiting water, and Underwood & Co. aro ready to make a good win- ter's run. At Nevada City gravel mining is still more active. On Cement Hill, three miles west of Nevada, a company has i)Ut np flumes of sixty boxes, 1'2 feet to the box. These boxes are 4 feart of the country mining has paid. A more active and i>rolitable state of prospecting has never b(!en known in Grass Valley. The cnstom-mills are kept at work, and this by men who make money by ihc work of tho mills. The North Star has been worke, 175 83 Liabilities 4,0(>7 25 180,24:! 00 DlSI5r5ISE>tKXTS : Milii-ig. labor $G6, 197 07 ' MilliiiRliibor 17,749 ;i7 work 10,387 17 Mil! sui)i)li<-s 25,853 02 Mine supplits 14,75102 Liqnitlatcd debts 14,780 98 Dividiiids 6, 000 00 Salaries, & e 5, 295 25 Suiidrv aeconiits 17,839 27 Cash ou baud 1,389 33 Total 180,243 03 They produced 7,834 tons of ore, which yielded at tlie rate of about $21 '67 per ton, or $107,431 iu the aggregate. The ex])enses of mining, milling, &a., amounted to $1G 73 per ton, leaving a profit of $4 04. Of this i)rofit $0,000 has been paid to stockholders, $14,781 on account of obligations incurred in the previous year, $10,387 for dead work; and $7,741 for improvements. The supplies on band on September 0th are estimated at $18,295. The product of the same mine in the following months was. satisfac- tory, the October yield having been $18,000, and at last accounts the North Star appears to be in a good waj^ to be added to the steady di\a- dend paying mines of the district. Besides the mines already named, many others were in successful operation during the year, and it is not too much to say that the last was the most prosperous year for the quartz mines in Nevada County. The census returns for the year ending June 1, 1870, give the' follow- ing details in regard to the mines : Product for the year ending June 1, 1870. GoDclspeed & Co., Little York, cement $21,350 Nacc & West, cement 20, 000 Gold Hill Mill, Grass Valley, quartz 7, 000 Sebastapol Mill, quartz 9, GOO Orleans Quartz Mill, quartz 4, 000 Town Talk Company, qmirtz 18, 500 Slate Creek Company, quartz 3S, 731 Union llill Conq)any, quartz 140, 000 Empire Company, quartz 240,000 Gn enlioru Quartz Mill Company, quartz 15,000 Eureka Company, quartz 601,944 Idaho Company, quartz 223,871 Prospect Company, Eureka, quartz 552 Oriental, Nevada, nttes mine to an English company, which was concluded in the course of tlie summer. The total amount of quartz raised in the comity during the year end- ing June 1, 1870, was '^((iOO tons, wliieli yielded $438,000. One hun- dred and ninety-three men were employed in the mines and mills throughout the year, and $135,244 was paid to them in wages. The following are the most pronuneut nunes and their yield for the time in- dicated almve : Alaska, $30,000; Cold Elulf, $37,322; Independence, $70,000; Sierra, P.uttes, $200,000; Brush Creek, $95,000. Tlie i)oi)idation of the county, accordiug to the late census, is: Total, 5,019 ; Chinese, 809. YUBA COUNTY. Hydraulic mines appear to have been quite successful during the year. Tlie details in regard to the situation, &C., of the most important of these mines ai'c contained in my last year's report and in the excellent article of Mr. Skidmore, at the end of this chapter. I note here brieOy only some points of interest from tlie returns of the census. The number of claims reported in oi)eration during the year ending Jnne 1, 1870, is 47. These employed r!08 men, who were i)aid $00 per month to tlie hand. The total produ(;t from June 1, 1809, to June 1, 1870, was $401,900, being $5 84 per hand p(!r day. The following claims yielded the highest amounts: Pittsburg and Yuba IMining Company, employing 25 iiien 12 montlis, $75,000; Bhio Gravel Gohl Mining Company, em])loying 40 men 12 months, $0(5,070 ; Antoiu^ Mining Company, em])loying () men 9 months, $13,050; TJniou Mining Comi)any, employing 7 men 12 months, $17,808 ; liosebar IMining Company, em])l()ying 43 men 12 montlis, $85,910; Sinartville jMiniiig Comimiiy, em|)loying 40 men 12 montlis, $103,000; ifevada Mining Company, employing 35 men 9 months, $23,700. Placer-mining was not (!arried on to any considerable extent. Only five claims are rejiorted, which employed 22 men during G.3 months on an average. The total product ol' these claims was $11,400, which indi- cates a yield of $3 14 iier day per hand. The largest yield of anv claim is onlv $5,000, and the remainder pro- duced less than $3,000 each. The exhibit of the quartz mines is still less encouraging. According to the reports received, only two mines were working, which during the year ending Jnne 1, 1870, emiiloycd a few men for a short time. These are the Ilansonville Company, which employed from one to three men underground during six months, and raised 238 tons of quartz, worth CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 49 $16 97 per ton on an average, or $1,040, and the Pennsylvania Company, which worked daring four montlis, employing at different times from six to twenty men underground, and took out $0,010. This would make the total product from the quartz mines of this county $10,080. The population of the county, as per census of 1870, is : Total, 10,851 ; Chinese, 2,333. BUTTE COUNTY. The placers and hydraulic mines have suffered from the want of water, and the quartz mines have not overcome the obstacles existing against profitable development which were alluded to last year. Tlie difliculty in regard to the gravel mines of Clierokce Flat, a locality known to be rich for a long time, but which could not bo workeloyed was 31, and $05 were paid per month to the hand. The mines are all, as yet, uuimportant afl'airs,*he one of A. W. Halstcad yielding the highest product, $10,000. The population of the couuty, according to the census of 1870, is : Total, 11,403; CJhinese, 2,082. pltJmas county. The quartz mines of the county have again yielded quite handsomely. The product from the placer and hydraulic mines is not so satisfactory. Of the placer claims, 44 are reported woi'king during an average of •six months. They employed 209 men, at average wages of about $70 per mouth. The total yield of these from June 1, 1869, to the same time in 1870, was $177,500, or an average of $4 22 per day per hand. The following claims are the most prominent : Alturas Mining Company, ■Goodwin, employing forty men for five months, $14,000 ; Conly & Gowel, Goodwin, employing thirty men for four months, $20,000 ; Gaid & Orr, Goodwin, employing thirty men for three months, $15,000; Buckeye Mining Company, Washington, employing seventeen men for twelve months, $34,000; New York Mining Company, Washington, employing sixteen men for ten months, $29,000 ; Eagle Mining Company, Wash- ington, employing twelve men for twelve months, $G,00»; Kelley & Company, employing four men for eight months, $0,800. From Goodwin, Mineral, Eicli Bar, Plumas, Washington, and Indian Valley, (Cherokee district,) 31 hydraulic claims are reported, which employed 108 men during 5.1 months, and at $05 wages on an average. The claims are largely worked by the owners themselves, and wages have Jiot been paid in many cases. The total production during the above- mentioned time has been $07,300, which shows an average yield per hand per day of $4 66. The highest amounts taken out were, $15,000 by tlie Lecup Diggings Mining Company, who employed ten men six months, and $0,000 by Turner, Eice & Co!!, who worked four men seven mouths. \ CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 51 Tlie four principal quartz-mining enterprises in actual operation were the following: Eureka, employing seventy men for eight moutbs; product, 8,000 tons, worth 880, 000 Judkins & Kellog, employing thirty-two men for eleven months; product, 8,000 tons, worth (iO, 000 J. B. Batchelder, employing six men for eleven months 9, 114 Crescent Company, employing fifty men for twelve months; product, 15,000 'tons, worth 120, 000 Total 290,114 The wages paid by these companies amounted to $130,400, and the necessary materials to $37,849. Besides these, a few smaller mining enterprises have been in ojiera- tion part of the time, but the yield is not such as to make any material difference in the total already given. New discoveries, some of which are reported to be very rich, have been made in American and Indian Valleys. In the former a new thirty-two stamp, and in the latter a twenty-four stamp mill, are said to be in the course of erection. The iiopulatiou of this county, according to the census of 1870, is: Total, 4,489 ; Chinese, 911. ALPINE COUNTY. The following account was kindly written, at my request, by Mr. Lewis Chalmers, manager of the Exchequer Gold and Silver Mining Company: Mining operations in this county during the past year have been car- ried on to a greater extent than for some time previously. The Leviathan, a copper mine about two miles from Monitor, has shipped considerable quantities of a high grade ore to Dayton, where, I understand, it is used in the manufacture of bluestone. This mine belongs to an English comi)any, and is under the management of Mr. Eickard, some time of the firm of Wiegand & Eickard, in Virginia City. Native copper is frequently met with, and the best ore gives 50 per cent. The Schenectady Gold and Silver Mining Company, owning tlie Tar- shish mine, in Monitor, resumed operations there about two years ago, under the managership of Mr. Schwerin, who is also a large owner. Very fine black sulphuret ore has been struck lately in large bonanzas, which, when washed, will \)ay as high -as $2,000 per ton. Several tons have been shipped to San Francisco for sale as ore. The manager has gone to Schenectady to make arrangements for the erection of a mill this sunnner. As usual, much excitement followed the new discoveries, and real est.ate in Jlonitor commands a premium. The Monitor and Northwestern, on the Tarshish ledge, have lately stru(jk outlying pockets of the same description of ore, and are now add- ing a 50-ton Whelpley & Stover furnace to their mill on the Carson Eiver, about a mile from this place. Mr. L. L. Lewis is superintendent. The Globe company, in Monitor, have almost completed their mill, which is on a somewhat new iirinciple. This company owns the Globe mine, on Monitor Creek, claimed to be on the same belt as the last two, but on the opposite side of the creek. They are now experimenting on Chicago and Globe ores, but with what success I have not heard. They appear to think that they will be able to reduce rebellious ores at a loicer rate than by any other process yet known. Contracts have been 52 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. entered into for tlio purchase of the Chicago and ]\Iarion mines, in the vi(;inity. Tlio Marion lias a great reputation, v(?ry ricli specimens of black sulpluirct having been taken from it. Mr. Ambler is the metal- lurgist and superintendent, and Colonel Winchester, of New York, the luauaging director. The lUillion Gold and Silver Mining Company have been driving a bedrock tunnel from the Carson Eiver, at lJullima, to cut a belt of par- allel ledges at right angles to their tunnel, which is now in over 1,70() feet. This is an ]']nglish company, managed by Mr. Coulter, and has been hard at work for three years. Mr. C. is expecting daily to strike one of the series. TLey have had some very hard rocks to contend with, but arc determined to ])ush it through. The Highland Mary seems the favorite ledge of the group. The lm])erial Gold and Silver ^lining Company, also an Englisli incor- poration, have run a tunnel 1,400 feet into Mount America, to (;ut the belt of parallel ledges (some 17) on the east side of Monitor Creek. The indications on the surface are very encouraging. The outcrops assay well, and are traceable for quite a distance ; 300 feet will cut the first lode. The Exchequer Gold and Silver Mining Company, of London, England, are ojierating on the old Buckeye No. 2 and otlier ledges, at the head of the Scandinavian Canon, near Silver Mountain, the county seat of Alpine. The ledges here are w(^ll defined and give great promise. la this respect, nothing better could bo wished than is to be seen in the upper tunnel on the ljuckeye ledge. This company commenced in Feb- ruary, 1870, and in March following shipped to Iteno a few tons of unas- sorted ore by way of experiment, wliich yielded, at the Auburn mill, $140 per ton, and [iroduced bullion 901 fine. At that establishment, the roast- ing is done in the Stetefeldt furnace. The work since then has been confined to the development of the mine. Stoping will be commenced from the 140 level in tlie s])ring, when I ho])e to bo able to keep the Davidson mill, on Silver Creek, now the property of the Exchequer Company, in full blast for some time. Our ores are chiefiy antimonial sulphides, miargyrite, dark red silver ore, and light red silver ore. Wo have also the lead-gray suli)liuret, or silver glance. Lead is to be fouiul in some of the ore in small quantity. Selected specimens of the best ore assay as high as $2,000 per ton, and all the ore contains more or less gold. The mill has eight stamps. Weight, 000 i)onnds ; drop, 00 per minute ; six Freiberg barrels and one settler, all driven by a 40 horse-power engine; two reverberatories and one drying furnace. Should the mines turn out as expected, it is contem])lated to increase the stamps and add a ;SO ton Stetefeldt furnace, to cheapen the roasting, which is (expensive in tlie common reverberatory. A saw-mill attacked supplies the mine ■with timber, the teams relixruing with ore. The slabs supply tlie furnaces. The once famous IX L adjoins the Exchequer Company's mine south, but work here has been suspended ibr some time. I have seen some beautiful specimens of ruby silver, and one of native silver, from this mine. Some forty or fifty thousaiul dollars are said to have been taken from the workings on this ledge, which are oidy superficial. A moderate outlay for hoisting works, and a depth of 200 feet would, I think, ami)ly repay the cost. The last batch of ore was treated at the Pittsburg mill. Silver IMountain, without roasting, and one half of it lost. I got $50 iu tlie tailings. The reiinsylvauia, Mountain, Rippon, and Pittsburg, all in the same CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 53 district, (Silver Mountain,) are also shut clown for tbc present, tlionsh rumor has it that the I X L, Pennsylvania, and Mountain will soon be at work again under difl'erent auspices, and, it is to be hoped, more energetic management. There is no quartz in this section equal to that of Silver Mountain. "Wood and water are abundant, labor is plentiful, aud there is, I think, every prospect of a si)eedy resuscitation of this temporarily deserted mining camp. Some little work was done in the Morning Star mine, Mogul District, but of no consequence. SHASTA COUNTY. The product of mines, placer and hydraulic, as well as quartz, has been less this year than last. , The placer claims reported working have all yielded small amounts. The most prominent returns are those from the claim of J. II. Uarrison, who took out $12,000 in nine months. Besides this enterprise twenty .others arc reported, all of which in-oduced less than $1,000 each, and the total of the county is only §31,000 for the year ending June 1, 1870. Only forty-eight men were employed in this branch of mining during an average of six months at wages of about $00 per month. Tlie yield per head per day was $4 20. Only four hydraulic claims were in oiieration part of the time, the total yield of which was a little over $12,400. The most jn-ominent of these took out $10,000 in eight months with seven men. The quartz mines especially have fallen otF in their yield. The following three mines aud mills were being worked, and produced altogether $-14,040: Washington, $31,153; W. E. nopping, (Highland mill ?) $9,050 ; Honeycomb, $3,830. The total amount of quartz raised was 2,500 tons, which yielded an average of $17 87 per ton, and the number of men employed was thirty- three. Average Avages of $70 per month were paid. The population of this county, according to the lato census, is : Total, 4,173 ; Chinamen, 574. TRINITY COtmTY. From this county only placer and hydraulic claims are reported. Of the former, eighteen claims employed eighty-four men on an average of 8.4 months, at about $55 per month. Among those reported worldng are many owners. The total product of these mines ibr the year ending Juno 1, 1870, was $02,500, and the average yield per hand i)er day, $5. The following claims yielded prominently : Fisher & Chapman, Junc- tion City, employ eight men eight months, $10,000^ Carson «& Osgood, Minerviile, employ ten men twelve months, $12,000 ; Harney Ei-os., Minerville, employ seven men eleven months, $10,000; Kerl & Co., ISlinerville, employ six men six months, $7,000; Hupp & Co., Miner- ville, employ six men eight months, $8,000 ; Hawkins & Co., Minerville, employ ten men eight (?) months, $8,500; H. Foible, North Fork, em- ploy four men ten months, $0,000. The hydraulic mines of the county do not appear to have been very successful, nor are any of the eighteen claims reported large enterprises, the highest caiutal invested not exceeding $10,000, and the highest yield being $0,700. The ditferent mines are located at Junction City, North Fork, aud Lewistou. Fifty-live men were employed during 7.0 54 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. months, and at $00 per month on au average. The total product is re- ported as $G0,700, a yield per hand per day of $5 57. The price of water in this county is reported as ranging from 1.3 to 5 cents per inch, but most of the claims pay from 2.9 to 3.5 cents. The population of this county is : Total, 3,213 ; Chinese, 1,095. Klamath, Del IsToetb, Siskiyou, and Lassen counties. The product from these counties is small. From the first two placer claims are reported, yielding together less than $8,000. The Pioneer Oom- IKinj" employed six men during the year, and paid $-l:,000 in wages ; the yield was 200 ounces of gold, worth $3,400. The Union Company em- ployed the same number of men in the same time, paid $5,500 in wages, and produced 240 ounces, worth $4,500. The only quartz-mining enterprise reportec^ is that of the Klamath Quartz Mining Company. This company employed twenty-five men during ten mouths, at a cost of $24,000. The product was 2,500 ounces of gold, worth $12,500. From Del Norte County only placer and hydraulic mines are reported, the former including some beach-mining. The placers are located at Smith Kiver, Happy Camp, and Crescent City. Nine claims are reported, most of which worked throughout the year ; the one, however, which returned the highest yield was worked only six months, with six hands, and produced $10,000. The total product of all the placer claims was $21,100 for the year ending June 1, 1870. Seven hydraulic claims are reported from Del Norte, one of which is located on Smith Eiver,.and the remainder at Happy Camp. They fur- nished employment for thirty-three men during an average of 8.1 months. The wages paid were $03 per month. An aggregate yield of $31,200 was the result, or $4 40 per hand per day. The Del Norte Mining Com- pany at Happy Camp, employing twelve men for eight mouths, i^ro- duceroduced $5, 000 Wright Brothers, employing twenty men for four months, pro- duced 15, 500 Young & Eastlake, emploving men for months, pro- duced 5,000 The quartz-mining interest is in its infancy, and has contributed only $0,500 toward the total ]iroduct of the county. The only mines worked were that of the Scott Valley Mining Compauy, from which 107 tons of CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 55 quartz, yielding 100 ounces of gold, worth $1,500, were taken out by two men during one month's work ; and that of Eegans & Williams, which was worked with a small and varying number of miners for three months, and produced 312J ounces of gold, worth $5,000. In Lassen County new and very rich diggings were discovered in the summer by Haskins, Ehlers, and others. The locality is twelve miles south of the Siskiyou County line and forty-five miles from Susanville. Water was very scarce in tlie locality ; nevertheless from §250 to $500 were taken out daily for some time. Great activity was expected in the winter, when water would be more abundant. The population of Klamath, Del Norte, and Siskiyou counties is given by the late census as follows : Total. Chinese. Klamath 1, 074 585 Del Norte ^ ^ .■ 2, 022 217 Siskiyou 6, 818 1, 410 DEEP PLACER MINING IN CALIFORNIA. [The remainder of this chapter was prepared by W. A. Skidmore, of San Francisco, from personal observations and inquiries.] The period of depression in this branch of mining which succeeded the comparative exhaustion of the shallow placers, and river and bar mining in the modern streams, has been followed within the past j^ear by a season of renewed activity, caused in a measure by the success of many companies operating with the advantages of large capital, and by concentration of labor and the consolidation of large tracts of mining ground — the original owners of which, without such consolidation, could not afibrd the great expense of i>rocuring outlets ibr their dirt and gravel by means of the construction of " bed-rock " or drain tunnels — but ])rin- cipally by the invention and adoption of numerous appliances and im- provements in mining, the most important of which are the improved hydraulic nozzles and the new drilling and boring machines, which will be fully described hereafter. SHALLOW PLACERS. This term is generally used to designate the deposits of auriferous earth found overlying the country rock to a depth of from a few inches to six or eight feet, and to distinguish such deposits from those , found in the ancient streams and rivers and deposited over a vast extent of coun- try to a depth of from one to three hundred feet, during some remote Ijeriod, by causes which, with the light we now have ou the subject, can only be siirmised. Tliese are termed deep placers. It was in the shal- low placers, at points where the banks of the modern streams had been denuded, near the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada, that the first gold was discovered, and so prolific was the earth in the precious metal, that the product of gold, even by the primitive and rude methods of mining then in use, reached during the first live years after the discovery the sum of $180,000,000, nearly all of which was extracted ' from these placers. The auriferous deposits which formed the early placers of California probably bad their origin in two causes — the decomposition of rich 5G MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. quartz ledges cropping above the surface, aud the scattering of the lib- erated gold over the adjacent country — as at Auburn and. Ophir, in Placer County, and in certain i)arts of El Dorado County ; and the breaking up at places, by subterranean forces, of the ancient channels of the antevolcanic period, aud the consequent distribution of their contents by the modern streams, as in many of the southern and central mining counties. Instances of this can be observed along the courses of the Feather, Yuba, and the several forks of the American Eiver. At many points, as at Grass Valley and Nevada, where natural basius exist, both the above causes have been in operation. The impression which generally prevails, both in California and abroad, of the entire exhaustion of the shallow placers, is unfounded. Eiver and bar mining is still extensively cai-ried on in many parts of the country, aud in some cases, particularly in the northern counties, with remunera- tive results. In the central portion of the State, particularly on the north fork of the American Eiver, fair wages are yet made, though here this branch of miningliasbeen to a great extent abandoned to the more patient, though less skillful, Chinese. In parts of El Dorado and other counties lying to the south, a large extent of pay-dirt, varying iu depth from three to ten feet, exists among the foot-hills, but cannot be worked on account of the scarcity of water, although known to be sufficiently rich to largely compensate any company that would incur the expense of bringing water to the ground. It is now contemplated to bring water to several such points in these counties, and it is not improbable that they may again see something of their former prosperity. DEEP PLACERS. The class of "diggings" known by this term embrace the ancient' channels found throughout the State, from Plumas to Mariposa County — in many cases, as in Butte aud Tuolumne Counties, covered with lava — and the immense detrital deposits of the northern and central region which are worked by the hydraulic system. Of the extent of this latter class we can form no intelligent estimate until the completion of the work now being carried on under the auspices of the State geologi- cal survey ; but we know they cover a great part of the country lying west of the main i-auge of the Sierras and between the head-waters of the Feather and South Fork of the American Eiver. This includes an area one hundred miles iu length by forty miles iu breadth, and em- braces pai'ts of the counties of Plumas, Butte, Sierra, Yuba, i^evada. Placer, and a small portion of El Dorado. These deposits owe their origin to glacial or aqueous action of the geological period preceding the outbreak of the volcanoes of the Sierra Nevada aud the upheaval of the Coast range. When these great changes in the topography of the couutrj- took place, the detritus of the more elevated portion was covered with streams of lava liowing from east to west, for a distance of from twenty to thirty miles from the craters. The waters, finding •new chaunels — which run generally at right angles to the ancient streams — formed the present river system of the higher Sierras. The consequence was the denudation, breaking up and distribution of the ancient channels, where not protected by overlying crusts of lava, thus releasing from the storehouse of ages the golden sands which attracted' hither the adventurous of all nations. During a period of several years after the discovery of gold, the ex- istence of the precious metals otherwise than in quartz ledges or shal- low diggings was unsuspected. The early miners, lacking the benefits CONDITION OF MINING INDCfSTEY — CALIFOENU. 57 of obsci'Viition and exiiericiice, in vaiu followed up tlic inodcrn streams to their fountain-heads, in the delusive hope of finding the " source of the gold." In no case was the " color" found above those points where subsequent examination revealed the breakage of tiic old channel sys- tem, or slides Irom under the lava crust, except at some points where un- waslied gold was found in small quantities in the pi-oximity of decom- posed ledges of (piartz. Subsequent exploration at these slides, and in gulches and ravines where the lava had been denuded, revealed the ex- istence of ancient river beds at elevations of from 100 to 1,000 feet above the present water-level. These disco\-eries led to the construction of the great system of mining ditches, which, taking the waters of the streams from their fountain-heads, distributed them over the immense extent of ground worked now by the hydraulic process. By means of the facilities enjoyed from the use of abundant supplies of water, many jjoints on the detrital dcjjosits which were favorablj' situated for I'all or outlet were worked, and hydraulic mining became for years the most renmnerativo branch of the business. In the course of several years of such extensive washings, however, the streams and canons became filled and clogged with " tailings," Avhich accumulated in such ijroportions as to elTectually choke up all outlet, except for the brief season following the rains of winter, when the great volume of water would carry oil a portion of the accuinulated tailings, and adnrit of a few brief " runs." TJien they became more limiteil, season after season, until this branch of mining was etlcctually stop])ed in some of the richest localities. The washing of the surface dirt to a depth of from 100 to 200 feet re- vealed the presence of a hard white or reddish cement, composed prin- cipally of pebbles and boulders of quartz and metamorphic rock, dirt and sand, but not yielding to the action of water, as then used, in streams of from li to 2i inches in diameter. Through these strtita of cemented gravel prospecting shafts were sunk to the bed rock, leading to the discovery at many places of a layer of blue cement of excessive hardness, composed of like material, and varying in thickness, in differ- ent localities, from 3 to 10 feet. This layer, which often proved fabu- lously rich, was comi)act and firmly cemented by chemical agenc,y and great pressure, and required the use of powder and drills for its extrac- tion, and of heavy stamps for crushing. These discoveries gave a fresh impetus to mining, and resulted in th& construction of bed-roclc tunnels for the extraction of the cement from the ancient river beds and the drainage of the ground. Many of these tunnels, as in Tuolumne, Butte, and near Forest Ilill, in Placer County, were run thousands of feet under the lava, and through the rim-rock of the ancient channels. These enterprises were, however, not uniformly remunerative, for though the channel was generally found, the tunnels, which had been commenced and constructed without preliminary surveys, were often found to enter the channel above the bed of the stream, thus rendering them useless for extensive exploration and compelling their final aban- donment. These various obstacles had a discouraging effect upon the mining interest, and a period of depression followed, lasting several years, during which the discovery of gold on Frazerand Salmon Ei vers and of the silver lodes of Washoe, occurred — events which nearly depop- ulated the mining counties. CAUSES OF DEPRESSION OP PLACER MINES. The causes for the inacstivity in past years of this branch of mining may be briefly summed up as follows : 1st. The injudicious system of locations permitted under early mining 58 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THK ROCKY MOUNTAINS. laws and regulations, tbrough tlie ignorance of the miners of the cLar- acter, extent, and depth of the detrital deposits. These locations were generally made in claims of 100 feet frontage, running bade to the cen- ter or backbone of the nearest ridge, regardless of the course of the deposit, such claims being too small to justify the expenditure by indi- vidual owners of the large sums necessary to construct tunnels for out- let and drainage of their ground. 2d. The filling and choking up with tailings, after a few seasons of washing, of the ravines, gulches, and rivers which served as outlet for the ground, thus preventing the maintenance of flumes of suilicient length and grade to disintegrate the hard cement found underlying the top dirt, and rendering imperative the construction of long tunnels to the nearest deep stream, requiring, in some cases, years of labor and the disbursement of large sums without immediate returns. 3d. The ignorance of the people and of capitalists of the unbounded mineral resources of their own State ; the sudden and unhealthy excite- ment following the discovery of gold in British Columbia, and silver in Nevada ; and the efforts of a portion of the press of California, in the interest of land speculators, to "write up" agriculture at the expense of mining. 4th. The uncertain tenure of mining ground under local mining regu- lations, which differed iii every district, and afford no adequate protec- tion to the purchaser of mining ground unless he remained in actual possession. THE GOLD YIELD OP CALIFOENIA. The year 1870 may be marked as the beginning of a new era of min- ing in California, indicating an increased yield for the future, which promises to continue for many years, and it is not improbable that the gold product for the next ten years may be brought up to an average of $30,000,000 per annum.* At the date of writing no accurate estimate can bo made of the receipts of gold from California mines for 1870, as no separate records are kept at the San Francisco mint of treasure receipts, a large proportion of such receipts being in the shape of refined bars from the gold refineries. The receipts of gold dust at the mint have been principally froln small companies working on the deep placers, and from river and bar mining, as most of the largo companies have recently erected their own retorting and smelting furnaces, from which they send their crude bullion to the refiners, who keep uo record of the locality from which the gold is shipped. The following table of comparison of coinage at the San Francisco mint for the past four years will bear evidence of the increased gold product for 1870 : 18G7. 1868. 16G9. 1870. §19, :5<0, 5;J5 $17, 305,000 $14, 3G5, 550 $20, 355, 000 The coinage for 1870 exceeds that of any year since 1859, and it must be remenibenHl that the past season, on account of its dryness, has not beeu an auspicious one for mining operations. The amount of *This is Mr. Skiilmoro'a estimate, not mine. I presume it refers to the total amount of gold received at San Francisco, not to the product of California alone. — K. W. K. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY CALIFOENIA. 59 coin turned out by the branch mint in San Francisco during the year 1870 has never been exceeded but twice, viz : in 1855 and 1856. In the former of those years the coinage amounted to $21,121,752, and in 1856 to §28,510,1-17. The coinage for 1870 is $5,991,450 iu excess of that for 1869. PROSPECTS FOE THE FUTURE. I Many causes have operated to confirm me in the opinion that the future is bright with promise. A more lively interest is felt by cai)ital- ists in the examination and development of these dormant resources, and the information disseminated tlirough the mediuui of the State geo- logical survey, and the various reports of the United States mining com- missioners, have not been without effect in turning the attention of the people to the vast stores of wealth at their very doors. One of the most encouraging features of future progress is the tendency to consolidation and cooperation on the part of owners of mining ground, who are avail- ing theniselves of the recent act of Congress to acquire a title in fee simple to the land by means of a United States patent. As an instance of the beiififlcial oi)eration of this law, we may mention tlie fact that one company, the North Bloomlield Gravel Company, of Nevada Coun- ty, arc now ai)plying for a patent to 1 ,500 acres of mining ground, lyiug between the IMiddle and South Yuba Elver. Should this act be liberally construed by the various land offices, and no expensive obstacles placed in the way of the miner seeking to acquire title, (as was the case in the operation of tlie act for acquiring title to quartz ledges,) much good will result to the State from the passage of this law. Important improvements have been made in tlic manner of using water iu the hydraulic diggings. Instead of projecting live hundred to one thou- sand inches of water through two or four pipes, the leading mines now run their water through one pipe by means of the recently invented hy- draulic nozzles, and discharge it with immensely increased momentum and effect against the banlc they desire to wash down, accomplishing greater results with less labor and expense, and enabling one miner to regulate the discharge of a thousand inches, in streams of six inches in diameter, by means of a lever, moving a nozzle which turns in any direc- tion, with more ease and accuracj' than three men could do it by the old liroccss. So powei'ful is the force exerted by these large streams, under great pressure, that many cemented gravel banks which formerly required the use of powder blasts before washing, can now be cut down and removed by tlie action of water alone. No less imi)ortant is the application to mining operations in California of Leschot's Patent Diamond Pointed Steam and Compressed Air Drill, and other inventions having a like object. Most of tlie extensive bed-rock tunnels in the State were commenced under the old and expensive system of large drills and blasting jiowder, requiring three men to each drill — two strikers and one man to turn the drill. Then followed the discovery of giant powder, bringing with it the use of the single-handed drill, which reduced the expense of tunnel- ing from 25 to 33 per cent. The application of diamond-iiointed borers (as they might more properly be called) promises still further to reduce these expenses to so low a figure as to render these once formid- able enterprises practicable in every district. The expense of running tunnels in California has varied greatly in difierent districts, according to the character of the bed-rock. At Smartsville, Yuba County, where the rock is a hard, flinty traji, the expense was formerly as liigh as $10 i)er linear foot. This was reduced / 60 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. to $30 per foot by use of singlc lianded drills and giant powder, under the contract system. At North San Juan, Nevada County, where the bed-rock is a soft granite, the expense per linear foot lias not been more than from $30 to $40. Near San Juan, where tunnels have been run, at the junction between the slate and granite, the exjiense has been reduced to $20 or less per foot. Near You iJet and Little York, where a soft slate occurs, the cost has rarely excieeded $10 per foot; but there are instances where such tunnels are known to have cost $C0 per linear foot. These tunnels are generally G or 8 feet in height, and 4 to 6 feet in width — the one at Smartsville, now being, run for the Blue Gravel Company, being still larger. In another jjart of this chapter some account will be given of the operations of the diamond drill in California. It nuiy reasonably be expected that when tlie compressed air attachment for these machines is completed, they will (-ome into general use, and be instrumental in opening up luxndreds of acres of rich ground which would otherwise remain imdevelopcd. Nearly one hundi-ed of these machines are in successful oijei'atiou in the Eastern States, being run by steam, which, as a motive power, is not adapted to our small but long tunnels, as the steam-pipes render the air hot and close; but this difficulty will be obviated by the use of a compressed air apparatus. The cost of these nia(!hiues will not exceed (with compressed air power) $10,000, and they will bore inch holes at the rate of from one to two inches per minute in the hardest rock. As these improvements are adopted, the amount and profit of this branch of mining increases, and the steady operation of these causes, including the facilities for the ju-ocurement of title to mining ground, will have a tendency to materially increase the gold product. CEMENT MINING AND EEDUCTION BY MILL PEOCESS. The ancient channel gravel claims worked exclusively through tunnels and shafts have not, as a general rule, proved remunerative for a few years past, although some mines of this character, of which we may instance those at You Uet, Nevada County, and some in the vicinity of Forest Hill, Placer County, have yielded enormous returns, at irregular intervals. The great obstacle to permanent success seems to be the " spot- ted"' character of the channels, and the ditliculty of tracing underground the sinuosities of the ancient streams, together with the cost of timbering, draining, hoisting, &c., incident to underground operations. At many places which have not been covered with the lava llow, or where the top dirt is denuded, the owners of this class of claims have suspended milling operations until they can wash off the overlying deposits (which will i)ay largely where water is abundant) down to the hard cement. They will then have the advantage of working this bed-rock with some degi-ee of certainty in following the course of the channel, where the richest deposits umy be expected, and save the expense of timbering, and nuich "dead work" in prospecting. In places, however, Avhere the top dirt has been waslied off, and where water-power is used for running the mills, this class of mining has been uniforndy successful. The exi)ense of mining and milling in claims of this character may vary from To cents to $1 per car load of 10 cubic feet, (ecpiivalent to one ton,) as at French Corral, Nevada County, while in many claims between the North and Middle Forks of the American lUver, where long tunnels are run under the la\'a crust, aud the mills are worked by steam powei", the average cost of milling aud mining, per IQ cubic feet, will reach as high CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 61 as $3 or $2 25. Mines thus situated are rarely reinunerative, except iu seasons wliero a "strike" is made. Au improvement has been made iu this brau<;h of mining by the substitution, at several mills, of coarse screens, with apertures one-quarter of au inch in diameter, instead of the oiie-eighth-inch screens heretofore in use. The result has been an increase iu crushing capacitj' of 25 per cent., without affecting the product of the cement. EXTENT OF THE DEEP PLACER DEPOSITS The deep placers, as we have seen, are contained within certain geographical boundaries embracing a region of nearly 4,000 square miles, within which are found six of the prominent mountain rivers of California and their tributaries, to wit: the Feather, the North, Middle, and Soutli Yubas, and the North and South Forks of the American Eiver. Tlie "divides" between these streams all contain enormims extents of detrital deposits, which have been discovered and opened at places where "slides" have occurred. The eastern extremities of these divides are covered with lava or volcanic ashes, and the western are lost in a series of low foot hills, running into the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, where the deposits arc of slight depth, but, as a com- liensation, rich veins of quartz are found. The most extensive deposits occur in the counties of Sierra, Placer, and Nevada. In Sierra County two belts are found running parallel with each other, in a northerly and southerly direction, embracing almost the total area of the county, but a great portion covered by the lava crust. One of these has the characteristics which have given it tbe name of the Great Blue Lead, from the colors and character of the cement found on the bed-rock. In Nevada and Placer counties, besides the existence of these belts, an intricate system of ancient channels and basins is found, calculated to confuse and bewilder the observer who is anxious to find evidence for his "old channel theory." Nevei'theless, the Blue Lead is here unmistakablj' defined. In Placer County, between the North and Middle Forks of the Anieriean Eiver, an enormous expanse of auriferous ground exists, incompatible with the theory of one or many ancient channels. The most extravagant statements have been made by enthusiastic perspns who have visited the region under consideration, and computed the extent of the gravel deposits and their richness. One estimate has placed the area of detrital deposits between the Middle and South Yuba Ivivers at two hundred square miles. An acquaintance with the ground iu question warrants me iu the belief that such an estimate is greatly exaggerated. Up to the present time no surveys having for an object the approxi- mation of the extent of the deep placers have been completed, tliough such a work is now being carried on under the auspices of the State Geological Survey. The only map which pretends to indicate the detrital deposits is one of the Central Mining Eegion of California, compiled by A. J. Doolittle, in -which ho has i-elied more upon his personal knowledge of the country, in designating the locality of such deposits, than upon actual surveys. The map, however, is generally accepted as correct and reliable. From the light at present thrown on the subject, the writer, if com- pelled to hazard an estimate of tlio area of the deep placers, would i)lace it at between four hundred and five hundred square miles, witli an average depth of 120 feet, and would feel confident that ho had rather 62 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. understated than exaggerated the amount. When we compare this vast extent of ground witli the limited quantity Morked, we are justified in saying that in comparison to the undeveloped ground the labor of years has resulted only in extensive prospecting. PEOBABLE GOLD-PEODUCING CAPACITY OF THE DEEP PLACEES. In making an estimate of the capacity for x>roduction of the deep placers we meet with still greater obstacles, on account of the difficulty of obtaining accurate statements of the yield of the ground. The entire extent of the auriferous ground between the Middle and South Yubas has been estimated to contain from 30 to 35 cents per cubic yard. This estimate has been based on the returns from ground worked in the vicinity of North San Juan, Nevada County, which, from the great natural facilities of this locality for running off vast quantities of dirt, cannot be taken as a criterion for other districts. The operations of the American Company, at Sebastopol Hill (near North San Jnan) afford the best means of making an approximation of the quantity of gold contained in a cubic yard of the auriferous deposit. The result of sixteen years' work shows that a production of between 25 and 30 cents per cubic yard has been reached. This would give a x>roduct, estimating on an average depth of deposit of forty yards, of the enormous sum of between $50,000 and $00,000 per acre. The ground of the American Comiiauy has an average depth of fifty-six yards, but this company, on account of its natural advantages of situa- tion (which will be explained hereafter in a description of the ground) saves a greater proportion of its gold than any other hydraulic claim in California, and its ground is undoubtedly richer than the average. The ground lying between Greenhorn Creek and Bear Eiver, Nevada County, though it has yielded enormous returns to its owners, until the liartial filling of its outlets by "tailings," has never reached an average of 25 cents per cubic yard ; and at Gold Kun, Placer County, one of the most productive regions of the State, the success of the miners is to be attributed to the quantity of groxmd washed, on account of its softness, rather than to its richness. These last-named localities possess the advantage of an abundance of water at low rates, prices ranging from 10 to cents per inch, while at North San Juan 1C§ cents per inch is paid. Between the North and Middle Porks of the American Eiver, in Placer County, the ground has probably yielded a higher average per cubic yard than at any other locality. I am led to this conclusion from the great productiveness of this ]>art of the country in iiroportion to the amount of water used, which here is very limited. The cost of hydraulic mining, per cubic yard of dirt washed, will differ in the various localities, according to the price of water and the char- acter of the bed-rock. Mr. Black, in an article on the resources of Nevada County, quoted in Ross Browne's report, placed it at 20 cents per cubic yard, but the writer feels confident that the estimate is too high by over fifty per cent., and that hydraulic ground yielding less than 20 cents per cubic yard will pay largely at any place in California. IMPEOVEMENTS IN HYDEAI7LIC MINING. Hydraulic mining has made such rapid strides on the road of progess, and assumed such monster proportions in the past year or two, that now the vast magnitude of its operations serves to almost totally CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY— CALIFORNIA. 63 eclipse every other branch of mining industry. The principal canse of this success, and the energy displaj-ed by miners of this class, is attrib- utable to the recent improvements made in apparatus or machinery, long needed, which would enable the miner to use a heavy, perpendicu- lary pressure of water with safety and economy, and at the same time place it within the power of a single operator to concentrate in one^ stream and effectually control a large body of water. To fully understand the extent of these improvements, It will be ne- cessary to state a few facts in relation to the primitive or old-fashioned method of conducting this work, and trace it step by step to its present perfect condition. The object to be accomplished is to confine a body of water in a com- ])act, continuous stream, to a certain point of egress, whence it will pass, with more or less force, in an almost solid column. This force will, of course, be governed by the relative height of the entering head of water above the discharge-pipe or nozzle. The stream so obtained is used to •undermine banks or walls of auriferous dirt and cemented gravel de- posits, and the greater the height or elevation at the point of supply, the greater will be the force and quantity of the water discharged ; and the more those two powers (fall and quantity) are concentrated, the greater the amount of earth that will be torn down and removed, result- ing in a proportionately larger yield of the precious metals. Having thus described the object, I will now speak of the apparatus used for bringing about these results. Canvas hose was first brought into general use in 1853, and as the larger proportion of the mines worked at that time were quite shallow, and the dirt, as a general thing, soft, it was found to answer so well tluit several years elapsed before an effort was made to improve on it. Canvas hose is constructed about six inches in diameter, of very strong sail-cloth ; will bear with safety from eighty to one hundred feet pressure, and discharge effectually a stream of water one and three-fourths or two inches in diameter. The material, however, which is composed of cotton, is very expensive, and rots rapidly, while, at the same time, it is ever liable to burst by 'the weight of water, and thus become a com- lilete loss to the miner. As the development of gravel deposits progressed, it M as found that the materials of a large proportion of our richest mines were very diffi- cult to disintegrate. These consist of a species of cement, and the working of the gi'avel beds demonstrated that greater fall or pressure was needed to enable the water to undermine and break up the gravel ; and as canvas hose could not bear the necessary pressure, a substitute was found in sheet-iron pipe. This is constructed of various dimen- sions, from six to forty inches in diameter ; but, in order to obtain a flexible discharge piece, it was necessary to retain a short piece of canvas hose, and in order to make it safe it had to be covered or bound up by a netting or cover of strong rope, which was both expensive and incon- venient. These difficulties combined succeeded in arousing the invent- ive ingenuity of the miners, and resulted in bringing to lighii the inven- tions known as the " improved hydraulic nozzles," the first of which was invented by the Messrs. Craig, of Nevada County — a county which has had the honor of inaugurating all the improvements in this branch of mining. These improved nozzles proved a complete substitute for canvas hose, and by their simplicity of construction, cheapness, and durability, met with an immediate, rapid, and extensive adoption by the . miners throughout the State. This has enabled them to use with safety a sufficient head of water to work the hardest dirt or gravel rapidly and G4 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE KOCKY MOUNTAINS. clioaply, and at tlic same time to use a i)ipp of any size i-oqnirod, so as to run all tlicir water in one stream, whicli alone nearly doubles its el- fectivcncss, and besides places it under the control of a single operator. They sain in force, saving mainial laboi", and economizing in every way. I will briefly describe two of these inventions : » Craiffs Globe monitor or Globe hydraulic nozzle. — ^This invention con- sists of a hollow ball or globe, with an opening at one side, into which enters the main feed or supply pipe, and one on top, out of which pro- trudes an elbow Joint. One end of this elbow is attached to a sotjket, which revolves on the interior of the globe, ami at the same time creates •A water-tight joint : this joint enables the operator to change the direc- tion of the stream from point to point at pleasure. To the other end of the elbow is attached the discharge-pipe, which may be of any size de- sired. The ball revolves entirely round horizontally, and up or down, at an angle of about forty degrees. This play has been found ami)ly sufficient for all ordinai-y mining purposes, and causes a perfect stream to emerge at any point to which the nozzle may be directed. As a mat- ter of economy, it not only places the water of seven or eight ordinary hose-pipes under the control of one man, but its durability is so great (one lasting a life-time) that its extra first cost is seldom noticed, it being in convenience alone worth more to the miner than the diltercnce of cost of canvas hose. No caiivas being used, it is not liable to break- ago under heavy pressure, and saves the annual outlay for canvas, while the con(;enti'ation of a larg<'r body of water in one column has been found to nearly double the amount of execution in comparison with ordinary expenses. The proprietors, Messrs. K. K. & J. Craig, of Nevada City, manufacture four ditferent sizes, the largest of which will run some 1,500 inches water, miners' measure."* The Messrs. Craig have three United States patents upon the monitor and its improvements, and deserve great credit for develoi)iug so \'aluablo an auxiliary to our mining iudustry. *A " minors' incli" of w.ater ia geiiorally accBjited to nip.ni tho quantity of water wliicli would How from an aperturo of ono square incli, under tho pressure of a steady flow of water standiug six inches above tho top of tho escape a|)erturo ; consequently 1,000 inches of water (the amount now thrown through a G-inch nozzle) is tho quan- tity which escapes at the ilischargivbox from an aperture or gate 6 feet in length and 14 inches in height, luider a ])res.sure of fi inches of water above the top of the aperture. Thi! discharge-boxes art; generally G feet by fi feet, and 2 feet in lieight. The diHerence of elevation between the discharge-boxes and the " distributor " (from which tho water is convoyed to tho nozzle) is generally 200 feot or more — at Gold Run nearly 300 feet. r Craig's Globo Monitor. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 65 jP. II. Fisher^s laiuckle joint and nozzle. — This machine consists of two elbows placed in reversed position when standing in right line, but made to revolve by a ^g|;g|a.«^-^*^tefc^ imhhiBi place by a flange, bolted ^JWffl^ , to the top of the lower ' i "^^^tz— elbow. Theringisthen '-.lii^^!^^^^^^^^^^ bolted to a flange on ^3l^^^fc ' ■ .Htf ^^—:- tlie top elbow, thereby I"i,--lii rs l^imckle joint and nozzle, connecting the two together and at the same time leaving the top elbow free to move around in a complete circle. When the water is let into the elbow the pressure brings the rolls up in the ring against the flange ou top of the bottom elbow, allowing the top elbow to inove around easily and without any friction except that of the rolls thpmselves. A piece of rubber packing placed between the flanges of bottom and top (ilbows, makes the joint tight by the ])ressure of the water against the ring. In the outlet or top e>bow is a knuckle joint which gives the up and down motion to the discharge-pipe. It is a concave surface fitted to a convex one; the concave has an opening for the pipe to pass through. The pipe is screwed into the convex surface ami will move up and down while the concave one is bolted flrmly to the flange on the top elbow. The elbow and knuckle joint are uuulo ot cast iron from § to '\ inch thick. The discharge-pipe is made of No. IC iron, 8 feet long, with cast- iron nozzle. The machine is operated by a lever 10 or 12 feet long with two arms, and attached to top elbow by trunnions. A lever is pivoted to the top of the upper elbow and attached on one end to the dis- charge-pipe by a strap inclosing the pipe- and i)rovi(led with two rolls on top for the lever to slip on. At the other end it is connected with the operating lever by a short ui)right lever made to work loose in its joints. Thus the up and down motion is imparted to the discharge-pipe by the rise and fall of the operating lever. By moving it to the right or left the whole machine except the bottom elbow is moved. A little device is attached to the lever to hold the dis- charge-i)i[)e in position when the water is off. It is a catch working iu a ratchet on the toi) elbow, attached by a rod running out on the lever so that the operator can i)ut it in or out as the case nuiy be. Tlie pipe stands firmly in place when the water is ou ; the operator standing at the end of the lever can easily direct the stream to any point — good execution being done at a distance of 200 feet from the bank, thus securing safety of life from caves which are of so frequent occurrence and often fatal where small streams are used against high banks. These machines are made to throw str.eams of from 4 to 7 inches in diameter, • and were invented by a citizen of Nevada County, Mr. F. H. Fisher. ROCK-DRILLING MACHINES. Besides the improvements in hydraulic machinery many other mechan- ical discoveries and improvements have been made during the past year, resulting iu a large aggregate of practical benefits. Among these I may mention : The Blatcltley rod; drill. — This machine, invented by Dr. Blatchley, il. Ex. 10 5 66 fflNINa STATISTICS WEST OP THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. of San Praucisco, and constructed at the Miners' Foundry, has only recently been brought to perfection, after four years of continuous and costly trial, during which every alteration and addition was made that "the severest practical tests could suggest to the mind of the orig- inator. A machine ca]iable of doing work of this kind with expedition and economy has long been a desideratum in the mining regions, where we have so niany tunnels to drive, and often through the hardest ma- terial. Tiie BJatchley drill is an exceedingly powerful implement, and at the same time simple, inexpensive, and durable. It is but 30 inches long, 7 wide, and 10 high ; weighing only about 100 pounds, apart from the drill, which is inserted after the machine is in position. It can be operated by hand, so little power is required to drive it. It can be attached to an engine or other motor at a distance, and the method of using it can be easily learned. For ordinary work it gives 300 blows, cutting 3 inches in granite, per minute, though this rate of speed and execution can be doubled with a corresponding increase of power. An ingenious method of transmitting power from the surface into the mine or timnel below, insuring the running of many machines at small cost, has just been completed and patented by Dr. Blatchley. Diamond-pointed steam drills, their application to mining operations in €alifornia. — These machines were first introduced on this coast by Sev- erance, Holt & Co., in the early part of 1870, and nsed on Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, where holes were bored two inches in diameter and from 20 to 35 feet deep, for blasting purposes. These holes were made merely to show what the machines could do, and were bored 20 teet in from three to four hours ; and 35 feet in less than six hours. Tlie con- tractor, who was taking out the rock for the San Franciscio bulkhead, and making holes of a corresponding depth, same size at the bottom, • but much largerat the top, with hand-power, on the old-fashioned "churn"- drilliug process, employed six men i'rom twenty to twenty-live days to bore a single hole the same depth, at a cost of over $10 per foot. The machines were worked by two men, an engineer and fireman. The holes made by the "diamond drill" are perfectly round and of a uniform size, which makes them much more effective than those jnade hy the old process. The contractor claimed that the amount of I'ock disi»laced by a blast put in one of those holes was eight or ten times greater than by the old system of drilling. Holes were made 3 feet deep in seven minutes. The firat deep boring done near San Francisco was at Mission Creek, through the same character of rock, for an artesian well. This hole was made 327 feet deep, and 3 inches in diameter. In Tuolumne County the company bored prospecting holes near Don Pedro Bar and Tuttletown. At the latter place Messrs. Gould & Cooper bored seven perpendicular holes through talcose slate, porphyry, and sandstone, and cores were taken out showing the character of rock. The diamond drill made from 10 to 35 feet per day of ten hours. The holes were made from 30 to 157 feet deep. At Carson's Hill, Calaveras County, the company used a machine on the " Union Mine,'' pros|)ecting for the direction and value of the differ- ent leads. These holes were made from 120 to 317 feet in depth. The rock bored through was slate mixed with quartz. These holes were all bored at an angle of about 45^, and the machine made as high as 70 feet in a single day of ten hours, through slate with quartz streaks through it. In five hours 13 feet of white crystal (piartz was bored. This was the hardest rock found in the mining districts. Near San Rafael, in Marin County, on the premises of Mr. George CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 67 Worn_ the company bored several holes 2J inches in diiimeter and from 100 to oOO feet deep, for artesian wells. The rock here was of a very peculiar character, and generally very hard. It changed veiy often from sands'^one, Tiard and close-grained, to a conglomerate of slate, vol- canic rocks, Hint and basalt mixed. This boring was very diliicnlt, nevertheless the machine made as high as 24 feet in six hours. The company have machines at the Pacheco Mine, Monterey County, for prospecting purposes, and in various other places iu the State; al.so one in tlie White Pine district, and are constructing one to be run by compressed air for the Blue Gravel Mining Company of Smartsvillc, Yuba County, California, a descrijjtion of which will be found under the heading of "The Sniartsville Llydranlic Mines." Should this ma- chine prove a success in point of execution and economy — and recent experiments at Smartsville leave no doubt on that subject — we may rea- sonably expect the construction of many extensive drain tunnels in Cali- fornia, which were formerly considered impracticable on account of the expense. These tunneling machines are;nade to suit the size of any tunnel, as per order. Tlie compressors required to run one of these machines in a long tunnel are arranged to work by any power convenient, and do the double duty of working the drilling machine and ventilating the tunnel at the same time. Most of these machines are made to run by steam, but those for tunnels, shafts, stopes, &c., are intended to have com- pressed air for the motive-power. Prospecting machines with horizontal boilers on wheels are constructed which can be used to bore prospect- ing holes 1,000 feet, if necessary, taking out a core the entire depth, and having sullicieiit power to lift the refuse matter out of a shaft, or do any work in which strong power is required, without disturbing the pro- gress of the drill in the least. The Von Schmidt diamond borer. — Colonel A. W. Von Schmidt, of San Francisco has invented and is now constructing a drilling machine, or, more accurately speaking, a tunnel borer, which unites all tlniexcellent qualities of the diamond drill with many novel features which promise to make it a greater success than any machine now in use for driving tunnels. The inventor considered that the great obstacle to rapid pro- gress in running tunnels has been the resistance offered to blasts in a solid face of rock, and for the purpose of overcoming this difliculty lias constructed a machine which will cut a circular slot in the face of the tunnel, 24 feet in circumference, 2 inches in width, and 3 feet iu depth. At the same time a blast-hole, 2 inches in diameter and of same depth, (3 feet,) will bo bored in the center of tlie face of the rock. The iaco of the tunnel now presents the api)earance of a huge grindstone, set up on edge, and attached on one side to the solid rock out of which it is cut. The blast is put in the center hole, and the resistance of the sides liaving been overcome by the cutting of the circular slot, a single blast will take out rock to the depth of the slot or cutting on the sides. The machine, wliich has been drawn back wliile the blast is discharged, is now advanced against the face, when another slot is cut with like re- sults. Allowing a reasonable time for firing the blast and clearing up the d6bris, the machine is expected to- cut a smooth tunnel, 8 feet iu diameter, at the rate of 14 feet per day. The cutting will be done by twenty-four diamond drills revolving on the periphery of a cyliiuler 8 feet in diameter, at the rate of eight hundred revolutions per miiuito, while the cylinder itself revolves once iu a miimte. The drills are set in motion by a disk at the back of the cylinder. The machine will be run by compressed air, and is intended to cut the tunnel of the Lake 68 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Taboe Water Company,, a distance of two and a half miles through the granite of the Sierra Nevadas, from Lake Talioe to the North Fork of the Amei-ican Eiver. *^ A writer in the Commercial Herald of San Francisco thus sums up the effects of the introduction of these improved mining appliances : " It is hardly possible to overestimate the importance of these inveu- tiojis iu their bearing on certain of our mining industries. The great item of cost, and, what is almost equally to be dreaded, of delay, in opening up our vein-mines, old river channels, and gravel-beds— the sources of our greatest and most enduring mineral wealth — have been the excavation of the tunneling necessary to reacli and work them. iSome of the tunnels driven to open up and drain the last two men- tioned classes of deposits have cost enormous sums, requiring often from five to ten years for their completion ; ahd, although when finished these mines are apt to prove very profitable, few men care to embark iu enterprises directed to their development, with the prospect of hav- ing to wait so long for returns — this, rather tlian the cost of those worlis, even when prosecuted by liand-drilling, being the deterring mo- tive. With the introduction of these drills, lessening so much the cost, while it almost annihilates this major objection, we may look for a great extension of these several kinds of mining, increasing materially the value of such properties, autl adding i^roportioually to the available wealth of the country." Having gi\ en a general review of the condition and prospects of i)la- cer-mining, I will proceed to a description of some of the most promi- nent districts and the mines found therein. In the description of mines I have selected those which may be considered as representatives of their districts, with no intention to disparage the merits of equally im- portant claims in the same vicinity. THE SMAETSVILLE HYDRAULIC MINES. These mines are situated among the foot-hills of Tuba County, near the south bank of the Yuba river, about eighteen miles east of Marys- ville, and are uoteb- ruary, lS(i7. In order to make a certainty of being deep enough to W(uk th(>, old river cliannel to tiie bottom, the tunnel was coinmoiced as low as ])raeticable to give sulliciient dump at the river for tailings. This brings the Blue J'oint tunnel into the old river channel, sixty feet deeper than the Blues (Iravel Company's ]U'esent working level, and one hundred and ten feet deeper than the present level of the workings of the company. This tunnel is 2,270 feet in length, six feet wide on the bottom, atid eight fecst high, the entire distance through hard, Hinty (rap- rock. Two shafts were sunk on the line of the tunnel to tiie grade, one 123 feet in dei)th ; the other 138 feet in depth. l<'roni these shafts the work was carried forward on both faces of each shaft, and from the mouth of the tunnel — making five working faces — the rock and debris being hoisted through each shaft to the surface,'by an engine and whim erected lor the ])urpose. During tlie first year the work was carried on 1)y contract from to $45 ])er linear foot. The contractors, using com- mon blasting powder, made such slow i)rogress at times, six men mak- ing only ten feet in a month, that upon the introduction of giant powder they were released, the work being taken in hand by the ollicters of the company. They employed six men on each face with single hand drills, using giant ])owdcr. The men were divided into eight-hour shifts, one set not being allowed to leave until relic^ved by the next set. In this manner the hammers were never allowed to stop, either night or day. This work was so far comi)leted in Novend)er, 1870, as to permit the raising of a shaft in which gravel was struck. The tunnel will how'cver be carried some 400 or 500 feet farther, so as to reach the center of the channel. The flume extends from the head of the tunnel to the bank of the Yuba Iviver, into which the tailings fall, a distance of 4,050 feet. That l)orti()n of tlie Hume which is in the tunnel is 42 inches wide ami 20 inches dee]); that portion outside the tunnel is 48 inches wide and 30 inches deep — tlie whole having a grade of one-half inch to the foot. The Hume is lined with the hard rock taken out of the tunnel for a depth of one foot. This lining, it is (expected, will last for six months; it will be taken up and turned after the first run. I am indebted to Mr. Lynuin Ackley, of Smartsville, secretary of the Blue Point Gravel Cou)pany, and one of the earliest miners of this district, for the following details of this extensive operation: "In |)rose- cuting this work 9,000 i)ound8 of steel drills have been worked u]); nearly 10,000 bushels of coal for smith-shop ; 1,327,900 points sharpeiu'cl on drills; 9-f,000 feet of lumber used in work-shops, out buildings, &c.; (iOO kegs of blasting i)owder ; 275 pounds of nitro glycerine ; GOO l)oxes of the best candles; 4,400 i)ounds of giant powder; 05,000 feet of fuse; for engine and foundery work $5,175 has been paid ; 4,400 feet of tlio flume are lined with quarried rock 12 inches thick ; 140,000 feet of lum- ber was used tq build the'fiume; it Mill require 8,000 jjounds of quick- silver to charge the same; 800 inches of water will be used on the mine per dav, at a cost of $80 per dav. The cost of these entire imjirove- ments"is 8150,000." Among other bed-rock tunnels now in progress near Sm.artsville we note: The Pactolus, 800 feet, nearly eom])let('d; Pittsburg and Yuba Kiver Mining Com])any, 1,700 feet, half completed; Blue Gi'avel Com- pany, 1,500 feet, two-thirds completed. 72 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Poioder Masts. — One of the characteristics of miniug operations at Smartsville is the use of large quantities of powder in blasts for the purpose of breaking up the cemented banks preparatory to washing them off. Blasts of 200 or 300 kegs are of almost monthly occurrence, but blasts of such dimensions as the one exploded in December, 1870, by the Blue Point Gravel Miniug Company, in wliich 2,000 kegs of powder ■were exploded, are sufBciently rare to merit a detailed description. The bank to be raised in this instance was 73 feet deep,. 275 feet long, and 200 feet wide. The annexed diagram will convey some idea of the man- ner in which the powder was distributed : The ring on the diagram represents the termination of the incfine from the tun- nel, 73 feet below the sur- face. From this point a main drift was run, with cross drifts as laid down in the diagram — each drift being 3 by 4 feet in dimen- sions. The blast was dis- charged by a galvanic bat- tery, for which purpose wires were carried through the main drift — going in on one side of the cross- drifts, thence passing out through the drifts on the opposite sides. A cart- ridge, connected with the wire, was then placed in a keg of powder in each of the cross-drifts — there be- ing ten points at which the powder was fired simulta- neously. The heads were taken out of the kegs of powder — of which 2,000 •were used in this blast — equally distributed through the drifts. The 120 © 80 120 © 80 120 © 80 1 120 © fe; 80 |3 rH 80 o mouth of the maiudrift to the first cross-drift wasthen firmly tamped, leav- ing a large open space in the balance of the drifts, which greatly increased the explosive effects of the powder, and the blast w"as fired. The result was, that the entire mass of earth, comprising 150,000 cubic yards, was raised from 6 to 10 feet and thoroughly loosened. The first "fitty days' run" after this blast yielded a very large return of gold. From 100 boxes (1,200 feet of flume) at the head of tlie tuunel, $42,2(>0 was taken, leaving 230 boxes of the lower end of the flume untouched. BET-WEEN THE MIDDLE AND SOUTH YUBAS. The easterly extremity of the Smartsville deposit is found at IMooney Flat, ojie-lialf mile from the grounds of the companies above described. Prom this point to French Corral, on the north bank of the South Yuba, distant ten or twelve miles on an air-line, there are no surface traces of the ancient channel. It is probable that the gravel range extending CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 73 from Freiicli Corral tluougli Birchville and Swcetlaud to the Middle Fork of the Yuba Eiver, near North San Juan, is identical with the Smartsville deposit, and that between Mooney Flat and French Corral it has been broken by the South Yuba, which runs through a gorge nearly 1,G00 feet lower than the bed-rock of the ancient channel at French Corral. The fact that the deposit does not make its appearance between the south bank of the South Yuba and Mooney Flat, may be accounted for by taking into consideration the denuding action of Deer Creek, once a powerful stream, which runs on about the same level as the bed-rock of the ancient channel. The eroding 'action of tliese two streams has undoubtedly broken up and scattered the ancient channel deposit between the i)oints above named. From French Corral to' Moore's Flat, a distance of nearly thirty miles, between the South and Middle Yubas, we find a series of mining towns,' the most noted of which are North San Juan and North Bloomfleld, the latter place being known in early days as " Humbug." The auriferous deposit is not, however, continuous, and the deposits do Hot belong to the same sys- tem — the lower one coming in from Camptonville and the upper one from Snow I'ent — the latter being covered with volcanic matter. French Corral. — This locality has been worked from a very early period in tiie history of mining in Nevada County, and lias proved uni- formly rich. The width of the auriferous deposit is about 1,000 feet, v.ith an average depth of 150 feet — 130 feet of which is hydraulic dirt, the balance being cemented gravel of sufficient hardness to require crushing. The bed-rock is grailite and slate, with narrow seams of quartz at the junction of these formations. Water is brought from Sliady Creek, a distance of ten miles, through a ditch having a capacity of 2,500 inclies, and which cost, with its reservoirs, at least $150,000. "Water is sold at 12i cents per incli. The ditch is owned by ^V. M. Eddy & Co., who also conduct the most extensive mining operations iu this locality. They own 1,800 feet on the channel, and use 1,000 inches of water per day, running their dirt through a tunnel 1,000 feet in length and 2,500 feet of Hume. They liave also a lifteen-stamp mill for crush- ing the cement. Two other mills are iu o])eration here — the Empire, twenty stam])s, and the Kansas Company, ten stamps. The latter com- l)any are now taking out between $100 and $500 per day. Eddy & Co.'s mill- has fifteen stamps, of G50 ])ounds each, ruu by a " hurdy-gurdy " wheel 12 feet in diameter, using 75 inches of water under a fall of 110 feet. This company has been using one-eighth-inch screens, but pro- pose to change them for s(;reeiis having quarter-inch apertui-es. This will permit the escape of the small pebbles, and will increase the crush- ing capacity of the mill from eighty to one hundred tons per day. One of the companies operating here has tried tiiis experiment with satisfactory results, having increased their crushing capacity 25 per cent, without any diminution of the product per ton. The gravel crushed in Eddy & Co.'s mill has averaged between $4 and $5 per ton, and the expense of milling and mining has not exceeded $50 per day, or 70 cents ])er ton, (or 10 cubic feet.) The cement is loosened by powder blasts ami the mining carried on above-ground. For this purpose, powder drifts are ruu with single hand-drills, and line i)owder use(l in the blast holes. Mr. Eddy estimates the advantages of this over the old system (large drills and coarse powder) at fullj- 30 per cent. The construction of two bed-rock tuuuols is in contemitlatiou here, each of which will be from 1,000 to 1,800 feet iu length, and will debouch on tlie South Yuba Kiver. On account of the many seams found iu the bed-rock, the cost of run- uing tunnels here rarely exceeds $15 per liuetu- foot. The estimated 74 MINING STATISTICS WEST 01' THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. gold product, of French Con-al for 1870 is $200,000 and the same amount may be anticipated for 1871. From French Corral to Birch ville, a distance of two miles, less than one thousand feet of the bed-rock has been stripped,, and it is estimated that not more than one-tenth of the surface dirt has been run oft". Birchville and Siceetland. — At Birchville the Bedrock Tunnel Com- pany have just comiileted a tunnel from the Middle Yuba 2,G00 feet in length, at a cost of $30,000. This company do not own enough surfatie ground to remunerajte them for this extensive work, and until the sur-, face ground and the tunnel are owned by one company but little work will be done at this ])lace, though the ground is known to be rich. At Buckeye Hill, near 8weetland, the Buckeye Hill Mining Company, an English corporation, are carrying on extensive operations, with good prospects for large returns for 1871. North San Juan. — This was formerly one of the most populous mining towns of Nevada County, but is now suft'ering from the stagnation inci- dent to the exhaustion of the most accessible ground. There is yet much ground to work, but the present price for water — IGf cents per inch — does not aftbrd remuneration to small owners, and many claims are passing into the hands of the ditch company. When the claims here shall have been consolidated, extensive operations will be resumed. During the past season only four claims have used water. The American Company^s claims. — The beneficial effects of consolida- tion may be illustrated by the success which has attended the operations of this company. The grounds of the American Company are located on Manzanita Hill, about one and a half miles west of the town of North San Juan. Commencing at the bluff overhanging the Middle Yuba, their claim runs 4,000 feet in a southerly direction — the general course of the channel being from north to south, and the grade of the old river- bed falling at the rate of 90 feet to the mile. The width of the pay dirt is from 300 to 450 feet, with an average depth of 175 feet from surface to bed rock. The bed-rock is granite, and has a well-defined seam or crack running through it, from north to south, near the middle of the channel, and penetrating to unknown depths. This seam has been found 800 feet below the bed of the old channel, at a point where the main bed-rock tunnel has been commenced; and the various tunnels of the company, commencing on the hillside overhanging the Middle Yuba, have followed it, thereby diminishing the expense of running these tun- nels from $40 to $15 per linear foot. The ground of this company was worked as early as 1853, but it did not pass into the hands of the pi'csent owners till 18C3, when additional ground was purchased from time to time, at an exi^ense of over $140,000, until the present extensive tract was acquired. This tract has a superficial area of about forty-two acres, and, estim'ating its average breadth at 450 feet, and depth at 175 feet, would give 11,597,100 cubic yards of auriferous dirt. Considerably less than one-half of this immense tract has been run off' and has yielded $1,000,000, of which $400,000 has been profit. Estimating the product of the remaining ground at 28 cents per cubic yard, which is lower than the estimates of Professor Silliman or Professor Lauer for this mining region, and consistent with the past results of the working of the com- pany, I am warranted in the belief that this claim will yet produce $2,000,000, of which more than one-half will in future be realized as profit. Even with the present improvements in th.s branch of mining, it is not pi'obable that the undeveloped ground of the company can be washed off' in less than sixteen years, without taking into consideration the lower grade of dirt left on the sides of the channel, or the cement CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTEY — CALIFOENIA. 75 on the bed-rock wliich requires crushing. The company are now run- ning from 500 to 800 inches of water per twenty-four hours, using four two-and-a-lialf-incli streams and a " Craig Monitor" nozzle of six inches diameter, as occasion requires. Water here is an expensive item, cost- ing 16| cents per inch; but this company have an arrangement by which they pay 12|- cents per inch for the excess over 500 inches used in twenty -four hours. Since opening the ground they luxvc constructed over 0,000 feet of tunnel, and have laid nearly 10,000 feet of flume, of which 0,000 feet is now in use. These tunnels, commencing at tlie highest, are of the following dimensions: No. 1, 300 feet; No. 2, GOO feet; (these two are no longer used, having run off all the ground they opened;) No. 3, 1,800 feet; No. 4, 2,500 feet. The present wash- ing is through the two latter. Tunnel No. 5 (the lowest) will be the longest, and will open the entire ground of the company. It was commenced, on the seam or crack above referred to, about 200 feet above the level of the Middle Yuba, and will have a total length of nearly one mile. It will be 7 feet in height, from roof to bottom of flnme, and 5 feet wide. It rises from tlie mouth at tl^e rate of one foot in six- teen, and will strike the gravel near tlie back line of the company's ground. One thousand feet have been completed, (Nov. 1, 1870,) and contract let for one thousand more, at $15 per linear foot. When 3,500 feet have been run, a shaft will be raised, a flume put in, and ground will be run through it, but the main tunnel will be carried on slowly to completion. The American Company has extraordinary facilities for saving its gold, by reason of its natural advantages of location. The northern extremity of the gi-ouud terminates on a bold bluft' overhang- ing the Middle Yuba, and from 800 to 1,000 feet above that stream. The company have availed themselves of this advantage by the con- struction of a system of dumps and undercurrentSj of which' there are twenty-five — some of the dumps having a perpendicular fall of 20 feet or more, followed by the most improved undercurrents. As the term "undercurrents" is often used in the description of this class of claims, a brief description will be apropos. They consist of a set of sule flumes, from 10 to 15 feet in width, arranged alongside of the main flume, ■which is opened at intervals, where a sufiicient faU can be had, and close to the mouth of the opening, open riffles, made of heavy iron bars, are placed, through which descend the fine gravel and flour gold into the undercurrent, while the larger masses pass on through the main flume until they are sufficiently broken up to pass into the next under- current. The undercurrent is so arranged as to be wider for the first few feet, causing the water to spread and run slower, and then the • undercurrent, being heavily charged with quicksilver and completely riffled, naturally catches the gold. In some claims a succession of these undercurrents, for half a mile or more, exists, and the last often pays from $100 to $300 per year for cleaning up. In consequence of these facilities a greater proportion of the gold is saved here than in any claim which has come under our observation. The total length of flumes is 6,000 feet, to charge which 1,600 pounds of quicksilver are used, at a post of between $1,100 and $1,200. The company have their own iiirnace for retorting and melting, and turn out their product in bars, which are sent to San Francisco to be refined. They have also an eight-stamp mill, run by water-power, for crushing their cement. The mill will crush 'about forty tons per day, but is not in constant use. Chinamen are employed to clean the bed-rock, which is picked down a few inches and swept clean with hand-brooms. Besides the Chinese, from sixteen to twenty white men are employed. The underlying gravel and cement 76 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE BOCKY MOUNTAINS. is very hard in places, and requires the use of blasts. An average o*. 1,000 kegs of powder is used for this purpose, at a cost of $2 80 per keg. One of tlje objects of interest at this clj^im is the great "pot-hole." This hole has been worn in the solid granite bed-rock of the old channel by the action of a rai)id cui-rent turning a large stone of some harder material than the granite. The hole is the shape of an Inverted cone — six feet in diameter at its mouth, and tapering to a diameter of six inches at the bottom, a distance of fifteen feet. At the bottom was found a round stone — ])robably the same one which, commencing at the top, wore its way downward by attrition, reducing its size from several feet in diameter to a few inches. It would be au interesting problem to ascer- tain the length of time the stone was occupied in this process. Among the many ingenious contrivances introduced here is a set of signals, twelve in number, communicating by ropes between the mouth of the lower tunnels and the men engaged in piping on the bank above. By {he simple movement of a hand on a dial, any* one of twelve signals is instantaneously shown on the roof of the mill, where it may be seen for a distance of half a mile. By this means the Avater can be shut off without sending a m^ a half a mile to deliver a message from the ♦ flumes. The owners of this claim are nearly all practical miuers, and a majority of them work on the claim, which is superintended by Mr. T. S. Crall, who opened the ground in 1853, and has been one of the largest owners. Statistics of interest relative to this claim were fnniishetl last year by Anson B. Swan, and will be iound on page 58 of Eeport for 1870. The American Company's claim is one of the most valuable min- ing properties in California, and its success has stimulated more active operations in this branch of mining. A'orth Bloomjield and vicinity. — Ascending the ridge between the South and ^Middle Yubas, we lose the gravel range of French Corral and San Juan, which has been broken off by the Middle Yuba, and, passing over a strip of unproductive ground between San Juan and Shailj- Creek, we find the second or -higher deposit of the divide," which extends Irom Moore's Flat to Cherokee, a distance of about fifteen miles, and has a width of from two to four miles, covering nearly the whole ground be- tween the two rivers. The higher portion of this deposit has been cov- ered with lava or volcanic ashes, and the lower portion has been worked until the outlet has been filled by the accumulated tailings, necessitat- ing the construction of long bed-rock tunnels, to cinpty in either the IMiddle or South Yuba before this vast extent of ground can be properly worked. Au illustration of the extent of these accumulations is aflbrded . at the crossing of Shady Creek, near Cherokee. At this point there formerly stood a saw-mill on the banks of the creek ; the boilers of this mill were supplied by a water-tank which stood higher up on the bank of the stream. The tailings from above so encroached on the mill that it was rendered useless and taken down ; the tank, however, remained, and the timbers of which it was composed are now seen cropping up above the tailings a distance of several inches. Another "run" will completely obliterate all traces of this landmark of early times. The dep*h of tailings here cannot be less than 70 feet. The towns of Chero- kee and Columbia Hill are fast decaying, although surrounded with rich ground, and will never know their Ibrmer prosperity till capital comes to the rescue and buys out the present owners. Among other well-known localities in this vicinity are Badger and Grizzly IJills. Tiie distance from Badger to Grizzly liill is seven miles; a heavy gravel deposit covers the whole distance, from one to five liun- dred feet deep, and from one to four tbousaud feet in width, and, so far CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 77 as developed, very rich. There are but two places in this vast dcjiosit (Badger and Grizzly Hills) where it can be ojjened to advantage. Bad- ger and Grizzly ITills are the keys to this whole de])osit. The want of capital has so far prevented its opening. The Badger Hill and Chero- kee Mining Company (an incorporated company) is now working on Badger Hill. At Columbia Hill the Union Company are running four hundred inches of water from the North Blooinlield Company's ditch with encouraging results. Korth Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company. — This company is a San Francisco coi-poration, and is composed of some of the wealthiest resi- dents of that city. They have acquired by loc.ition and iiurciiase 1,.500 acres of mining ground, for which they have obtained a patent under the recent act of Congress. If we estimate that 1,200 acres of this tract" is available mining ground, with an average depth of 180 feet — and thi.s is not too high an average — we find that this company has 348,480,000 cubic yards of auriferous dirt and gravel, of which not more than 400,000 or 500,000 cubic yards have been removed. At 20 cents i)er cubic yard, (which is about the average yield of this region,) this groutul has a pro- ducing capacity of $69,000,000. In making this (;alcnlation, it will be borne in mind that while niuch of the surface dirt will not yield over a few cents [)er cubic yard — perhaps not more than enough to pay the exi)enses of running off — we can safely put the lower strata at 20 cents per cubic foot, or $5 40 per cfibic yard. The following account of the operations of this company is taken, by permission, from the Mining and Scientific Press of San Francisco, to which it was furnished by the ofiftcers of the comjjany : " The North IJlooinfleld Gravel Company have constructed a ditcli from Big Canyon Creek to Bloomfield, a distance of forty miles, with a carrying capacity of h},000 inches. This ditch has cost about $500,000, and is the best constructed and mosl substantial one in the State. They have also constructed a dam across Big Can- yon Creek at Bowman's IJanch, Co feet high and 215 feet in length, giving them a reseiToir capable of retaining 400,000,000 cubic feet of water. .In addition to this immense supply of water, the company own several important water rights in the line of their ditch, which afford a large amount of water during the rainy season. Tiu^y also own the Eudycan reservoir, formerly owned by an English company, distant thir- teen miles from the line of their present ditch. This is the largest reser- voir in the State, and cost the English company over $100,000. From Bloomfield this company have constructed another ditch, seven milesloug, , to Columbia Hill, to supply water to the Union Gravel Mining Com- pany, a majority of the stock of which is owned by the North Jiloomfield Gravel Mining Company. The mining claims of this company are at present fitted with pipes, &c., costing some $40,000. Their network of mining flumes is about one and a quarter miles in aggregate length, varyi^ig in width from 40 to 72 inches. When these claims are running their full capacity, they will use three monitors, each capable of carrying 1,'200 inches of water ; also what is known as a goose-neck, carrying some GOO inches of water. These pipes are used under a head of 300 feet, and it is estimated that the capacity of the work is an ability to . mine 100,000 tons of gravel each twenty-four hours. When the works are in full operation they will use about 80,000,000 gallons of water i)er day. The company is now running 1,500 inches per day. The various Humes are so arranged that they can clean up Avithout stopping the work of mining. The main flumes are x^aved with stone, the branches with wooden blocks. The grade of the flumes is, as a general thing, 6 inches to each box of 12 feet, although some of them are upon a grade I 78 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. of 5 iiiclies. The company have steadily prosecuted their work for tlic past ilnvo. or four years, and when their subterranean works, now being carried on, are completed, no OTie can doubt that {^reat i-esults will be obtained in tiie way of dividends. This company's new ditch was fin- ished and washing commenced September 15, 1870." A ])r()spccting shaft has been sunk to demonstrate the depth of the gravel and the pitch of the bed-rock, prei)arutory to a survey for a gi- gantic bed-rock tunnel. Tlie shaft struck bed-roclc at a depth of 208 feet, (November, 1870,) and shows a fair quality of blue gravel, 138 feet in tliickness, and very rich, at the bottom. Moore'ii Flat and riciniti/. — Six miles further up the ridge are the thriving towns of Moore's Flat and Eureka South, with many smaller camps, in which mining is actively carried on all the year round, on account of the abundance of water, which rarely fails in these high regions. One C()mi)aiiy, at Moore's Flat, report .$(i;"i,()()0 as the ])r<)duct of the season. The min.ing above tliis point is ])rincipally carried on in drifts under the lava crust, and the lead is lost iu the heart of the Sierras. Between North Bloomlidd (Ibrmerly known as Hundtug) and Moore's Flat, on the north bank of the South Yuba, is the mining camp of Kelief Hill, where six companies are engaged iu hydraulic mining. From this point can be seen the extensive auriferous de()Osit between the South Yuba and Bear Eiver, on which are situated the towns of Ali)ha, Omega, and.Washington. The whole northern slope of this " di- vide" has beeu worked for years, and is yet comparativel.^ undeveloped. Tiie general topography of these divides, and the situation of the de- trital iiuitter, would seem to indicate a general north and south sweep, ^\ hich has been broken and eroded by the modern streams. THE GEAVEL MINES OF ITEVADA CITY AND GKASS VALLEY. These localities are better known abroad for the y)roductiveness of their (]uartz mines rather than for any notoriety acquired from their l)lacers, which, however, were of unparalleled richness. At an early^lay attention was attracted to the richness of the gravel deposit lying under the ridge to the Jiorth of Nevada City. This ridge had beeu broken a way in two i)laces to a depth of one or two hundred feet, leaving a sugar- loaf-shaped nuiund between, ami at this point drifts, then called " cayote lioles," wore run to develop the channel. Many of these claims have been abandoned, and at present the only extensive oi)erations are carried on by Marcellus and Maltman, under and on the Sugar-loaf referred to. This deposit of gravel was discovered in the spring of Wri'J, directly north of what was called in early days the old " Coyote Hill," tlie bed- rock iu the channel being some 25 feet lower than that of " Cayote mil," Its general course is due north, running through the main ridge, and terminatiug at Selby Flat, a distance of about 3,100 feet. Different comi)anies located ground, claiming from 100 to 500 or 700 feet oit the cliannel, and, with few exceptions, were largely rewarded for their ex- ertions, some working with wiTuUasses, whims, and steam-engines, sink- ing shafts or inclines, running tunnels from the shafts, and drifting the richest of the bottom gravel, usuig timbers usually 4J feet in length, aiul leaving in and near the channel a strata of gravel overhead from 25 to 30 feet in dei)th, to the lower strata of pipe-clay which overlies tiie gravel deposit, though gravel and sand in alternate layers are found almost reaching the surface. The channel itself, or the lead, as it is called here, varies I'rom 80 to 150 feet in width, but good pay is found the entire width of the deposit, averaging about 1,000 feet wide from east to west side. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 79 The present claims of Marcellus and Maltman are very extensive, tliey having bought out nearly all their neighbors. In 1855 they com- .menceil a tunnel for the purpose of hydraulic washing, which was com- pleted in 1859, at a cost of $30,000. The grade of tliis tuinicl being used up, thej' decided to run another a distance of 2,400 feet, which is iO feet lower than the former, and will enable them to work all their ground. This new tunnel is now two-thirds completed, and, when finished, the total cost will not be far from §35,000. The improved style of working this mine has demonstrated, during the past tn o seasons, that it can be worked for 50 per cent, of tlie gross yield ; whereas, in former seasons, when worked by hydraulic washing on a small scale, the profits were not more than 10 per cent, of the gross yield. I am indebted to "W. M. Maltman, esq., of Nevada City, for the fol- lowing statement of the yield of the gravel companies on this ridge. It is taken from the books of the companies : EversaU & Co., (discovered) $120, 000 JohiiBou & Co -' 30, 000 Henry, Craddock & Co 75,000 Mountain Summit Compauy 125, 000 I'acific Company 120, 000 Live Oali Company 500, 000 Yoimg America Company lOD, 000 Bouillon Com))aiiy 50, 000 United States Company 00, 000 Nebraska Compauy 550, 000 Nevada Comi)aiiy 100, 000 Keystone Compauy 1)0,000 The above claims were all drifted. Tlio amounts of gold by hydraulic washing on this gravel deposit are : French Company |40,000 White & Co 30, 000 Stewai-t&Co 48,000 O. M. Tom I inson 125, 000 Marcellus & Maltman 257, 000 As 'nearly as over can be ascertained — ^Total 2, 420, 000 Three miles northwest of Nevada City the Cement Hill Tunnel and Fluming Company, a San Francisco incorporation, are fitting up for active operations next season. Tlie grounds of this company have been noted for their immense yield. In 1853-54 the sum of $240,000 was taken from an area of ground embracing less than two acres of surface. Within a few miles of Nevada Cijty there are large tracts. of gravel which will pay by systematic and economical management, and the next two years will witness the revival of many enterprises which could not be carcied on under the old system of working these deposits. Grass Valley, situated in a basin surrounded by hills two or three hundred feet in height, in which are found the quartz ledges which have given this locality a wqrld-wide fame, was noted in early times for its lich placers. These diggings were the results of two causes — the de- composition of the surface quartz and the dispersion of an ancient chan- nel which debouched on the basin near the northern limits of the pres- ent town. This channel had a general course from nortlieast to south- west, and wiis probably a tributary to the ancient water-course system, as its romisiiig locations have been made recently, among which may bo named the Altona, also a San Francisco company, which is opening ground between Alta Hill and Grass Valley, adjoining the llope Company. To the north and west several companies, ])enetratlng the deposit by tunnels, are taking out l>ay gravel. Webster & Co. are carrying on extensive operations in this direction, and have struck gravel from 2 feet to G feet in thickness which prospects very rich. The lovt'er end of this ancient stream is being sought between the Grass Valley basin and Bear Kiver. Exten- sive exploration is also being carried to the eastward, iu the vicinity of Hough and Eeady, and present appearances indicate a largely in- creased gold product from gravel mining. bet-\™en geeenhokn creek and bear river. The Great Blue Lead is the distinctive appellation of one of the largest ancient streams of California, which is found in the counties of Sierra, Nevada, and Placer. The name has been generally adopted on account of certain peculiarities of the lower strata of gravel of this chan- nel, among which the distinguishing features are the color and hard- ness. The Blue Lead has had its greatest developments between Green- horn Creek and Bear Eiver, where are located the towns of Hunt's Bill, (called Gouge-ej^e in early times,) Red Dog, You Bet, and Little York. The peculiar nomenclature of these towns gives the traveler an unl'avor- able impression of the intelligence of the early miners. Such an opinion, however, is erroneous, for it must be remembered that when these places acquired their present names they were mere camps, without any pros- pects of growing into towns, and the names were given i'rom some acci- dental local event or peculiarity to a temporary canii), which subse- quently actquired suificieut importance to have a post oflicc and express office, which had the efl'ect of perpetuating the name, to the great dis- gust of the pi'esent residents. The auriferous deposit has a general north and south course until it reaches You Bet, where it turns to the east. Its v/idth is between half » a mile and a mile, and the depth of the deposit varies from 100 to 300 feet — perliai)s more at some places. The range is intersected by deep ravines and gulches emptying in Greenhorn Crei^k or Bear liiver, whiclx in some places have been iilled with tailings to such an extent as to ren- der further hydraulic operations impossible until they are removed. Cement mining. — The principal interest of this region is hydraulic and cement mining. The cement mining has been carried on by tunnelsruii to strike the channel, which has been followed and " breasted out" where practicable. The excessive hardness of the cement niakes its ex- traction by this means expensive, and the proceeds of a fortunate sea- son have often been expended the next in eH'orts to find the lead, which is frequently lost in consequence of the winding of the channel. Tlie channel, although carrying gold almost invariably, is very much " spotted," and the large returns of some of the companies have been taken from a very limited area of bed rock. In July, 18(57, there were, between Quaker nill and Little Y'ork, nine- teen mills, with one hundred and sixty-four stamps, erected at an aggre- gate cost of $100,000, for crushing cement, of which eighty stamps were then running regularly. (Report for 18G9, page 31.) in October, 1870, H. Ex. 10 6 82 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. but ono of these mills, that of Goodspeecl & Co., at Himt's Hill, was ruiinhig regularly, and two or three others at intervals. Hydraulic operations are also suspended at all these points, except Little York, on account of the scarcity of water this season, which has been remarkable for its dryness, but it is pi'obable that next year this branch of mining will be more extensively engaged in, at points where outlet is practica- ble, than ibr many years past. Tlio owners of the cement claims for- merly worked by mills are fitting up hydraulic apparatus for washing oft" tile dirt down to the cemented gravel, and will not resume crushing until this top dirt is run oft", when they can pursue this business free from the disadvantages and expense of underground workings. The hydraulic dirt is rich enough to pay well at present rates of water, (10 to 12i cents per inch,) with the improved machinery now in use, and it is an" absolute certainty that the bottom will pay largely when it can be mined and crushed without the expenses incident to underground ope- rations. Taking the aggregate results of channel-mining, by means of tunnels and drifts, and crushing by stamps, on this range, we should find that it has not been a profitable business, considering the amount of capital invested, although some of the claims near You Bet have at seasons yielded almost fabulous returns. Hydmuiic minmg. — At lied Dog, operations are necessarily suspended for want of an outlet. At You Bet, Williams & Co., Brown & Co., Neece «& West, and the owners of the Hydelauft' ground, (all having mills on this ground,) arc preparing for hydraulic operations in 1871. At (Quaker Hill, Messrs. A. A. Bargentand N. B. Jacobs own extensive hydraulic ground, which is Avorked with all the iuiprovcnl appliances. These gentlemen have suspended crushing at their mill, (the Green Mountain,) finding it un- profitable. Chalk Bluft", on the east side of the range, has been noted for the large quantities of silicifled wood found in its washings at a depth of 150 to 200 feet ; specimens of this may be found in all the min- eral cabinets of Calilbruia, and many of those in the Eastern States. In May, 18GG, S. iST. Stranahan «& Co. located an extensive (!laim on Chalk Mountain ridge, commencing near You Bet, and following up the center of the ridge ten miles, having an average width of one mile. They have expended about $45,000 on this ground — the greater part of which was disbursed in perfecting the title. No work has been done on this claim for the past year, but operations will be resumed in the Spring of 1871 at four difterent points. A section of this claim, from openings at various localities, shows the following strata : Lava, overlaid with a few feet of soil, 200 feet; volcanic ashes and debris, 200 feet ; pipe-clay, 150 feet; white gravel, 200 feet ; blue gravel, 10 to 50 feet; bed-rock, hard slate. The overlying lava appears only high up on the rictge, and does not come down as far as the towns named. The country in the viciHity of the head- waters of Greenhorn and Deer Creeks contains im- mense deposits of gravel, which have not been systematically worked for want of capital. The towns ou this range have greatly changed in "appearance since 18C7. Ked Dog and You Bet have been destroyed by lire. The first- named town will not be rebuilt, former residents having removed to You Bet, less than a mile distant. Little York, then a decaying town, now presents a lively and prosperous ai)pearance, the eftects of the consoli- dation of most of the ground in a large company.* * Since the above was written an extensive purchase of jironnd and wutcr-ditehcs, comprising the vahiahlc property of Neeco & West, and Edward Williuius, located between You liet and Red Dog, has been made by a London mining company, and iu- coqx>ratcd under the name of the Birdaeye Creek Miuiug Compauy. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 83 River sluicing. — The future of the region under consideration will depend to a great degree on finding an outlet for its vast quantity of hydraulic dirt. This can be obtained in some places by bed-rook tun- nels ; but at other points these are impracticable, and eflectual outlet can only be had by emjitying the streams and gulches of their vast ac- cumulation of tailings. As an example of the exteut of these accumu- lations, we will take Bear Eiver. This stream has been fdled to a depth of nearly 80 feet in the center, and its former banks so far covered that tall piue trees, formerly far above the stream, have been gradually engulfed, season after season, until now only the top branches appear above the current. It is believed that these tailings contain enough gold and quicksilver to pay a handsome profit for their removal, if an outlet could be found. A few years since a San Francisco company laid a fiume in the bed of Greenhorn Creek, commencing at a point where a natural fall existed, with the intention of washing out the tailings, but an unusal flood of water broke up the boxes the first season, and tlie enterprise was not resumed, although jironounced feasible and profitable by all the miners of this vicinity. Mr. Uren, of Dutch Flat, a civil engineer and surveyor, has made a reconnaissance of the country be- tween Bear Eiver and the North Fork of the American River, and states that a tunnel could be run through the divide between these streams which would not exceed in length one and a half miles. As the American River runs through a gorge several hundred feet lower than Bear River, this tunnel would empty Bear River and its tributaries and open millions of cubic yards of hydraulic ground now without outlet, \ which otherwise can never yield up Its wealth. The quantity of tailings in Bear River and its confluent gulches alone, above the mouth of the supposed tunnel, estimating, on an average width of 300 feet, a depth of 75 feet, aud a length of ten miles, would be 44,000,000 cubic yards. We know that in early times a large pro])ortiou of the gold and quicksilver was lost ; perhaps 20 per cent, would be too low au estimate of such losses. Of late years the proportion of gold and quicksilver carried off iu the tailings has been smaller ; the amount could be ajiproximated by careful calculations of the results of the cleaning u]) of the last system of undercurrents and tail sluices of the claims emptying into this river, and by some experiments at favorable i>oints. Let us suppose, however, that the general average of the tailings will reach 2i cents per cubic yard, we have au aggregate of $1,100,000, to save whi(!h we must con- struct a tunnel of say 8,000 feet, lay it in flume, and place it in condi- tion for running off the tailings. With the present facilities for running tunnels, by means of compressed air, diamond drills, and giant powder, we should not estimate the expense per lineal foot at over $10 or $12 — the rock being au easily worked slate — which would give an aggregate of $100,000. Allow $50,000 for putting in flume and incidental expenses, and wo have a total cost of $150,000. Now, if 50 per cent, of the gross amount estimated to be in the river can be saved, we have a result of $550,000, less the expense of cleaning up aud original cost of tunnel. The contents of these tailings have been estimated by Mr. Ureu and others at much higher figures than above. After the tailings were run off, the tunnel would be valuable property as a tail-sluice outlet for many square miles of hydraulic ground. We have made the calculation out of curiosity, but think this is one of the profitable mining enter- prises of the future. Ilw Little York Mining and Water Company. — This is the most exten- sive mining operation between Greenhorn and Bear IJiver. The com- pany was formed two years since, aud has purchased a ul consolidated 84 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. miiiin;; groniul covering !iu area of about 240 acres, oiio-half of wliich is located at Tjittle York, and the balance at Liberty Hill and Clni.stnias Hill, a few Diik's distant. In addition to the gronnd thus ac(]nired, tliej' liave pnrcliased the ditches and water right of Thomas Gai-diier and Pat- terson and Magnire, three ditches \vith an aggregate length of forty-five miles, and having sufficient capacity to sui)ply ;5,0()() inches of water. The width of the l»lue Lead, which underlies all the ground at Little York, is from 300 to 500 feet, but the auriferous deposit has a surface width of about one mile. The average height of tlie banks from bed rock to sur- face is 100 or 180 feet, of which from 20 to 40 feet is hard cement. The company have t'vo mills for crushing cement, but this treatment has been abandoned on account of the superior facilities enjoyed here for the construction of a system of dumps, which serve to effectually break up and disintegrate the hardest cement, these claims having outlet both on Bear Kiver and Steep Ilollow, witli at least COO feet of fall to either stream. They liave nearly 10,000 feet of flume, 4 to C feet wide, and nearly four miles of iron pipe lor conveying water from their ditches to the ground. The company are running but a few hundred inches, but will run 2,500 in(;lies next season with the newly-invented hydraulic nozzles, v iieii they expect to take out from .$12,000 to $15,000 permoiitli. The past season has yielded $7,000 to $10,000 per month. Water is sold here at 9 cents per inch, being cheaper than at any other locality in the State. * The llijdraulk; Mines of J)uich Flat and Gold Run. — The districts of Dutch l-'lat and Gold Run, both centers of rich hydraulic districts, are situated on the ridge dividing the waters of Bear Itiver and the North Fork of the American River, and are both on the lino of the Central Pacific Railroad, which follows this ridge to the main Sierras. The hydraulic diggings here are very extensive, and have been profitable to an unusual degree. The channel, which presents all the characteristics of the Blue Lead, is evidently the same ancient water-course developed at Yon Bet, whicli, turning to the east at Little York, i)asses under this ridge, through Dutch Flat and Gold Run districts, and debouches on the North Fork of the American River at Indiana Ilill. Dutch Flat district, comprising an area of mining gronnd of about G40 acres, is situated at the confluence of two ancient channels — the Blue Lead, and a channel which comes down the divide between Bear River and the North Fork of the American, from east to west. Placer mining was commenced at Dutch Flat in 1840, and hydraulic operations on a large scale in 1850 and 1857. The main lead has a width of 2,000 feet, and an average depth of 240 feet. Bed-rock has been reached at oidj- one point — the shaft of James Tealf — and has nowhere been stripped. The bottom is known to bo very rich, but is excessively hard, and can- not be profitably worked without a bed-i'ock tunnel. Two small mills of eight stamps each were erected in 1808 and inclines sunk on the rim-rock. Ri(;h gravel was struck, but the expense of i)umping and hoisting on such a small scale caused the abandonment of the enterprise. Hydrau- lic mining has been carried on here only on a small scalefor two or three years i)ast, the surface having been washed ofi" to a depth of 100 feet or more, below which the gravel was found so hard as to require the us(( of large blasts. The present outlet will admit of another bench being washed off on most of the claims, which will pay well with the use of large streams of water through the improved nozzles. Most of the ground at Dutch Fiat is owned by individuals or com- * This claim boa passed uudur the control of a company of English capitalists. CONDITION OP MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 85 panics in tracts varyinpr from twenty to fifty acres. The most extensive mining property in tlio State, owned by one individual, is that of James Teafi'. Besides his large area of gronnd, he owns a tail slnicc over one mile in length, six feet in width, and two in depth, one-half of which is in tunnel. This tail-shiico cost Si>5,000, and has been exceedingly ])rofit- abie during seasons of active mining oi)erations. Three large ditches furnish water for the Dutch Plat and Gold Kun districts, the principal ditch being that of the South Yuba Company. Tiiese ditches have an aggregate capacity of 7,000 inches. Water is sold at cents per inch. Gold Bun district. — Tliis district commences at the line of tlie Cen- tral I'acitic liailroad and runs southerly two miles to Indiana Hill, below which the North Fork of the American Eiver has broken through the aHuvial deposit. Tlie area of the hydraulic ground embraces 1,00!) to 1,200 acres, and is owned and worked by about forty companies. The auriferous deposit here is of great depth, and the dirt much softer than at Dutch Flat; the consequence is that an immense amount of dirt is run off every season, and the natural outlet of the ui)p(!r part of the district is fast choking up with tailings. Operations must soon bo sus- l)ended here uidess a bed-rock tunnel is run. Surveys have been uuule for such a tunnel, which will be 4,000 feet in length, and when comjileted will insure the continuance of hydraulic mining lor many years. A pros{)ecting shaft sunk to bed-rock about the center of the district, and the operations of the cement mill at its lower (!nd, have satisfactorily demonstrated the great extent and richness of the blue cement on the bottom. No bhisting is required here, as the dirt and gravel can be run off down to the blue cement with heavy streams of wat«'. Hydraulic operations on a large scale were not commenced here until 1S02. From that period to 18G5 the gold dust was taken to Dutch Flat and other plac(^s for sale. I am indebted to Mr. Frank Jloore, of Moore & Miner, hankers at Gold Kun, for the following statement of the amounts of gold dust bought by them from 18(i5 to 1870 : 18G5 $1^9,877 02 18Co . 2.i7,908{)3 1867 ;i01), 812 G!) 1868 25!), 188 0.5 18G9 189,918 73 1870, (up to October 1st) 183, 384 86 1,320,089 93 Dnritig tliis period there was produced from claims, in which M. & M. had au iutercst, not included in the above statement 62,814 60 1,382,904 53 Add fifty per cent, for gold dust produced in the district and sold else- where 691,452 26 Total 2,074,356 79 It will thus be seen that iu six years this small district has produced over two millions of dollars. These large returns are to be .attributed to the quantity of ground run oft', by reason of the soft character of the dirt, rather than to its richness. The most extensive claims in the district are those of Brogan & Co., at Indiana Hill, a brief description of which will convey an idea of the character of mining operations here. This comi)any have a large area of ground, exposing a face of hydraulic dirt 2-10 feet in height, all of which, except sonie thin layers of pipe-clay and sand, is pay-dirt, with no indication of the proximity of the lower strata of blue cement. The 86 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. bank exhibits alternate layers of hydraulic dirt, gravel, sand, and ])iiie- clay, with an oceasional layer of lignite, a few inches in thickness, ^ hich is tbund at a depth of from 200 to 240 feet, ^hcy run 1,000 inches of water per twenty-four hours, through two Hoskiu nozzles, 4J inches diameter each, under a pressure of 290 feet. The Hoskin nozzle is a '.ocal invention, and does not materially differ in its operations from those already described. Formerly 500 inches were run, in four streams of 2i inches in diameter each, requiring a man to each stream. Thi-ough these streams water could be effectively thrown more than 100 feet; but the improved nozzles W'ill do execution at 200 feet, dispense with the labor of two men, insure safety of hiunan life in case of the banks suddenly caving — which may be always anticipated here from the height of the bank and the softness of the dirt — and will run off 100 per cent, more dirt than the same amount of water run through 2J inch nozzles. This immense body of water is conducted from the ditch to the dis- tributor in iron pii)es 500 feet in length, having a diameter of 27 inches at the , completed, we may look for a renewal of mining operations hero which will revive the Hush times of '49-50. The object of the Lake Tahoe Water Company is to siipi)ly with ■water a large portion of the central part of tlie State, comprising the best mineral and agricultural lands of California, besides supplying some of the i)rincipal towns. An act of Congress has granted all the privileges recpiired for right of way, and the company, under the man- ageiiient of Colonel A. W. Von Schmidt, as chi(!f engineer, is now pro- ceeding energetically with the work. Lake Tahoe is situated among the summits of the Sierra Nevadas, in the easterly part of Placer County, at an elevation of 0,000 feet above sea level, and has an almost unlimited depth — soundings having been made with a l,.')00 foot line without touching bottom. Its greatest length is twenty-eight miles, and the area of the lake is estimated at two hundred and fifty square miles. One foot in depth of this surface would give a daily supi)ly for the year of 13,748,252 gallons. If required, the lake can be raised six feet by a small dam at its outlet, and can be drawn six I'eet b(ilow its ])resent surface — which would give 12 feet of water from the entire sur- face of the lake, or 104,809,024 gallons per (Uiy. But slionld the com- pany take all the water that discharges itself from the outlet now run- ning down the Truckee Eivei', and supplying the lumber region of Tru(;kee and the mills at Reno, Nevada, there still would bi! more; water in the river below than can possibly be used," lor the reason that so many large streams enter below the point of the dam. The dam has already been constructed at the outlet of Tahoe into the Truckee — for a distance of four miles. In the spring the tunnel will be commenced, running througli the Sierras in a westerly direction for a distance of three miles. At this point the water will bo turned into the North Fork of the American Eiver, and will follow the bed of the river lor a distance of twenty-five miles. The water will be diverted from the river on the Auburn side, and carried to that town by a canal. From Auburn it is . proi)osed to bring the water to San Francisco, Sacramento, Vallejo, Oakland and other loQalities. loioa Hill and vicinity. — The town of Iowa Hill is on the summit of the juountain range wliich forms the east bank of the North Fork of the American Uiver. The interest here is hydraulic Avashing and cement mining. The hydraulic mining can only be carried on for a brief season in each year, as the four ditches wliich snjiply the place, none of which are over six miles in length, will not furnish, in the aggregate, over 1,000 inches of water in the best season — less than is run in one set of claims at tiold Run on the opposite side of the river. Two large cement mills are running — the Columbia, twenty stamps, (steam,) at Monona Flat, and the Morning Star, twenty stamps, (steam,) near Wisconsin Ilill. The latter claim has 5,000 feet on what ajjpears to bo a blue lead chan- nel, and has been a prolitable enterprise for many years — the owners, however, are somewhat reticent as to their operations, and we can fur- nish nostatistics. Many other milling enterprises have been abandoned, as it is believed most of the ground can be more profitably worked by t he hydraulic process when water in sufiicieiit quantities shall be brought in. The gold product for the past three years, based on purchases and shipments by J. W. Chinn, agent of Wells, Fargo & Co., has been as follows : CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — CALIFORNIA. 89 1868 $185,000 1809 102, 000 1870, (June to October — a very dry season) 01), 550 Balance of year 1870— estimated 10,000 42(i, 550 Adrob- ably over 20 cents. The miners here look with anxiety to the comple- tion of the Lake Tahoo Water Company's works, whicli will give tliem a steady and unfailing supply of water-^the amount of gTouiid here being almost unlimited in extent. As the ancient river bed known as the Blue Lead is abruptly broken oft' by the deep canon of the jSorth Fork, at Indiana Uill, opposite Mo- nona Flat, and distant not more than two miles in an air line, we might expect to lind its continuation on this side of the river. Such is not the case, however ; and if it exists, it has not been sufliciently developed to prove its identity. Extensive hydraulic operations at Iowa Hill and Wisconsin Hill seem to favor the theory of a wide exi)anse of water with rapid currents, depositing beds of gravel in basins and dejuessions of the bed rock, rather than to an ancient channel systeuj so i)lainly in- dicated on the west side of the river. It is, however, highly probable that the Blue Lead channel of Indiana Hill will be found, as we learu that exi)erienced miners are prospecting for it higher up the river. The Great Canon of the North Fork. — Thiscafion is ten or twelve miles long, with a depth of from 1,800 feet to 2,200 i'eet, rarely exceeding 2,000 feet in width, from summit to summit of its iuclosing mountain walls. The mountain sides, rising abruptly, and the river w inding in serpentine folds, gives the observer with every turn a fresh view, which seems to excel in wildness and sublimity that which he has been gazing on in awe aj^d astonishment. Bayard 'Taylor thus describes the view of this canon at its westerly extremity, as presented from the lUinoistown and Iowa Hill trail: "As we approached the North Fork of the Ameri- can, a far grander chasm than any we had yet; encountered yawned be- fore us; the earth fell sheer away to an unknown depth (for the bottom was invisible,) while a mighty mountain wall, blue with the heated haze of noonday, rose beyoud, leaning against the sky. Far to the east a vision of still deeper gorges, overhung by Alpine peaks, glimmered through the motionless air." Kiver mining is still prosecuted on the banks and bars of this stream, principally by Chinese, of whom there are several camps in the great canon, between Jehovah Gap and Cape Horn. The breakage of the great ancient rivei", whose bed was nearly 2,000 feet above the present water level of the American Elver, has scattered its contents throughout this canon, where they have lodged against projecting points of the banks and become in the course of time as hardly compacted and ce- mented as in its original bed. Inclines and drifts are run in these gravel banks, and operations conducted until the rising of the river in winter drives out the miners. At Green Valley, a few miles above the canon, nuggets of washed gold of great size — some as large as pigeon-eggs — • have been found in abundance in a shaly blue clay, which is described 90 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. as ])rpsen(ing the appearance of having been the former bed of the American Kiver — running parallel to it anil not more than 50 feet above its present bed. These " strikes" are of almost annual occurrence in this locality. SEERBA COUNTY. The limited time at my disposal and the lateness of the season did not admit of a visit to this county. For all the information embodied in the following letter, 1 am indebted to Mr. E. Spaulding, for many years county surveyor of that county, who, in the pi'osecutiou of liis oflicial duties, has gained au extensive knowledge of the mining resources of Sierra county : " Deej) i)lacer mining in this county is principally confined to the Blue Lead, which extends through the county parallel to the main range of tiic Sierra, and at right angles to the present streams. This body of blue gravel is usually (sovered several hundred feet deep with volcanic debris, and is about half a mile wide and fifty feet deep. The portion that pays for work- iiig is usually about three or four hundred feet wide, and from one to three feet deep, lying on and near the bed-rock. Very little of this dejwsit has been worked by hydraulic pro(!ess ; the principal method has beci to work through tunnels, shafts, and inclines. When raised to tlie sur- face, the gold is easily washed out of the gravel tlirough sluice-boxes. A few miners are receiving small returns for working portions of the deposit that were once considered worthless, and for working over again l)ortions that ])aid very large returns for worlcing before. There is about two iriiles of the de])osit between Forest City and liock Creek that has not been worked, owing to a want of drainage at the liock Creek end and at the Forest City end, which is owned in small tracts, too siiuvU to justify the individual companies in opening it. At present the Xorth Forlc Mining Com]jany, an incorporated company, whose place of busi- ness is at Forest City, own over a mile of mining ground, and haye a tunnel in progress tliat will strike the deposit at about 3,000 feet from the place of beginning. This is one of the most promising mines in Sierra County. The liock Creek end of the deposit is owned by the Adellia Company — not working. At Fir Cap there are two companies receiving good returns for their work. At Morristown antl^'old Caiion the deposit is worked out. At the towns of Howland Flat, Gibsonville, and Whiskey, the deposit is' wider, and pays less than at points where it is narrow. The width of« the deposit and the regular yield gives a per- manence to the work being done at these towns, and at present rates of progress it will probably take ten years to work out the deposit. North of the North Yuba Jiiver, and parallel to the Blue Lead, and about three miles below or west of it, are located the towns of l^ui-eka, St. Louis, and Port Wine. The deposits at these towns have been worked by hydraulic process, and with the exception of about one claim at each town, tiiat will yield good returns for two or thi-ee years to come, the ground is worked out. There is a deposit lying between ^Middle and North Yuba Rivers, and parallel to the Blue Lead, and about eight miles above or east of it, marked by mining camps, among wiiich are the towns of American Hill and Nebraska; this de])osit may be consid- ered exiiausted. The towns of Pike City, Indian Hill, Brandy City, and Scales district, and intervening camps, mark the course of a deposit that extends through the county parallel to the Blue Lead, and about twelve miles below or west of it. This deposit has been principally worlied by hydraulic process." I am under obligations to 3Ir. L. E. Crane, superintendent of the CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTEY — CALIFORNIA. 91 Alleg-liaiiy City Gold Miniug Company, Alleghany City, Sierra County, lur tlie loUowiug : Smith's Flat, the development and subsequent exhaustion of which as a placer deposit led naturally tQ hydraulic mining first, and next to the conception and prosecution of the idea of following the gravel into the mountain by means of tuuuels, lies to the south of Dowuieville, Sierra County, about eight miles. The place was named in honor of the discoverer of the diggings, who, following a ravine up the mountain side from Kanaka Creek, and tak- ing a fortune out as Jie went, reached a bench formation situated half- way from creek to summit, and opened on the southerly edge of one of the richest placer deposits ever worked in California. This was iu 1850-'51 ; and a prosperous miniug camp attested the value of the ground during the period of its working. No vestige of the camp re- mains, but the town of Alleghany — with its outlying suburb, Cumber- land — has since grown into and maiutained its existence iu the close vicinity. The first tunnel which entered the mountain was commenced early in 1853, and was named the " Packard," from Dr. Packard, one of its pro- jectors and owners ; it still retains its name, and is yet used to work tlirough, the gravel paying fair wages to work again, and an occasional bit of undisturbed ground being discovered and worked very profitably. The Packard tunnel paid from the start. Ifo assessment, beyond the light contributions necessary to a commencement, were called for, and the owners received large individual fottunes from dividends, Tliis was owing to the fact that no " rim rock" was encountered, but the tun- nel was in the gravel of the famous Blue Lead from the time of erecting the first set of timbers. Whether the absence of rim rock may be ac- cepted as conclusive evidence that the Blue Lead debouched from the mountain at this point, winding southerly through Chip's Flat, Minne- sota, Moore's Flat, etc., is by no means certaiu, but no other probable outlet for it has been noticed. Following the Packard, and stimulated by prospects that were almost certainties, came the " Alleghany," " Pacific," " Knickerbocker," " Bay State," " New York," " Eed Star," " Excelsior," " Masonic," " Jennv Lind," " Hooking Bull," " Buckeye," " Blue Tunnel," " Clipper," and other companies — the famous " Live Yankee" penetrating the same mountain, but from the westerly instead of easterly side. The histories of these companies were uniformly the same ; the tunnels penetrated the rim rock, the gravel on the front of the lead was worked at great profit, and when the main Blue Lead was reached, it was necessary to siuk an incline and elfect drainage by means of pumping. This method of working was expensive, difficult, and :iecessarily far from thorough or exhaustive ; yet the yield of gold was enormous, and the mines were considered very valuable by their owners. From the claims of the " Fremont," " Knickerbocker," and " Masonic," were taken respectively the sums of $^0,000, $90,000, and $00,000 in the space of a month, and it was not difficult for any of the claims to jwocure credit tor almost unlimited supplies and money. Tliat everj' owner connected with either of the tunnels was not greatly enriched, was owing more to the fact that they all became entangled in expen- sive litigation regarding boundaries, and that much of what might have been profit went to pay lawyers and witnesses, than to any other cause. It is one of the unwritten jokes of the vicinity that, on the occasion of one of these trials of title at Dowuieville, an honest miner gave testi- mony descriptive of the situation and course of the Blue Lead. He 92 MINING STATISTICS WEST- OP THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. traced it as fai- north as that town, and whon the attorney asked him, "Where does it go iioiii lieref he replied, " I thinli it eomes right into the court-liouse here and don't go no farther !" Not one of these companies has worked out the ground reached by their tunnels. Various causes combined to induce cessations of work ; niiniiig excitements in distant localities attracted owners away ; tunnels became first dilapidated, then ruined, and in 1858-'o9 the end of excit- ing rush and competition had been reached, and many of the claims were lying untouched. In several of them, however, work was still, done by men who had succeeded to proprietorship, and it was proved that even ground whicli liad once been worked would pay in these days of cheaper su])plies and lower wages. In October, 1870, the owners of th(! " New York" claim discoverecl a very rieli deposit of gnivel, which had been passed under by the original tunnel when on its course to the channel. The weekly yield from this deposit where it was lirst opened was 104: ounces ($1,8-1(;) from the gravel got out by "four men at the pick." Its extent is not yet fully determined, but enough has been pros- pected to denote that there is a very large body of it. In 1808 several of the claims, with portions of others, were purchased, and are now being developed and worked by an incorporated company known as the "Alleghany Consolidated Gold Mining Company." A tunnel was pro- jected that should be low enough to atlbrd sure drainage for all the ground it w'as designed to work, and, indeed, low enough to drain the Blue Lead at any point in the m(mntain. It was connneneed near the starting-point of the Blue Tunnel, the course of which it followed for 900 feet, at wliich point it deviated to the east suflicieutly to leave 20 feet between them. In December, 1870, this tunnel was near 2,000 feet into the mountain, and was close in the vicinity of a large body of un- ■workcd gravel of the Bhui Lead. It is a key to the entire mountain, and there are strong probabilities that it will .soon develop into a rich paying claim. CONDITION OF MIXING INDUSIKY NEVADA. 93 CHAPTER II. NEVADA. THE COMSTOCK MINES. The aggregate yield of the mines on the Comstock lode was cou- siderably greater for the year 1870 than for 18G9, closely approximating, indeed, the production of 18G8 ; and, during the latter part of the year, the amount disbursed in dividends was notably large. This is partly due to the fact that a few companies extracted large quantities of ores, the costs upon which were kept low by the large scale of ojierations. Thus the Chollar-Potosi produced the enormous sum of $2,027,938, of which $058,000 was paid out in dividends, and the Ilale and iN'orcross, producing $1,708,281, i)aid out $512,000 in dividends. The advantages of the Virginia andl Truckeo Eailroad have been very evident in the cheapening of freights and timber. The explorations of the Bullion, Imperial, and Ophir have been ban-en of results up to the end of the year; on the other hand, the deep workings of the Gould and Curry, Yellow Jacket, and. Crown Point, have furnished much reason lor encouragement as to the future. Of especial significance is the discovery in the latter mine, at the close of the year, and at the deepest level, I believe, ever reached upon the Comstock lode, of a new, large, and valuable body of ore, which is apparently disconnected with any other hitherto worked. The San Francisco Weekly Stock Circular quotes from a letter dated January 15, concerning this discovery, as Ibllows: The winze in the soft ledge at cross-cut No. 1, on the 1,100 level, is down on the lino of the incline, following the west clay, 44 feet. The face of it is in clear bright-looking quartz, showing spots here and there. The entire face on the raise of the east body, from cross-cut No. 1, 1,100 level, is in ore that will mill §,50 per ton. The characlor of the ore is black suli)hnrets and chlorides mixed through it. The incline raise is four feet high, and it is safe to calculate that the ore extends two feet beyond, making an ore body six feet in width. The mine has never been prospected in this section from the 1,100 level up to the 300, and while this ore body may and doubtless will vary in size and quality, there is no doubt but that it will prove an extensive body of ore. The iniprovcmeut in the quality and extent of tho raise occurred at a poiut 3(i feet up from track floor. 1 learn that subsequent developments still further enhanced tho importance and extent of this discovery, and I regard it as a striking demonstration of the cot;tinuance of ore-bearing character on tliis vein in depth. Especial significance is attached to the fact that the level in which this body has been struck is but three or lonr hundred feet above that of the proposed Sutro tunnel — the 1,100 feet level of the Crown Point being 1,503 feet below the eroppings of the Gould & Curry. (According to the Virginia Enterprise, tlie Sutro tunnel level ■would coincide with the 1,.300 foot level of the Crown Point ; but this is probably erroneous, since Mr. Carlyle's survey makes the tunnel intersect the Savage claim 1,922 feet below the fioor of tiie Savage woi'ks, or about 1,900 feet below the eroppings of the Gould & Curry. The rise in drifting 0,900 feet, from Savage through Crown Point, wouid not be more than 0 feet.) Since much doubt has been thrown upon the enterprise of Mr. Sutro, on account of the alleged barrenness of the Comstock in depth, it is fortunate that this development has occurred in time to encourage the prosecution of the much-needed deep tunnel. * 94 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. This tnnncl is now in process of construction, and has been carried in about 1,900 feet, through various alternations of rock, and several veins, none of which, so far as I am aware, have been prospected. A good deal of water has been met with, which may be considered, so far as it goes, a favorable indication of the existence.of fissure-veins in the neigh- borhood, though, at the inconsiderable depth thus far attained, the sig- nificance of its occun-enco is not important. My opinion as to the ne- cessity and value of this tunnel remains nnclianged, except so far as it has been strengthened by recent developments upon theComstock. Asa means of exploring that vein to a depth heretofore unattained in metal- mining, it will be indispensable. Some of the shafts in the Comstock are now approaching the level of the tunnel-survey ; but tiie expense and difliculty of going deeper will be well nigh insurmountable, without an adit as a new basis of operations. The eHfect of a tunnel, adequate for drainage, transportation, and ventilation, is to create a new, artifi- cial surface, with the added advantage of a hydraulic power, measured by the quantity of water and the height of its fall above the tunnel level. A few months ago, suggestions of this nature were^met with the reply tliat the Comstock shafts were not finding ore in depth, and that nobody was likely to desire to go much deeper in barren ground. In successive reports I have uniformly regarded this barren ground as a zone, beyond which ore bodies would again be found ; and tiiis opinion is now so far confirmed that I presume no one will now discourage further explora- tions in dei)th, np to the limits of mechanical practicability. As it is understood that Congress will order an examination of this subject by a commission of military and mining engineers, the further discussion of it upon the present occasion is unnecessary. The report of that commission would bo rendered, probably, in the winter of 1871. Meanwhile, I trust that the tunnel may be pushed forward. This is one of the few localities in the country where such a work is really re- quiied. The prospects of the Comstock mines are certainly better than they were a year ago. Prices in all departments have never been so reason- able as now ; and the general economy of management has never been better. The reserves in the ChoUar, Halo & Norcross, Savage, and Yellow Jacket are understood to be still large, and those of the two former are in their lower chambers. The Washoe stocks have shown, in a general advance in price, the effect of this encouraged aspect of aliairs. Among the casualties of the year were two, which claim particular attention, as^indicating special sources of danger in the mines ui)on this lode. The first '^as a cave between the 800 and 900 foot levels of the Yellow Jacket mine, caused by a flake of ore and vein matter falling from the hanging wall. Three sets of timbers in length, two in height, and two in width, wei'e crushed, and four miners were buried under the mass. The loUowing extract from a local i)aper vividly describes the vain attempt to rescue the only victim who was not immediately killed: As soon lis tho rave occurred in the Yellow Jacket miti(?, several bravo men from Iho floors below hurried up tho ladders to the rescue, Iciiowing full well that some of their comrades must be there, and in need of innnediato heli>. The danger was great, for the timbers were still cracking and pieces of ore falling; yet they ventured close to the ruins, and the light of their candles revealed one man jammed among th(( debris, and still alive. Uliis man was Hanson. They could get near enough to touch him, and he was able to freely converse with them. A heavy timber across his hips and others about his legs held him fast. Only one or two men could work in the narrow space at a time, and very cautiously, by reason of danger from the still moving mass. They worked with saw and axe, and for over two hours tho poor fellow talked v. ith them us they worked. lie called for water, which they gave him three or fourtimcs. He w.'Ui CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — ^NEVADA. 95 in great pain, but cool and sensible to the last. One of his comrades bado him keep np good spirits, and they would have hiiu out shortly. "Ah, boys," said lie, "good spirits 18 getting played out." Then, at times, in his agony, ho woidd beg them to end his snlicrings l)y splitting his head with tlio axe. At last, his voice could bo heard no longer, and on examination ho was found to be dead. The system of timbering employed on the Comstock lode is very ex- pensive ; and it is hardly practicable to renew the timbers, so large is the amount of material required. The extent of the open spaces left by stoping, the very steep dip of the lode, and especially of the ore-bodies in it which are removed, and the impracticability in most cases ot filling up with " deads," or leaving sufficient pillars for sui)port, necessitates a vast complex of heavy morticed timbering. At the same time, thu care- lessness of early workings has left large quantities of low-grade ore in the upper levels, so that the coinpanies for several years have extracted ore from old workings. This unfortunate combinatiou of circumstances makes it necessary to keep open portions of the mines which might otherwise be abandoned. The great expense of nnning in this district is due, next to the cost of prospecting for ore-bodies, to the necessity of extensive timbering; and the same cause has led to several accidents, the princij)al of which was the disastrous fire in the Kentuck and Crown Point, mentioned in a former report. Another accident, occurring at the llale and Norcross mine on the 24:th of August, was more directly the result, in my opiniim, of repre hensible carelessness. The Gold Hill News describes it as follows : Tliomas Stanton and David Ryan, together with .lohn Cochran and Matt. Sullivan, were engaged in sinking the shaft deeper. An empty car was being lowered on the cage ; wlien near the top of the shaft the heavy bolt connecting the bralcc-lever with the frictiou-ljand'aronnd the brake-wheel broke square off. The conseqiuuico was that cage and car, weighing nearly a ton, immediately descended witli frightful velocity to the bottom of tlie shaft, which is 1,200 feet deep, the heavy wire cable following it just as fast as the swiftly revolving reel would allow. Indeed, the engineers ran out of the way, expecting every instant to sec the reel and brake-wheel fly into fragments. They say a perfect stream of sparks flew from the frictiou-whc(d and brake-strap nearly to the ceiling. Fortunately, howe^fr, the flying end of the cables, as it left the reel and dashed down tho shaft, did very little damage. The cage and car, in their descent, passed through two strong jilatforms of heavy timbers a foot thick ; one of them about 45 feet from tho bottom, and the other only 10 or 12 feet above the lieadsof tho men, passing through both as though shot from a cannon. Stanton and Kyan wcro standing erect, or nearly so ; therefore they were both crushed down to instant death, the bodies of both being considerably mutilated and broken. Cochran was bent over, working, and was knocked prostrate, with his legs under tho cage, but the other unfortunates receiving the lull lone of the falling weight saved him, and he escaped with comparatively light injuries. We were present at noon to-day while Drs. Webber and Hall were making a surgical examination of him at; his cabin. They found tho head of tho right thigh bono fractured .at the hip joint. A pick, or ^ip\uetliiug of tho sort, had also evidently been driven sciveral inches into the fleshy pai#of the thigh at the under side, but this wound was not considered serious. Sullivan, the fourth man, was working beneath another compartment of tho shaft, a few feet distant; therefore was lucky enough to escape entirely unhurt, Tho cable fell, coiled among the debris of tho broken platforms, uiion the car and cage ; therefore it was quite a job to extri- cate the dead bodies. The bolt broken was not defective. It was two iuches in diaiue- ter and showed no flaw, but simply a square break of good solid iron. This accident of course developes tho now evident fact that a two-inch iron bolt was not strong enough, yet no ono could hardly bo blamed for mismanagement ; it was a purely acci- dental circumstance, and ono of those unforeseen calamities continually occnrring in our mines. Two strong brakes instead of ono might bo used, and thus the recurrence of a similar accident prevented in tho future. Engineering invention certainly can contrive some sort of safeguard to apply in such emergencies. The cage was of tho safety pattern, but owing to the tension kept upon the cable tho safety clutches were not fre4 Morgan mill (!.'), 929 Assessuicnt No. 12, levied July 19 240, 000 Assessment No. 13, levied November 26 120,000 Assessment No. 14, levied March 16 168, 000 Advertising balaueo 318 Total 2.307.227 Tho disbursements amounted to $2,028,331. Tho principal items are the following : Indebtedn(ws .as p(!r last report $30."), GOG Labor at the mine 340, 500 Mine supplies 51,748 Improvements In hoisting works 14,485 Legal expenses 3, 852 Revcnuo st.amps, advertising, etc 5,278 Candles ami oils 12,112 Wood 58,103 Timber 85,748 Crashing ores — outsido mills 709, 342 Crushing ores — company's mills. 272, 849 Assay, discount on bars, and Federal tax 30,988 Interest 30,491 Salary of oflicers 16,200 Working tailing.s — company's mills 10, 179 Miscellaneous 20, 880 Total 2.028.331 The assets of tho comp.any aggregate $285,102, as follows : Cash in liank of California $119, G09 Mine supplies ■ IG, 691 Mill sujiplies 1,5,747 Due on assessments Nos. 1 to 14.- 1, 135 Due on $l(iO,000 advanced to V. & T. R. Co 129, 057 Sundry open accounts 2,863 Total assets 285, 102 Liabilities 6, 20() Assets above liabilities 278, 896 CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 99 The above figures represent the- condition of the company at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1870. No dividends were disbursed. The apparent profit for the year was $584,502, of whicli $305,006 was used to liquidate an indebtedness at the beginning of the year, while the remainder represented the surplus assets at the close, of which $119,000 was in cash. Report of the Kentuclcfor the year ending November 1, 1870. 18,103 tons of ore, yielding $371,198, or an average of §20 IjO per ton, wore produced. ItECEIlTS. From bullion §371,198 24 Assessment No. .'i 10, 000 (!0 ljumber eontriiet paid last ye.ir 11,2')0 00 Otlier items 485 68 Total 392,934 12 Cash ou baud November 1, 1809 79, 880 ri4 472,814 GO DISBURSEMENTS. Dividends to stockholders §70, 000 00 Crushing ores 220,970 48 Labor 102, 127 50 Timber 21, 179 97 Iloistins ore 8,594 70 Oil, candles, and other supplies 7, 115 57 Mine and oliico expenses 12,238 .53 Gold Hill expenses 5, 9()8 98 IJraneh railroad to Kentuck dump 5, 135 79 Assaying 4,020 23 Miscellaneous items 9,312 11 Total 43(), G(>9 86 Cash on hand November 1, 1870 6, 144, SO 472,814 00 Report of tlie Imperial Umpire for the year ending May 31, 1870. BECEIPTS. Cnsh on hand May 31. 1869 §7, 680 16 HuUion 176, 689 53 Assessments 141,740 03 (iold Hill and Kock Point mills 3, 674 10 Property sales 15,000 00 Kills pa vablo 22,000 00 Imperial Empire shaft 2,406 89 Sundries 10, 451 67 Total 379,642 98 DISBURSEMENTS. Gold Hill mill $98,989 23 Rock Point mill 3, 295 58 Alia mine 96,756 03 Holmes mine 5, 178 55 Imperial Krapire shaft 83,945 63 Virginia and Truckeo Railroad Company 27,000 00 New drifts 11,352 00 I 100 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Goneial expense i G74 01 Expenses in San Francisco 8,470 35 Legal expense - G, 035 05 Bills roceivaWe -■ 15,000 00 Sundries 9,705 55 Cash on hand May 31, 1870 161 00 379,042 98 The cost of rednciiig 12,020 tons of ore, (including liauling.) amounted to $7 90 per ton, with sui)i)lies on hand. The cost of extracting 11,925 tons of ore tro:;i the old shaft amountetl to 87 20 per ton, including shaft repairs, sinking, etc. Since the company went into operation, the expenses for milling and mining purposes, including new machinery and imi)rovemeuts, aggregate $4,113,290, and the dividends paid stock- holders foot up $1,007,500. In the same time the receipts from ores and sundries sold for account of mines and mills were $5,303,517, and from assessments $291,7-10. At the date of this report the total indebted- ness of this companj- was $22,000, against which $18,259 37 was due on assessment No. 7, and $15,000 on bills receivable. Report of tlie ChoUar-Potosi for the year ending May 31, 1870. KECEIPTS. Cash on liand as per last statement §108,991 35 Bullion account 1,479,128 59 Ore sold 3, 530 97 Insnranco upon property destroyed 37,000 00 Virginia and Truckec Railroad 1, 219 47 Sniidries 804 44 Duo on opeu accounts 593 00 1,691,207 04 EXPENDrnjKES. Dividend account $420, 443 00 Labor 23), 005 35 Worlving ore 7G0, 174 00 Timber and lumber --^tf T-i;..-^ 55,308 35 Firewood -iW- V-.i.iiU^. 9, 230 71 Taxes A-L-t-U "T-Xivvjy 0,001 74 Now shaft L^.:y....^-rXy>..s;<'\. 10, 191 93 Freight y.^r2':.^ , . Iv^i 7, 249 40 Assaying i.V.; 3,100 93 Materials .-.-^A ^.^/-t/iJri* ,ioJ 8,211 82 Hardware ..C . i^r. . . - -V - 1 i j-: . i 0, 9Ai GO Candles X-X i> . . ^;^-.-.V. 5,842 00 Legal expenses .....i^'.^j 4,309 97 Water account ..:,/:.:V.i< 2, 350 75 General ex])ensos yi^Bwr^^l , 7, 642 82 Superintendent Requa 'fee' 3,202 07 Sundry accounts 11,314 14 Cash on hand 128, 352 96 1,091,207 04 The following has been the yield of the mine for the year : Blue Wing seetion, 20,044 tons ; New Tunnel, 12,000 ; Grass Valley, 0,212 ; Belvidere, 8,000 ; Coofling, 4,380 ; Total 50,030 tons. Amount reduced, 59,354 tons ; average yield per ton, $24 80 ; cost of milling per ton, $12 81 ; cost of labor and materials, $3 99 ; total cost per ton extracted, including rebuilding and repairs at new shaft, $5 52 ; total expenses CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 101 per ton, SIS 33 ; showing a net yield of $G 53. The following tnblo shows the number of tons of ore worlccd and bullion yield for each month of the fiscal year ending May 31, 1870 : 18(i9-'70. Tons workod. ]!ullinn. Jxiiio (5,807 filTri, C71 July c,4i2 ir);!,().'>o August.... G,r)93 1.19,:!!)8 September .0,517 110,007 October 5,280 108,<)7O November 3,578 87, .580 December 3,201 70,184 Jtuiuary 4,41)5 115,:Jf):i February 4,058 91,545 Mareli 4, 549 113, 189 April 4, 313 130, 301 May 4, .545 140, 983 Totals .59,354 1,475,101 Report of the Sierra Nevada for the year ending January 1, 1871. KECEIPTS. Bullion $220, 287 05 Otbor sources 9,939 77 230,220 82 DISBURSEMENTS. Indebtedness per last statement !?;16, 077 05 Dividends 37, 500 00 Mill account 47, 132 10 Mine account 45,847 91 Wood account 32, 099 04 Cedar Hill Float Rock title 11, 002 95 Crushiun;, outside mills 4,700 00 Incidentals 14,040 86 Cash ou band 20,560 91 230,226 82 The above exhibit is the most favorable ever made by this company, and its future prospects are as flattering as have been the results for the past year. Prudent management Las at last been able to make this mine prolitable. Report of the Oold Hill Quartz Mining and Milling Company for the year ending January 1, 1871. The receipts for the year amounted to $87,192, of which $17,287 w'as from bullion produced ; $27,20(i from the operations of the mill ; and 615,000 from two assessments, levied in May and September. The dis- bursements embraced $42,210 for milling, $G,8G8 for mining, $9,083 for improvements, and $5,G61 for general expenses. The assets consist of book accounts to the amount of $12,939, against which there are liabili- ties amounting to $9,500, showing a surplus of $3,379. Report of the Overman for the year ending July 1, 1870. RECEIPTS. Balance on band July, 1869 liulHou S8,032 33 482, 433 72 102 MIXING STATISTICS WEST^OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Wood l aiicli account $20, 079 90 Ore sold 10, l:!9 00 Bills i)ii5ablo 8,:!90 GO Miscclhiucous receipts 1,927 47 5:U,003 03 EXPEXDITORES. Cmshing account $285, 074 84 Labor 115, 8G9 CO Ltiraber 34, 5C0 92 Assessment No. 14 14,290 00 Wood ranch oxiienses 10, 108 41 Lambert lease ■ 12, 500 00 Supplies, &c 9, 3G3 05 Wood account 6, 908 93 Assaying 4,952 72 Legal expenses >. 3,192 18 Salary account 4,813 2G Tools, hardware, etc 3, 020 77 Sundry accounts 13, 777 64 Cash on hand July 1, 1870 13, 471 36 531,003 08 There w(?re extracted 40,0131 tons, and reduced 30,885 tons, yielding $15 02 per ton. The capital stock has been changed from 81,000,000, divided into 3,200 shares of $500 each, to $1,280,000, divided into 12,800 shares of $100 each. Report of the Savage for the year ending July 11, 1870. RECEIPIS. Cash on hand July, 1869 $47, 395 99 Bullion 281,570 27 Ore sold 9,495 00 Tailings sold 4,576 GO Assessments 280,000 00 Miscellaneous receipts 2,397 87 625 435 03 EXPENDITURES. Labor^and salaries $231,390 12 Timber and lumber 32,751 21 Hardware, candles, etc 36, 080 70 Wood and charcoal 50, 510 65 Reduction of ores, etc 106,581 83 Paid to Truckeo Railroad 75 000 00 Custom mills * 30,524 67 Mi.scellaneous 53, 144 GO Cash on hand July 11, 1870 9, 445 25 625, 435 03 CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 103 Statement of product of bullion, dividoKls, and assessments of the various mines on and near the Comstock lode during the first three months of 1870, tofieiher with the aggregates of the savic period during the four preceding years. Compauies. Bfikbor Bullion - Culedonia , Cbollai-l'otosi Cousoli(l;it(!(l Virginia Crown Point Danoy Empire Mill and Mining Company Gold Hill Quartz Mill and Mining Company . Gould &, Curry IIiilc & Norcross Imperial Julia - Justice Kentuck Lady lirvau Ophir Overman Savage Segregated Belcher. Sierra Nevada Yellow Jacket In 1870 >. In 1869 lu 1808 In 1867 lu 1800 Bullion product. $99, 474 13,790 319,997 49, 172 3,802 101,841 440,594 92,297 178, 842 55,625 925 375, 000 1, 769, 365 2, 040, 885 1,764,046 2,765,531 2,291,893 Dividends. $84, 000 96,000 40, 000 2SO,000 588, 000 310,000 850, 000 90,000 Asser.s- ments. $10,000 23, 200 'M, 000 8,000 12, 000 72, 000 40,000 6, 000 30, 000 12, 000 8-1, 000 100, 000 12, 800 108, 000 734,000 150, 200 557, 500 230, 780 474, 600 104 MINING STATISTICS WEST OP THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Bullion product, dividends, and assessments of the leading mines on the Comstock lode during the second quarter of 1870, together with the aggre- gates for the same period for four preeeding years. Companies, Bullion product. Dividends. Assessments. $34, 800 41, 600 25, 000 $95, 062 492, 893 $84, 000 15, 600 Crowu Point . . . ........ .... 46, 385 12, 000 10, 000 Gold Hill Quartz Mill and Mining Company 4,246 183, 794 478, 524 Halo & Norcross ........... .... 168, 000 Imperial 40, 000 7,500 Julia Occidental ......... CO, 000 84, 000 Opliir 0 Venn an 142,211 (i, 300 29, 575 46, 499 48(|), 000 120, 000 6, 400 Total in 1870 2, 059, 384 1,914,816 2, 535, 442 4,299, 122 2,634, 815 252, 000 257, 500 597, 750 1,218, 200 43G, 000 456, 900 311,500 380, 600 209, 900 212, 800 Total in 1869 Total in 1808 Total in 18(i7 Total in 186G Returns to the county assessor of Storey County for the quarter ending June 30, 1870. Companies. Cliollar Chollar, (Lynch) Gould & Cnrry Gould & Cnrry, (roasted) Halo & Norcross Savage Savage, (sold) Yellow Jacket Yellow Jacket, (sold) Belcher Occidental Crown Point Kentuck Overin.an Empire Imperial , Sacramento Sierra Nevada Tons. 13, 6, 17, 20, 3, 6, 1, 4, 3, 9, 328 005 048 48 785 203| 474f 316 170 139 100 055 390 464 500 500 372 288 Average per ton. $36 70 18 80 22 00 644 60 26 90 30 98 20 00 23 14 1 00 15 48 8 00 12 88 15 89 14 73 12 30 12 22 5 00 9 28 CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 105 Beturns to the county assessor of Storey County for the quarter ending September 30, 1870. Companies. .Halo & Norcross Chollar Chollar, Lynch Yellow Jacket Savage Savage, (sold) GonUl & Curry Gould & Curry, (roasted) Sierra Nevada Crown Point Kentuck Ophir Savage, (by Union Mill Company) . Overman* Imperial* Tons. 1«, 366 17, 089 3,480 10, 245 2, 792 5, 387 100 4,614 3,723 1,780 792 Avcr.igo per ton. $29 08 43 83 20 03 19 74 24 46 5 00 31 30 352 85 12 02 14 36 9 80 19 30 Total pro- duct. 8475, 924 775, 308 C9, 669 202, 244 03, 587 3, 961 168, 629 35, 298 55, 476 53, 459 17, .543 2, 014 15,292 * Not banded in in time for tliis report. Beturns to the county assessor of Storey County for the quarter ending Be- cember 31, 1870. Companies. Crown Point Chollar Chollar, M. Lynch Savage Gould & Curry Gould & Curry, (bousted) .. Hale & Norcross Overman Overman, (account sold) Yellow .Jacket Sierra Nevada Belcher , Succor Imperial Empire, by C. C. Stevenson Tons. 4, 24, 3, 050 656 120 206 612 17 185 386 888 245 163 70 300 500 100 Average per ton. §19 12 41 90 19 08 18 02 29 63 205 62 20 30 19 08 1 00 36 83 15 09 15 45 10 77 17 27 Total pro- duct. $77, 462 1,034, 911 59, 527 152, 857 166,283 3, 495 303, 258 126, 034 888 340, 573 62,820 35, 5:55 59, 397 18,499 BiilTton product of Icadivg mincn on the Comstoeic Lode for 1870. [Compiled by Richard Whoelor, esq., of San Francisco Strfck Eeport.] Companies. January. >, u a .a March. April. «s Pi 1? July. S tn u . a o o O O V a > o 'A December. $34, lOG 115,203 18,239 3, 808 18,1, 334 13, 073 31, 207 49, 299 'i\ 0.W 12, 327 $50, 789 22.040 91,545 33,3t4 $14, 628 33, 440 113, 189 50, 213 $31, 698 19, 680 130, 301 48, 725 $27, 316 "i46,"984" 94, 045 3, 682 164, 830 10, 104 18, 929 51, OO J 15, 798 29, .574 $36, 048 20, 730 21,5,548 41, 027 560 187, 845 7,478 13 740 18,700 16, 342 20,170 Crown Point Gould & Curry Gold Hill Qu.Vrtz '. e20, 188 201,277 30, .586 482 203, 803 10, 390 9,460 19,200 12, 820 10,091 $10, 484 249, 553 73, 041 $33, 215 204, 631 109, 022 2, 153 125, 909 18, 032 $30, 394 273,716 05, 252 1,825- 110, 700 26, 3.37 $20, 073 258, 297 CO, 099 2,070 11.5, .540 18, 038 $33, 357 .305, 054 44, 553 2, .533 80, 097 14, 895 Kcntuck 145, 203 12, 001 29, 301 57, 613 7,035 12, 092 107, 0,17 11,932 31, 790 72, 090 23,030 15, 472 125, 840 12, 975 21, 226 0, 3S0 15 667 149, 328 11, 192 8 083 K, 000 32, 400 28,055 Overman Savago 21, 800 32, 050 23, 9.39 37, 400 45, 330 21, 002 8,140 4,1, 400 47, 325 24, 879 41,900 71, 400 24, 981 o 0-3 o CO 05 >-3 M m H OQ O w w w o n W Hi o > te! OB $194, 58S 241,207 2, 627, 938 070. 186 17, 119 1, 708, 281 ICS, 2.39 103, 742 433, 912 2!)1, 120 223, 374 73, 975 1, 500, 000 8, 319, 698 •laformivtion refused; estimated. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 107 Dividends for 1870. ChoUar Potosi $658, 000 Sierra Noviula 37, 500 Gould & CiuTy 48, 000 Halo & Norcioss 5ia, 000 Yellow Jacket 144,000 Kontuck 40, 000 Total 1.439.500 The census returns indicate nearly tlie same production as the tables of the companies. Thus, according to the latter, the bullion product I'or the year endhig June 30, 1870, was $7,401,GC5 ; but for the year ending June 1, 1870, the aggregate production was reported by the assistant marshal as follows : Ormsby Coxmt!J.-—Fron\ the Santiago, Viviau, Yellow Jacket, Morrimao, Brunswick, and Mexican — (i mills $1,939,205 Storey Cotinlij. — From the Proctor, Jennings, Bassett, (2,) Parks and Bowie, Evans, Meredith, Nevada, Delano, Jane, Succor, Kamsdell, Papoose, Piute, Empire, Imperial, Paciiic, Petaluma, Rhode Island, Gold Hill, Sunderland, Sapphire, Mariposa, Empire State, Hoosier State, Bay State, Boston, Johnson, and Sierra Nevada — 29 mills 3, 590, 700 Lyon County. — From the Lykins, Pioneer, Sherman, Fair and Mackey, (2,) Briggs, Ilill, (2,) Union Mill and Mining Company, (6,) Weston, Hobart, Shad, Overman, Gold Hill, Janin, Birdsall, and Winters — 22 mills 1 411, 120 Washoe County. — From the Auburn, Avery, and Dall — 3 mills 578, 130 Total , 7,519,155 Or, deducting the Auburn, which is at Reno, and does not usually treat Comstock oro IGO, 000 7, 359, 155 The Xevada Land and Mining Company, (limited,) (Auburn mill,) at Eeuo, pays the foUowiug prices for silver ores, which it will buy in any quantity : For ores assaying per ton §40 Per cent, of assay value 25 Do do 50 Do do 30 Do do GO Do do 37^ Do do 70 Do do 40 Do.. do ; 80 Do do 43 Do do 90 Do do 48 Do do 100 Do do 50 Do do 125 Do do 5C Do do 150 Do do CO Do do 175 Do do 63 Do do 200 Do do 65 Do do 250 Do do 68 Do do 275 Do do 70 Do do 300 Do do 72 Do do 350 Do do 74 Do do 400 Do do 77 Do do 500 Do do 78 Do do COO Do do 79 Do do 700 Do do 81 Do do 800 Do do 82 Do do 900 Do. do 83 Do do 1,000 Do do 84 Quotations oj minintj stocl-n commonhj ikalt in at the San Francisco Steele and Exchange Board. [From San Francisco Wockly Stock Eeport of Fcbraary 4, 1871.] O CO Kamo of com"pany. II 6" "A Last dividend per sbaro. Last assessment per share. Delinquent. Day of sale. f-J Alplia, (consolidated)... Amador...'. , American Bolclior , Bullion Crown, Point Confidence Consolidated Virjjinia., Consolidated Clilorido. ChoUar-Potosi Danei Exchequer Empire Mill and Mining Company Enrelsa Featherstono Flowery Gould & Carry Gold Ilill Quartz Mill and Mining Company. Golden Chariot , llah? & Norcross Hidden Treasure Consolidated Ida Elmore Imperial Julia Justice and Independent Kentuck Mammoth Korth Star Noonday Orienial Occidental . Orisiual Jliddcn Treasure.. Opbir Overman , Risin-i Star Scfn'cjpited Belcher Savage Sifrni Nevada Silver Vault Silver Wave Yellow Jacket 300 1, MO 2,900 l.O-IO 2,500 COO 130 1, ICO 0,000 3, -00 11,600 10, 400 2, .500 12, 000 1,500 11, COO $250 400 100 100 400 2.10 500 500 *302 50 2,600 2,000 400 75 1,680 28,000 8,000 8,000 1,200 20,000 1,400 100 100 CO 100 833 300 1,200 •13J T50 400 C(iO 4,800 500 10,000 8,000 12, 000 508 500 100 100 • 184 8,000 95 1,800 4,000 10, 000 3,000 2,000 36, 000 3,000 100 500 100 100 lOO 400 1,400 1,200 1,200 IGO 800 3,000 12 103 10 40 20 5 10, 000 21,333 16, 800 12, 800 12,000 0, 400 Ifi, 000 15, 000 100 100 300 SCO 300 300 200 20D 1,600 1,200 10 J 20, 000 20 j 24, 000 0 75 $310 00 32 23 "5 23 '7506 April 7, 1370, $10 00 Sept ' i2,' i 808, " 5 66 Jan. 16, 1871, 5 00 74 00 May 15, 1867, 7 00 Jan. 7, lfi71, 10 00 70 50 102 00 81 50 103 00 9 60 6 00 10 00 7 00 32 50 20 3 00 3 25 4 50 3 25 3 50 5 00 45 00 14 50 45 50 15 00 Oct, 10, 1870, 10 00 July 13, 1868, 7 50 Jan. 10, 1071, 4 00 Jan. 10, 1871, 5 00 June 10, 1868, 6 00 Mar. 10, 1870, 5 00 Jan.'"i6,'i87i,'''i"66 Juno 10, 1870, 1 50 June 11, 1860, Jan. 16,1871, 3 00 1 00 Jan. 10,1871, 2 00 July 1.3, • *1 00 Aug. 13, 1870 Sept. 10, 1870 Jnno 13, July Jan. Jan. Nov. June Jan. Jan. Mar. Feb. JIar. Nov. 13, 1,1871 8, 1871 27, 1870 14, 1870 y, 1671 14,1«0 12, 13C0 9,1871 1, 1868 17, 1870 Aug. Jan. Feb. Dec. July Feb. 6, 1870 24, 1871 2, 1871 2, 1870 8, 1870 1, 1871 Juno 14. 1870, Nov. 12,1809, July 14, , Sept 8, 1870, 20 1 00 12 50 1 00 July 15, 1870 Dec. 11, 1809 Aug. 13, 18C9 Oct. 8, 1870 Feb. 12,1809, Mar. 28, , Jan. 31,1871, Feb. 1, 1871, 14, 1870, 21,1870, 17, 1871, 31, 1871, Oct, Mar. Jan. Jan. 5 00 25 2 50 10 00 50 12 00 10 00 10 Jan. 19,1871, Oct. 10, 1870, Dec. 21,1870, Jan. 31,1871, Jan. 11,1871, Dec. 8, 1870, April 7,1870, Jan. 14,1871, May 3, 1870, Nov. 16,1808, July 20, 1870, April 21, 1870, Mar. 15, 1809, 20 20 5 CO 1 00 2 00 2 50 50 2 00 7 50 12 50 5 3 00 7 00 Mar. 15,1869 April 8, Mar. 3,1871 Mar. 4, 1871 Nov. 13, 1870 .\pril21, 1870 Feb. 17, 1871 Mar. 3, 1871 Mar. 3i; 18' Feb. 24,1870 Mar! '4,'i8n Mar. 25, 18C8 Dec. 13,1870 Aug. 11, 1870 Jan. 7,1870 Sept. 8, 18fi9 Oct. 31, 1870 April 8, 1869 Mav 24,1870 Mar. 31, 187 24, 187 1, 1870 23, 1870 10, 187 Mar. Dee. May Mai-. Feb. Nov. Jan. Mar. I''eb. Jan. May Fi:^. June Dec. Aug. May Apr. 19, 1871 10, 1870 2!, 1871 3. 1871 14, 1871 7, 1870 8, 1870 14, 1671 3. 1870 17, 16C8 20, 1870 22, 1870 IC, 1870 Mar. 17, Nov. 30, Feb. 22, Mar. 31, Mav. 9, Jan. 30, Juno 4. Mar. 8, J une 2.'), Jan. 5, Sept. 17, June 13, May 19, 187 167 187 187 187 187 18' 18' 18' 186; 1870 1870 1870 Higheat and lm-€st prices of mining slocks for 1870. [From the San Francisco Stock Kcport.] January. | February^ Xamo of company. March. April. May. • Juno. Alpha Aniador Belcher Balliou Cbollar-Potosi Couftdinice Crown Point Daney Enjpire Mill ExcbequtJr Gould & CuiTy Hnlc &. Xorcrosa Iiniicrial Kentuck Occidental Ophir Overman Savage Segi-e^;fttcd Belcher. . Sierra Nevada Tellow Jacket Eureka Oiieutal tJnion M. and M Maxwell American Cous4>Iida'd Virginia, Flowery Gold BQll Quartz .... Julia Justice Succor Ida EUuoro Maboirany liisiuic Star Meadow Valley Emeka. consolidated JnckBOD Golden Chariot $18 oo|$ii :!20 0O31O IC 00 15 10 00 10 20 00 1:^ 33 00 20 in 00 10 1 •25 30 00 10 8 00 73 00 44 103 00 145 51 00 30 I4G Oj 105 17 00 12 15 00 12 19 00 10 46 00 38 a 00 C 10 00 7 S5 00 43 00^14 oo;$io 00S21 00 337 00 310 00 370 00 18 00 10 00 35 00 10 00' 4 00 7 00 21 oo: 18 00 32 00 20 00: 20 OO 40 00 1!) 00 11 00 2.,' 10 1 25' 1 25 4 00 22 00 14 00 40 00 7 00' G 00 II 00 8J 00 40 oorioo 00 IGI 00 120 OOMU 00 36 00' 18 OU 50 00 lOG OOj 81 00105 OO 13 00 •J (01 IS) OO 14 00 11 00 24 00 17 00 10 00 2C 00 41 00 31 00 52 o:i 7 00 5 00 8 00 8 00 0 00 9 00 54 ool 00 43 [25 00' S2 00 ... 00^10 00 350 OJi 00| IG 7 00 22 00 15 00 17 50 3 00 14 00 7 00 95 00 127 00 17 oo; 05 00 11 00! 11 00 10 OOi 29 00 5 00: G 00 41 00 $18 00 $12 00814 00370 00 192 00:232 35 00 21 00 24 7 00' 4 00 33 00' 24 00 37 00; 20 00 27 oo; 14 00 7 50; 4 87.} 33 ool 13 oo: 15 00 6 ool 00 380 (0 143 00 ISO 00!l45 00.124 00 147 48 00 35 00 93 oo: 04 00 IG 00 9 00; 27 OO 10 Oul 24 1,0' 16 00 55 OO 33 00 12 00 0 00 8 00 7 00 53 00 41 00 280 03:260 00 1C2J CO 00?10 00195 00 19 00 4 00, 27 00' 17 col 13 50 4 00; 10 00 8 00,117 00 133 00 ; 30 001 43 00] 5 00 12 00 18 00, 30 00 4 1,0 8 00 42 00 2SO 25 00«10 0j235 oo; 17 OO 4 00 30 00 17 00 12 75 G 00 19 00 10 00 103 00133 OO 41 OO 44 00 10 001 14 00 19 00 47 00 4 00 II 00 50 00 .305 3 July. 00 $5 00 18 00 ,195 00 330 00 7 00 7 00 4 00 6 oo! 25 00 37 001 17 00 17 00 6 00 7 CO 2 CO 2 00 19 00 5 00, 5 CO 5 00 CO' GO 00 $0 August. ] September. 73 87 CO 93 26 00| 43 29 ou; :s 8 OOj 9 8 00' 16 13 Oi] 17 00210 OO »0 00 CO 00 00 00 00 oo; oo! 1 O i 27 oo; 00 1 00 oo! 8 00 00 38 oo 00,395 00 00, 1371 53 3 SO 00 $8 00 2--0 5 00: 7 4 oo! 6 31 00| 47 17 OO 17 oo! G 75 2 00 7 CO 5 OOlCl 00 93 00 39 oo; 55 oo; II oo 15 00 14 00 42 00 3 oo! 11 00! 36 ..'300 50.... IS 00 $3 00182 37 I SI I 10 30 CO; 26 00 00 00 O: 00 10 00 00 00 0 00 38 00 17 00 4 00 2 00 2 00 5 1.0 45 00' 84 00; 23 00 30 00 3 0« 7 00 7 CO! 33 ooj 1 00' 8 lO; 28 00,300 00 15 OO 58 CO 240 00 4 00 G 00, 61 00 17 oo; 7 00 3 00; 6 00 5 06155 CO 121 00 40 00' 40 001 11 00 7 00 10 00 42 00' 4 OJ' 12 oo; 29 00 .... 1 00 19 October. November. 50 $3 00 ea CO $G CO $6 217 00250 00 240 00 247 o 00 5 00 1 00 3 6 00 .5 00 3 00 5 46 OO ID 00 00 83 17 OO 5 00 1 00 3 4 OO 6 00 3 00 7 a 00 4 00 « CO 4 1 OO 1 00 i 00 5 5 00 7 00 00 96 00 100 03 83 00 94 83 00 U7 00106 Oj 118 23 00 40 00 35 00 30 34 CO 40 00 24 00 00 7 00 3 0.1 5 00 2 00 6 00 8 00 00 36 00 1 00 3^ 00 40 00 00 oo o 10 00 00 .1 00 lii 24 00 u 00 23 00 37 December. 70 ; ool ?3 00 240 I 00 I oo! I oo; . 00, ' oo! 1 50; 2 . to 1 ; 00; 5 ! 00: 71 ' 00 101 I oo; 17 I oo! 31 23'.... 00 7 7 7 00 7 00 00, 13 oo; 30 oo; $3 00 245 001 8 oo; 5 00 91 00 5 001 18 CO' 7 CO, G 00' 5 CO 90 0O12I OO 22 00 41 5! CO' 6 00, 6 LO; 52 00' 3 00 00 00 $3 00 CO 245 00 oo: 4 00 oo; 5 00 oo; G8 00 oo; 5 00 00 10 00 75 4 00 0:)1 5 00 oo! 5 00 oo' 45 00 00 103 00 00, II 00 Co; 30 00 CO' 50 00; 3 00 CO' 3 00 oo; 39 00 00 1 CO 001 18 00 co; 33 00 00J75 00 17 00 10 00 13 50 11 00 10 00 2206 8 30 "■"so 9 SO C 00 S 00 4 00 '"'26 io'oa 4 00 G 00 5 00 G 73 35 CO 1 00 34 00 50 22 00 's'oo 13 00 '3' 66 00] 15 00 00, 70 00< 80 30 00 90 1 CO IG 00 O* 1 OU 15 10 SO 3 00 50 23 CO 1 50 23 SO 20 1 00 26'66 20 2666 1 OJ iooi 2 50 1 00 1 37U G 00 2 00 24 00 3 SO 25 go 24 00 10 00 10 00 30 00 23 00 33 00 i6'66 30 00 13 66 23 50 23 00 S3 00 23 00 27 00 S 00 30 00 18 00 33 00 17 00 ic'so! ss'co is'so kVoo 28'66 9 00 22 30 19 J7il 18 75 15 60 18 SO 13 00 15 59 14 00 15 00, 10 CO 21 50 14 00 25 00 I I I J SO 00 30 00 70 00 54 50 3 X 50 110 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Tabular statement of the mimher of assessments, number of feet in inine, number of shares, number of dividends, total amount of assessments and dividends, amounts of assessments and dividends per share of the leading mines in California, Fevada, and dealt in at the San Francisco Stock Board, being an extract from a tabular statement by B. Wheeler, editor of the San Francisco Stock Jteport. Mr. Wheeler remarks iu regard to these statistics : Tho compiling of tlio, following st at istics may socm to the novice a light task, requiring ncitluu- time nor trouble, although the inforulatiou that is given is tho )uost valuablo ever published since tho mines that are upon the list of the San Erancisco Stock aiul Exchange Hoard have assumed tho importance that is to them now attached. Tho State of Nevada has proven herself in minerals to bo one of tho richest in tho Union, and the speculation iu lu^r mines has built uj) a business iu this city wherein profit is concerned that is equaled by uouo othiu'. Her wealth was first made kuowu by the ciipital drawn from San Fraiicisco, and tho greatest portion of tho stock iu her richest miues is owned by its residents, yet so great is the ignorance pertaining to them, that men claiming to be well informed upon tho subjiict, unhesitatingly avow that far moro money has been spent in per foot, and levied assessments to tho sum of g410 per foot, aggregating §426,400. The conect total of the Sierra Nevada assessments I was unablc! to a-scertain, as some of the old books havo been mislaid or lo.st, while tho secretary of tho justice refused to furni.sh tho desired information. The importance of tho work which ! present to tho members of tho San Francisco Stock Board for their consideration can onl.y be nuule manitest by the manner in which it is received and appreciated. It has been a laborious and wearisome task to gather tho iufornuit ion which is given iu the following statement, and I hope that it will meet with their commend- ation, and also bo tho means of informing those who aro ignorant of tho vast amount that the Comstock and other silver lodes in Nevada havo contributed to tho wealth of the world. Companies. s a 1 c fzi a u a o ■S 6 No. Bhiircsinmine. No. dividends. C 35 il - a o z Total amonnt divi- dends disbursed. S ^ Anjoimt dividend per sbare. CAUFOnXIA. 1, aio l,(i80 1,800 3,700 20, 000 18,000 000 4, OUO 5, oeo 32 57 44 $836, 000 00 1, 574, 050 00 $326 00 78 70 8 1 19 1 $.>-t, 000 r<, 000 53,880 5,000 S3 00 1 00 13 47 Union M. and M. Co 1 00 St. I'aliick G. M. Co 1,800 117, 880 2, 410, 000 00 WA8II0E, NEVA1>A. 5 ■i 7 41 3 9 7 21 34 300 2,900 1,040 2,500 2, 800 130 1,100 COO 2,000 B,000 11.000 10, 400 5,000 28,000 1,500 11,000 12, 000 8,000 29 6 io" 132,000 52, 200 102, 400 1, 077, 500 402, 000 218. 880 J127. GOO 623, :no 436,000 22 00 4 .10 18 .10 215 ,10 IG .10 140 00 11 00 .11 94 Bullion 2, 212, 000 00 78, 000 00 CO 00 so 00 858, OOO 00 36,000 00 71 50 54 30 ; 7 00 CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. Ill Tabular statement of the number of assessments, ijc. — Continued. Companies. "a o B X 50 o m ao « s .5 6 d g .S « o ■§ 6 'A CO !^ i i -J *^ > £ a c « c % B ■S3 =s i H 3 = ■5 o .2 £■3 « 7J S. a o H - £ ii c J3 +j a: P ^ ? * £ r3 •r p ^ » 9 o c ^ p < ■Washoe, Nevada — Cont'd. G 8 1 4 9 34 10 29 11 4 5 IS 15 5 13 35 75 400 3, COO 13i 1,200 400 184 2,000 1,200 8, 000 12, 000 .500 4,800 8, 000 4,000 10, 000 31 "s' 30 34 30 $90, 000 128, 000 12, 000 3.'>, 000 501, COO GIO, 000 430, 000 IOC, 200 $513, COO 00 $75 00 IG 00 1 00 70 O'J 117 00 70 25 112 .W 10 03 $428 00 Gold Jlill Quartz 4I,2,")0 00 3, 820, 800 00 1, 518, 000 00 1, 007, 500 00 S3 .50 797 25 )8D 73 2CG 87 Goul] 000 40, 000 95, 399 102, 000 G, OOJ 3C,00O • 5 00 75 1 ,5.5 1 CO 4 00 4 50 5 10 20 $45 pit. Hidden Treasure Cousolula'd. GOO 1 800 4, 000 10, 000 00 33,499 50 1 00 1 50 Original Hidden Treasure 1, COO 3, 000 800 Sliver Vault Total G35, 399 43, 499 50 BATMLE MOUNTAIU DISTBICT. Nevada Butte 1 4,200 40, 000 ■ 40,000 1 00 ELY DISTmCT, NEVADA. Meadow Valley 7 CO, 000 30, 000 4 210, 000 270, 000 00 30 000 00 3 50 4 50 1 00 4, 000 Total 210, 000 300, 000 00 EUKEKA DISTKICT, KEVADA. 50,000 50, 000 50,000 o 87, 500 00 1 73 Mineral Hill..?. Total 87, 500 00 Grand tot,al 10, 829, 317 21, 953, 049 00 1 LANDER COTJNTY. Hccse River district. — The Lander Hill mines are at present practicall.y tLe only ones worthy of notice in lieese liiver district, no others of any note being worked. The veins of this hill have been so often and so correctly described, that it is impossible to add anything of interest to essays formerly brought before the public. Much expense has been occa- sioned in working the Lauder Hill mines by the frequently occui ing faults in all the veins, which sometimes throw their lower portions hundreds of 112 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. feet out. of the plane of the upper part. The veins being narrow, this has, in spite of their richness, brougiit about the abandonment of many, and at the time of my visit only the North Star and Oregon mines of the Manhat- tan Company, and the Buel North Star (belonging- to an English com- pany) were at work. I mean to say that these mines are the only ones of note now worked ; many others are worked in a small way, yielding, perhaps, one or two tons per month, but they hardly pay their way. The ores of all these veins are, as is well known, ruby -silver, dark and light, polybasite, enargite, stephanite, and i>riucipaily fahlerz ; silver- glance is rare. A pleasing peculiarity of the veins is, that the ores in them do not get poorer in dei)tli, but tliey have rather improved so far. This will, of course, have its limits ; but this much is certain, that the future of these mines is as assured and certain as it can be in the best of mines. The difficulty of cheap reduction of these refractory ores has been most happily overcome by the Stetefeldt furnace. One of this kind has been built at the Manhattan mill, the construction of which differs somewhat from the former pattern, and with which highly favorable and gratify- ing results have been reached. 1 will only introduce a short sketch of this furnace here, and, what is most important, the results of the lirst month's actual working, as derived from the certificate of Mr. Allen A. Curtis, the efficient agent of the Manhattan Company, to whose fore- sight and sagacity the company is principally indebted lor the introduc- tion of the furnace. The Stetefeldt furnace at the Manhattan mill is larger than that at Eeno, and instead of being heated by a wood lire is heated by the gttses ])ro(luced from charcoal in two gas-generators. A third generator i)roduces the gases for heating and chloridizing the dust drawn over into the main line by the strong draught. The impression at once received by looking at the furnace is that of an extremely solid and strong work before you — one that is not apt to require many repairs for years to come ; and, in 'fact, in this lies one of the main features of the furnace, so well illustrated by the one at Reno, which has now been continually running for over a year without re- quiring the least repairs. And the Keno furnace is not nearly as well built as that in Austin. Any one who knows what an expense is con- tinually incurred by the repairs necessary in reverberatories will be able to appreciate this feature of the furnace. Its entire height from the cooling Hoor to the hopper is nearly thirty feet ; while the actual distance through which the pulverized ore and salt fall against the llame is about eighteen feet. Tiie ilame Irom the generators enters the fur- nace a little over six feet above the cooling tloor, and the bottom of the tine above is four feet six inches below the top. The inside size of the shaft, at its lower end, is tive feet square. The bottom in(;!ii»es toward the discharge door, and tapers toward the top, where the size of the shaft is reduced to three and a half feet square. The I'eeding machin- ery is a very perfect arrangement, but it is not easy to describe it with- out the aid of drawings, and I must be content to say hero only that it sifts the ore into the furnace, finely divided, in a continual shower. A very extensive system of dust-chambers is connected with the fur- nace. As the dust has to pass the fire-i)lace in the main lino before it can reach them, the ore found here is always the most perfectly roasted. From the dust-chambers the waste heat passes under the large dry-kiln and thence into the chimney. The following are the working results of the. furnace, accorduig to Mr. Allen A. Curtis, agent of the Manhattan Company, for the lirst month : CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 113 Quantity roasted per day, 22 tons. Labor of eight men, including coolers, $30 50; per ton §1 39 Fuel: 3,100 bushels coal, at 'iDc, for 312 tons; i)er ton 2 68 Salt: 53,315 pounds; cost, §886 38 for 312 tons ; per ton 2 77 Total cost of roasting per ton in Stetefeldt furnace.; 6 84 This compares with the former roasting in reverberatories, as follows: Labor: 22 men, cost §2,212 for 347 tons; per ton |6 37 Fuel: 236 cords wood, at |:8, $1,880 for 347 tons; per ton 5 42 Salt: 70,017 pounds; cost, $1,234 14 for 347 tons; per ton 3 56 Total cost for roasting in reverberatories 15 34 This shows a saving per ton of $8 51, which is enormous. Mr. Curtis, in his letter, concludes: "I think the saving hereafter will be much greater. The working of the present month (August) will, I judge from tests made thus far, reach ninety per cent, fully." The Manliattan Company's own mines cannot supply the furnace and mill, and they do, therefore, a great deal of custom-work. They are generally working very rich ores, which, for the month of August, aver- aged $300 per ton. The above refers to a visit to Austin in August. In October the Man- hattan mill was still the only one running, and its success kept the dis- trict as well as the town of Austin quite busy. Mr. Curtis, the skillful agent of the company, was buying ores from everybody, and was re- ported to secure for his company immense profits in the business. It is practically a fortified monopoly, since the company owns the ex- clusive right to treat the ores of this district in tlie Stetefeldt furnace, and nothing thus far discovered can compete with that furnace for economy and perfection of working. The actual saving in the expense of treating ore, as now ascertained, is some $12 per ton; and the yield is, at the same time, considerably higher in percentage of the assay value than that of tlie old reverberatory process. Consequently, the gain in the treatment of rich ores may be $20 per ton and upward. There is much complaint in Austin that the prices charged by the Man- hattan mill are not reduced, in consequence of this great saving by the new process. It is the same feeling as that shown in Colorado toward Professor Hill. In a certain sense it is natural and justifiable; in another sense it is quite unfair. The miner feels wronged when he receives Mt half the value of his ore, and finds the mill-man or smelter pocketing the largest share of the profits. But this state of things is natural. Mining, especially as it is carried on in most cases in the West, is a rude and simple business. When bodies of ore are found, they are gouged out and carried to the reduction works. AVhen no more is found, the mine is generally abandoned and a new one opened. With the ex- ception of the exorbitant sums expended in wages, there is little capital involved in such mining work. Much money is wasted; little is in- vested. Mills and smelting-works, on the other hand, require capital, skill, and business management. They combine commercial with metal- lurgical risks. They may be ruined by their own failure, by the failure of the mines, or by competition; thus being liable to three dangers, wliere the mines are only exposed to one. In older countries, where the supply of ores for metallurgical establishments is more regular and secure, the risks are not so great. In this country, and especially in Nevada, it is significant and pathetic to see how almost every stamp- mill has been abandoned, sold at auction, transported to other districts, H. Ex 10 8 114 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. « tinkered, rebuilt, and sold and removed again, in disastrous repetition. While the sun shines, such au enterprise must make hay in a hurry; for the rainy day is certainly coming. It is curious that every man in these regions wants to get high prices for his own labor, and to realize 3 per cent, a month ou his own capital, while he expects other people to be content with fair wages and 7 per cent, a year. Incredibly enough, it was the popular impression that foreign capital should and would be contented here with the moderate remuneration which it receives elsewhere. In the eai'ly days, there was a unanimous Macedonian cry for capital. Well, capital came, to help " develop the country," and to be, for a time, helpless in the hands of labor and speculation. Science came, in obedience to a similar call; and scientific men found themselves classed with charlatans and pre- tenders, petted so long as they would aid tlie schemes of si)eculators, and scorned when they attempted honestly to serve the truth and per- manently benefit the country. But the invocation of the aid of capital is not altogether a one-sided affair. Capital and science have now their hour of revenge. Labor must succumb ; speculation must give way ; unfortunately, even the interests of the whole community must suffer somewhat for a while ; but it is a righteous retribution. When the Steteleldt furnace was built and successfully tested at Twin Elver, the people laughed at it. They did not want any new-fangled notions, merely intended to save a few dollars a ton in treating ore. For some two years the inventor struggled in vain for an opportunity to prove his success, while one of the "practical" men of Austin pro- nounced the furnace a " chemical monstrosity." The Reno experiments were received with a sort of stupid surprise; and shortly after, the Manhattan Company purchased, for a large sum, the i-ights for lieese Eiver district, ifow, when it is too late, the people are very righteously indignant to find themselves in the hands of a " monopoly." But with- out this monopoly they would be a good deal worse oft'; and, moreover, the profits of the Manhattan Company, large as they now are, are no larger than they ought to be, to reward that association and its agent for the outlay of capital, time, and skill which they have made in this district. But whatever maj' be the opinion concerning the policy of the Man- hattan Company in charging 830 to $35 per ton for reducing ores, and returning only 80 to 85 per cent, of the assay value, it is certain that the owners of the Stetefeldt furnace have nothing to do with thfl matter. They have publicly declared their disinclination to dispose of exclusive territorial rights, and they charge no sum whatever for the privilege of erecting the furnace. Their royalty is fixed at $2 per ton of the ore treated, in localities where, as in this place, a saving of from six to ten times tliat amount can be ettected. The dissatisfaction of the Eeese Elver miue-owuers culminated In the formation of a company, which Intended to repair and open the mill known as the Boston in Austin. I have not learned what inducements this company intended to hold out to miners, and how they expected to compete with the Stetefeldt furnace with their reverberatories, but it is certiilii that the enterprise was not carried out during 1870. I have remarked above that the Manhattan Comjjauy generally works very rich ores. As au example, I give below a table which is compiled from the books of tire Manhattan Company, presenting an extraordi- nary lot of ore from the district of Secret Canyon, in this county, and that of Miueral Hill lu Elko County, all of wliicli were worked during a CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — ^NEVADA. 115 fortniglit. I doubt if the record of any works anywhere for the reduc- tion of silver ore can surpass or equal the list : Mines. Saratoga Aurora West Tuolumne Morris & Caplo. Do. DoUarliide Oregon Do Do.... Plymouth . MmEKAL HILL. Northoy & Co . Do Do SECRET CilNTOX. Page & Corwin . Value per ton. §786 41 386 25 949 73 2,7ri8 94 819 91 945 00 429 22 738 31 609 00 859 26, 887 9? 937 72 830 2(* 539 93 While these must be considered grand results, they are by no means as grand as these and other districts are capable of. But wc should bear in mind that small lots of very rich ore may build up but will not sustain settlements. The low-grade ore of a district, which is the great bulk of its product, must be relied on to maintain large and prosperous communities. Eich oi-e benefits the individuals, but the poorer or ordi- nary grade promotes the interest of the whole. The time has undoubt- edly arrived for utilizing those large bodies of ore, worth from $40 to. $70 per ton, which have been hitherto wasted or neglected. The period of speculation has passed, and it is time that we should begin to under- stand and husband our resources. If any miner owns a mine that will produce $iQ or $50 ore in any reasonable quantity, he ought to make his title clear, and hold on to the property, for the day is not distant when it will be valuable. In Lander County especially exists an enormous amount of these ores, which so far have been called low grade, though in older countries they would be considered very rich. Spring Valley and Cortez districts have contributed small lots of ore toward the aggregate in-oduct of the county. Their value will be found in another part of this report, in the assessor's returns of Lander County. In Mineral Hill a Stetefeldt furnace has been erected by Mr. Curtis', the superintendent of the Manhattan Co., at Austin, and I am informed that it was put into operation late in the fall. The ores of the district are reported to be a rich variety of Stetefeldtite. Mineral Hill is about forty miles from Carlin, a prominent station on the Cen- tral Pacific road. The district was discovered about two years ago, and now there are five hundred souls located here. Among the most pro- mising and leading mining claims are the following: Keystone, Argeu- tum, Monroe, Korman, Grant, Grey Eagle, Wissahickon, and Austin. The following are the assessor's returns for Lander County, compris- ing the four quarters, from Jidy 1, 1869, to July 1, 1870 : 116 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE KOCKY MOUNTAINS. Assessor''s returns for tlie quarter ending September 30, 18G9. Mine or company. Tons. Pounds. REESE RIVER. Black Lcflgo Lodi -- Harriot Lano Inmol -" Harding and Dickman Bailey Eoyal American Tiiolomno Niagara Chicago J Maggie Baker Shakespeare Plymouth Kelly Florida Florida, 2i\ class Lane and Fuller Company Lane and Fuller Company, 2d class Jo. Lane Jo. Lane, 2d class -■ Troy Troy, 2d class S. C. Baker Manhattan Company Whitlatch Yankee Blado Whitlatch Yankee Blade, 2d class Smith Company Kihock Homeward Bound '. . Wayant CORTEZ. jiretic and Garrison Walker Company Ross Company Carter Company Taylor and Passmoro Kenney Company Berlin Olsen Company MINERAL HILL. Northcy Company Corse Company Godwin Company Powell Company Spencer Company Yaudell Company SPRING VALLEY. Ked, White, and Blue Berry Company Griiut Providence Ross Smith Company Woods Company Williams Company EUREKA. Gem 2 4 2 6 9 1 1 9 3 2 7 7 2 6 1 3 17 460 35 7 4 11 8 24 638 8 14 2 16 3 1 271 3 26 8 10 11 4 7 29 6 1 2 12 3 1,6S0 424 271 888 606 1,410 278 1,930 944 1,897 540 597 1,266 1,296 308 609 'i,"27i' 100 338 1,296 1,585 632 1,632 1,592 675 1,074 490 1,559 1,902 264 1,660 1,829 1,547 695 241 1,735 531 1,356 932 978 1,114 512 1,339 1,257 1,596 712 1,750 70 1,290 1,348 1,164 518 514 CONDITION OP MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 117 DccTncting tho amount of ore, 56 tons C23 ponnds from INIineral Hill, w-hicli is in Ellco County, wo liavo 1,762 tons 973 ponnds as tlio product of Lander County during tho last quarter. Tho value of the biiUiou ])roducod amount.s to $25:!,197 (iO, which is an average of $139 21 per ton. That is about the average of the lot of 4(i0 tons pro- duced by the Lane and Fuller Company. Tho average of Die ore produced by tho Manhattan Company is considerably lower than that of several ])receding quarters. The average of the ore i)rodnced in Reese River district during tlio (juarter -is very good; Mineral Hill is high ; Spring Valley (in small lots) is fair ; while the average of Cortex is lower than usual. TIu) Arctic and Garrison are totally distinct mines in tho latter district, yet their i)roduct is lumped in the assessor's roll; so that tho value of the ore iiroduced by either cannot be determined. Assessor- s returns for the quarter ending December 31, 1869. The following table comprises the names of thirty -two sources from ■which bullion was obtained, while the assessor's book specifies eighty- four; but I have omitted all lots of ore less than one ton, as well as all lots where the name of the mine or company is not given. Nearly one- half the entries in the roll of the assessor make no mention of tho mine which produced the ore to which certain amounts of bullion are credited. Mine or company. Quantity. Average per ton. Chester Doyle & Co Kaleseed Timoko Roman Saratoga Silver Circle Buel North Star , Florida Florida, (west) '. Manhattan Company Whitlatch Yankee Blade Maggie Star of the Evening Plymouth Chicago Great Eastern, (dump) Harriet Lane Isabella Silver Chamber Troy, (six lots) Lewis Black Ledgo CORTEZ. Arctic Garrison St. Louis Mount Teuabo Berlin EUREKA. Buckeye Company SPRING VALLEY. Providence SECRET VALLEY, Telegraph Page & Corwin Tons. 1 7 2 3 1 21 2 37 22 13 3C0 8 6 2 2 22 3 14 4 2 33 3 1 76 47 25 13 9 72 2 Pounds. 1,898 868 1,814 1,879 1, 124 556 432 1,096 9()2 1,540 918 1,846 534 310 282 520 918 1,394 1, 3.54 4G6 27 964 863 1,546 1, 593 1,450 984 1,078 264 118 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. It may be stated that the entire ore pi-bduct of the quarter is 993J tons, about one-half tlie amount produced during the previous quarter. The total value of the ore is §103,475, which gives au average of $1G'1 42 per ton, it being understood that the computations are in gold. During the quarter the lots of ore brought to the mills Avere mostly small ; the only considerable lot produced hy any mine or company being that of the Manhattan, the average yield of which is ueaiiy up to that of pre- vious quarters. The only noticeable feature of the returns is the decrease in the product of ore. The table specifies only one lot of ore produced in Spring Valley, while the assessor mentions ten ; but he gives the name of the mine from which the ore was obtained in one instance only; in nine cases it is credited to Black, Brown, or Green. This is true in a less degree of Cortez and Secret Valley. In conclusion, I must observe that the returns of the assessor contain no information respecting the product of lead bullion in the district of Eureka during the last quarter. Eeports have credited that district with producing a considerable number of tons of ricb lead, but the assessor's returns give no data by which to verify them. Assessor's returns of product of mines for the quarter ending March 30, 1870. Mine or company. Quantity. Cost. Total. ^ EUREKA DISTRICT. Tons. Pounds. 57 928 $48 56 82,790 88 298 582 48 56 14,487 '28 SECRET CANYON DISTRICT. 10 1,030 4G0 94 4, 846 87 BEESB RIVER DISTRICT. Whitlatcli Mine 12 1,290 a33 69 4,219 53 Do 3 846 228 49 782 15 36 1,914 446 30 16, 494 25 Tuolumne 15 602 193 97 2,.'j80 11 12 1,500 122 30 1,559 45 North Star 45H 196 150 23 63, 822 12 83 1, 076 322 97 26, 980 36 17 430 160 64 2,763 95 12 220 323 76 3, 921 71 Buel North Star .•. 107 468 166 06 17, 808 08 Troy 78 42 161 55 12, 604 .50 Do 0 746 133 83 49 92 Do 1 318 316 22 366 50 Do 4 1,980 115 69 577 31 Do 4 1,730 157 72 752 76 Total number of tons of ore raised in Lander County, l,457iffg tons; value, $228,890 83. All small lots from various mines, not named, are omitted in the above table. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 119 Assessor's returns of product qf mines for the quarter ending June 30, 1870. Mine or company. EUREKA DISTRICT. Cli.amjiion i Biittoi-Cup Company Homo Ticket J.iclcson Do Riclimond Husick BiiUwhacker Wilson Bis Bilk Jjnd Byron Southern Pacific SECRET VALLEY DISTRICT. Page Bacy Badges CORTEZ DISTRICT. Mt. Tenabo Garrison Quantity. Tons. 1,017 180 44 333 460 17 10 70 20 12 11 18 48 10 27 46 17 Pounds. 856 500 699 1,000 1,517 1,561 918 733 233 1,981 Cost. $64 50 45 55 25 00 Total. |S5, .596 50 8, 199 00 1, 110 70 8, 155 00 11, 180 58 ,522 31 210 00 1,415 17 571 96 186 89 330 00 551 00 7,630 00 300 00 540 00 3,011 22 3, 978 77 There are no returns from the Manhattan Company in Eeese Eiver dis- trict, on account of the bniklinfj of Stetefeklt furnace. Total ore raised and reduced in the county, 2,397 tons; value, 8119,488 41.^ All small lots below 3 tons, from various mines, and those from mines not named, are omitted in the above table. Eureka district. — This district has attained high prominence during the year. It lias been known for about six' years as a region which con- tains base metal ores, but the discoveries previous to the fall of 1809 were not .such as to cau.se the district to be regarded as of much value. All this is now changed, and Eureka may safely be clas.sed among the most promising districts in the State of !Nevada. The rapid advance in the monthly yield of bullion points so strongly to this, that even tlie outside observer is forced to come to such a conchision ; but to those wlio have visited the district and its mines, and who can appreciate a real not fancied abundance of ore, the fact is (piitc evident. Eureka district is situated in Lander County, Nevada, about forty miles west of Hamilton, and si.xty-five miles east of Austin, in a spur of the Diamond range of mountains. The prevailing rocks in the district are dolomitic limestones, quartzitcs, sand.stones, slates, and occasionally these stratified rocks are capped by a coarse-grained, white, trachytic tuffa. This district compares very favorably with most others in Nevada, in regard to the abundance of wood, grass, and water. The first silver mines were here discovered about six years ago. They lie in New York and Secret caiions, and occur in limestone. The ores in these aro^ sulphates, autimoniates, and carbonates of lead, carrying from $20 to*8200 silver per ton, and stctefeldtite, galena, and a mineral similar to bournonite. They are very quartzy, and the deposits are rather limited. Some of the most promsing of these mines were sold to a New Yoric company, and considerable money was expended. An eifort was made to smelt the ore, but the same fate that seems to have followed most investments of eastern capital followed this, and the mines were 120 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. pronounced a failure. The ore contained too nmcli lead to permit of successful T/orking (even by roasting previously) by tiie mill process, and the district was virtually aband(jned until 1SGe tests. The following averages of the assays of the ores smelted up to the end of April, comprising many thousand tons, will give an idea of the richness of these ores : Silver. Gold .md silver. Champion §67 53 §75 70 jier ton. Buckeye 75 75 83 GO " J.acksou 81 10 Tlie figures are taken from the assaying records of Messrs. Jungjohn & Hartwig, and vouched for by them. The contents of gold are about $40, the balance is silver, and the contents of lead, from 40 to 50 per cent., are not included. A lot from the Em])ire, a mine lying in the same zone as the foregoing, has assayed as high as 690 gold and .$186 silver per ton. Theoresare so easily extracted with pick and shovel alone, that one man can take out ten tons per day, and two miners have actually so far supplied the two furnaces of the company. A second group of mines, the Grant, Sauburst, lone, Summit, Es- meralda, &c., are situated on Mineral Hill, southwest of the Buckeye. The ores here are mostlj' stetefeldtite, and carry much quartz. They are, however, very rich in silver and gold, and assay from .$80 to $800 per ton ; but the occurrence is irregular and nest-like. Tlie Sunburst seems to contain the greatest quantity of ore. Northeast of the Cham])ion, and in the same mineral-bearing zone, across a cafion, a number of very promising mines have been lately discovered by Loucks, lligsby & Co. The East Star and Wide West are the most prominent, and have been traced over 1,000 feet. The deposits lie also under a thin cap of limestone, and carry below this an iron cap of little depth. The following assays, made by the before-mentioned assayers, have been furnished me : Samples from mines of Loucks, Eigsby & Co. Silver. GoW. Lcid. 1 $m 33 151 93 77 46 59 56 372 10 452 40 $63 00 30 00 18 00 18 00 48 00 72 00 25 per cent. 2 3 4 5 6 122 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE KOCKY MOUNTAINS. An average, taken of all these samples after crnshing and mixing, gave $307 -26 silver, §42 gold, and per cent. lead. In these same claims an iron ore is found close under the limestone cap, and embedded in the carbonates, which assays $300 10 gold and $16 06 silver. It is probably a product of decomposition of the arsenical pyrites which are found undecomposed in the galena below. Before closing this description of the mines in Eureka, I must mention a peculiar ore occurring in the Page and Corwin, a very important de- posit in Secret OaQon, seven miles south of Eureka. This ore is evi- dently a product of decomposition of iron pyrites and antimonious ore, but assays up to $2,000 per ton in silver. It mills from $200 to $500 per ton, according to selection. The quantity exposed is very large, as may be seen, when I mention that the chamber opened is 40 feet in di- ameter. The ore is sent to lieno, and is there roasted in the Stetefeldt furnace, and worked in the mill, or to the Manhattan Mill at Austin. The carbonates and galena ores of the district are smelted at Eureka, as before mentioned. The district commenced producing regularly last December. All that time only one furnace, McCoy's, was in operation. Now there are fourteen furnaces built in the district, all in and close to the town of Eureka. Six of these furnaces were running at the time of my visit. These are all built after the same general pattern, which is not a very good one, as I shall show hereafter. On the 30th of June, the results of previous smelting in Eureka were as follows : Bateman A8sociatioii(two fur- naces) had produced 373 tons, average value |348per ton $130,152 Marcelina Mining Companyj of San Francisco, 200 tons, average value $350 70,000 McCoy Furnace, 110 tons, av- erage value .$450 49, 500 Buttercux) Mining Company, of New York, 100 tons, aver- age value ^375 37, 500 Wallace & Bevau,of Pliiladel- phia, (two furnaces) 75 tons, average value |3 50 20, 250 Total, 959 tons 313, 402 Thus showing that the large quantity of 859 tons of lead bul- lion, with an aggregate value of $313,402, was produced by this district in the first six months of smelting, the major part having been actually produced, however, during the last three mouths. Mr. Guido Kuestel, a mining engineer and metallurgist, well known on the Pacific coast, has had occasion to visit Eureka du- ring last summer. In the Scien- tific Press he describes the smelt- ing operations and furnaces of Eureka as follows: Shaft Fiirnaco-v'ci tical section. Tliej are vertical blast or cupola furnaces, with a squaio horizontal section. The CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — ^NEVADA. 123 blast is aclmittcd through three tuyeres, one at th(! back ami ouo at each side. The mouth or uozkIg of the tuyeres is generally three inches in (liamcter, aclniitting a very large amount of wind — too much, consideriug the horizontal dimtmsions of the l iinuiccs, ■which are about two feet square; and the easy fusibility of the ore. The shalt is from twelve to sixteen feet high, from the tjiyeres to the charging hole. TIkj liearth is about two feet below the tuyeres, and is made of stone, tlie front part alone being formed of a composition. At the bottom of the hearth is the tap-hole, through which the lead is run out at intervals. One tajiping gives about 200 pounds of pig lead, which beiug run into molds, forms bars weighing from 80 to 120 pounds apiece. The furuace is built of stone found here, lined inside with a fire-proof sandstone, which is found at Pancake Slouutain, about twenty miles distant. This last is porous, and of an excellent quality. Lately sandstone (equally as good has been found ;it Eureka. The blast is furnished by fau-blowers. The illustration shows the common style of fur- nace used. Hero A denotes the walls, built of a sort of porphyry tufa; B, the inside lining of sandstone ; C, the front of the hearth, of composition. The sliaft D has a square horizontal section, and the shaft O a circular one. I is the charging hole. The ore is principally cerussite or carbonate of lead. There is also sonuj galena, but only in limited quantities at iiresent, and mostly changed into a dull, black mineral, retaining tlie structure of galena, and apparently uuchauged in the center. Singularly enough, the dull portion is richer in silver than the galena, from which it seems evi- dently to have been formed, pcuhaps by the inlluonce of internal heat. It resembles etetcfeldtite. On an average, the ore prepared for smelting contains 40 to 48 per cent, of lead, §C0 to §60 in silver, and $15 to $20 in gold per ton. In bvilk, the ore has a yel- low color, due to the iron in it. There is also arsenic in the ore, whicli, in smelting, combines witli the iron, forming a white coniiiouud (speiss) somewhat lilce matte, and holding $;JU to §45 per ton in silver and gold, aiul 24 per cent, of lead. The ore smelts readily by itself, nothing being added except about 20 per cent, of slag. Analysis of the slag shows the following composition, For the sake of comparison, the composition of a Freiberg slag is also given. No. 1 is the slag from Eureka, and No. 2 that from Friobcrg : No. 1. No. 2. Silica 30.20 30.50^ Iron (suboxide) 50. GO 40.50 Alumina 3.01 8.50 I To form this requires 2,G60° F'ahr., Lime 7. 10 4. 00 ( and to melt it when formed, 2,402°. JIaguesia 0. 90 3. 00 Lead (oxide) 8.70 7. 50 J 100. 51 100. 00 There is a little too much iron in-tho slag No. 1. For the protection of the furnace lining a somewhat larger proportion of quartz in the ore would .seem to bo advantage- ous. Yet as it is, there is a most fortunate coincidence of all the requirements for easily smelting the Eureka ore. Aboiit 24 jiounds of charcoal are charged into the fur- nace at one time, and from 40 to 45 pounds of ore, besides 18 iiounds of slag. Tho charging is done in a very irregular manner, by shovels, and without weighing or mea.suring. One furnace can smelt from eight to nine tons of ore in twenty-four hours. Three and a half tons of ore yield about one ton of pig lead, or " bullion," as they i)re- fcr to call it. Tho consumption of charcoal varies from 30 to 35 bushels to the ton of ore. At present, it eo.sts about §20 to smelt a ton of ore ; it is prol)able, however, that by using a fnrnaee of larger capacity, the expenses may bo reduced to $14 or fil.'x When the furnaces are properly managed, tho loss of lead will probably not exceed 20 per cent. At present, however, it is larger, owing to several reasons, and very largely to the very frequent use of crowbars about tho hearth, whereby a great deal of lead is mixed in with tho slag. By using such largo tuyeres, it would seem that too much wind was brought into the furnace, and without sufficient iiressuro. Hence the heat is not concentrated in the snudting region just above the tuyeres, but is dill'nsed in the upper part of tho furnace, and the carbonate of lead eonnueuees to melt at a dis- tance of (>nal)lc of smelting 24 toiis in twcntiy-four Lours, is now being built by the Eureka Sniolting Company, under the finjierintend- CTicc of Jlr. Ch. Vou Liiibenan. This furnace will be sis-sided, and in the middle of each side, exce[>t tlie front one, comes a tuyere directed towards tlio center of tln^ furnace. The diameterof the furnace, or rather the distance of tlio centers of opposite sides, is three and a half I'eet at the level of the tuyeres, and i'our feet at the liivel of tlio feed- ing liolo. Eroni thc! tuyeres to the feeding hole is 16 feet. The furnace will cost be- tween $^,500 and S;!,000' This description is generally quite correct, aiul it will only require a lew .additioniil remarks to make it complete. At the sainrd has asmall ]>ortiou ; Kobert Miilieu, 2:!3J feot ; and C. V. Singletary, 23;!} feet. The minin^departnient is nnder the immediate snpervision of Mr. Robert Mnllen. As the valno and importance of a mineral property depends so much or entirely npon the (piantity and quality of the supply of ore, a closely detailed description of the El Dora(lo South lode cannot jirove otlierwiso than interesting and acceptable to all parties eng.ajjt^d in mining. The dei)Osits occur in a rather highly disturbed zone, extending in a north- erly and southerly direction, with granite rocks close at hand on the west, aiul on the oast slate and quartzite. The vein is a true fissure, and the gangue and selvage are similar in character to those of tlio most celebrated silver mines in Mexico, Peru, and liiiropij. Excepting about S50 feet at the southern extremity, the vein is x'lainly traceable througliout the entire property — in places by maguilicent croppings, -which rise three and four feet above the surface. Such outcrops are of an unusually massive character, and consist of a white, rather compact quartz, richly clouded with black and antimonial sulphiircts of silver. Some of the most interesting and splendid specinuHis of snrfaco silver ores are obtained from the exposed portions of the El Dorado South lode. Oidy a portion, however, of the voin-matter is in the solid condition represented by the prom- inent outci'ops just described. In such solid portions of the ledge the silver most fieu- erally pervades the quartz in the form of sulphurets. Nearly the entire contents of the vein above water-level are more or less decomposed, and much of the ore occurs as chloride. The lode varies from 15 to 40 feet in width. The productive portion of tho vein, tho pay stratum, varies from 9 to 23 feet. It is found at times permeating tho entire v(!in ; at other times near tho hanging wall. Tho vein has been opened at four different places along tho lodo for (iOO feet by incline shafts and cuts. Shalt No. 1, at tho northeast end, 132 feet deep ; No. 2, at 80 feet south from first, 172 feet in depth ; No. 3, the main incline or working shaft, 276 feet in depth, 220 feet south of No. 2 ; No. 4, at 300 feet from third, 60 feet deep, with cut-off 75 feet ; making 640 feot of shafting. At the depth of 240 feet in tho main working shaft, at water liiio, a level is being run north in the solid ledge which is now in 60 feot, proving it to be over 11 feet iu width, so far displaying one of tho finest bodies of ore ever discovered, and impregnat- ing the whole vein ; beautiful cry.stallization8, including metallic silver, a combination of silver and .antimony, horn silver or chloride of silver, stromeyerite, sulphuret of silver, stetefeldtito, tho carbonate of copper, etc. Much of tho best ore is associated ■with the oxides of copper and iron. In such cases tho ijerceutage of silver ore is very groat, amoHnting at times to 25 .and even 30 per cent, of the entire mass. A few assays of this body of ore have been made, varying from $53 to $1,866 per ton of 2,000 pouutls. Recent reduction of ore from the solid ledge in main shaft, at water level, yielded per ton as follows : At Belmont Mill, 20 tons $207 00 per ton. At Manhattan Mill, 2 tons 860 63 " At Manhattan Mill, 2 tons 237 00 " At Manhattan Mill, 63 tons 220 56 " At the south workings an enormous mass of chloride ore, colored with iron, overrides the solid lode, which has worked at the mills iu this place and Austin from $130 to $563 per ton. There .are now ou tho different dump-piles 1,000 tons of first and second class ore. That being t.iken out from the main shaft, and added daily to the i)resent largo amount, ])roves the ore in sight above water line worth alone at least a quarter of a million of dollars. The improvements on this mine in the way of shafts, levels, houses, etc., have cost over §100,000, and nothing has been done but of a useful nature. At present a whim is being used for hoisting which will bo replaced by steam-hoisting works recently ]>nrchased. Tho engine has a capacity of thirty horse-power. Tho policy pursued by tho owners has been rather to prospect this famous lode than to seek for i>rofit. Alreadj' over $130,000 h.as been the yield of ores' reduced from this property, at an average of $175 per ton. After the steam-hoisting works get in motion, sinking on the ledge will be continued for permanent work, and at certain distances in depth different levels will bo run north and south the entire length of tho claim. So soou as tho mine is properly opened reduction works of sufficient capacity will bo erected to work all classes of ore taken from tho miuo by tho company. The latter i)art of Mr. Leon'.s article expresses a sound policy, one which, if it had been followed by more mining companies iu Nevadai ■woukl have prevented many an ignominious failure. Mr. Caufleld intends to erect a new mill furnished with a Stetefeldt H. Ex. 10 9 130 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. roasting fiu'iiace, at Belmont, and as soon as this is done the great mass of sixty to sevcnty-iive dollar ore, wliicli cannot be worked to a profit by roasting in reverberatories at Belmont, nor stand the high rates of freight to Anstin to be roasted in the furnace at the Manhattan mill, will at once become available, and a great increase iu the product of the district may then confidently be expected. Montezuma district seems to be destined to become of special import- ance. Favorable accounts with regard to this district have reached mo from time to time during the year. The success of Messrs. McGlew & Dawley has notably contributed to the prosperity of the district at large. The first-mentioned gentle- man was formerly connected with the Twin Eiver Cou)pany as en- gineer, and is considered a very accomplished mechanic. The firm some time ago bought a 10-stamp mill, known as the Falkner, at Yan- kee Blade. With the help of fourteen laborers and two brick-masons they moved this mill to the Montezuma district, one hundred and ibrty miles, sawed 50,000 feet of lumbei^, put the mill, including three rever- ber.atory furnaces, in running order, and had a retort of bullion ready to melt in just three months and two days. This is the quickest and most sucicessful work ever done in the State of JTevada, in that line. The product from the 10-stamp mill of McGlew & Dawley, for the iirst month after its completion, was, according to advices from Austin, $20,000. Several new discoveries in the district are spoken of favorably. 3Iorey district was mentioned iu my last report. The further develop- ments during the last year are given iu the following letter addressed to me by Mr. D. S. Ogdcu, the su2)eriutendent of the principal company of the district : Agreeably to promise, I give the following statement relative to Morey district, which is mostly an extract from my report of Septembei: 1, 1870, to the company. The district is located seventy-live miles soutlieast of Austin, upon the eastern 8l()i)o of the Hot Creek range of mountains, iifteeii miles north of the village of that name. From this range there ia a spur projecting in a northeasterly direction. It has a slope of liO", terminating in a small valley. , There are apparently eighteen distinct lodes, but as the hill is penetrated by tunnels it may prove that some are the exteusiou of others, while others may bo discovered, ■which (io not show at the surface. These veins are within a belt of about 3,000 feet, divided into two smaller belts seiiaraled by a distance of 800 feet. They all belong to one company, and with the excciition of two, upon the top of the mountain, are the only ones Itnown in tlio district. Tliey are mostly perpendicular lodes cropping out at intervals from the base of the hill to and over the summit of the mountain, a distance of 4,000 feet. The position of the veins is such that tunnels commencing at the ravine arc constantly iipon tlie veins while penetrating the hill and gaining dei)th from tho surface, thereby saving all ox- ))euse3 of lioisting and i)nm])ing niaciiiuery with their attendant expenses, aiul giving drainage to 2,000 feet of stoping ground overhead to the summit of the mount.ain. Upon live of the mines considerable work has been done. The American Eagle has one incline of 90 feet, and another of CO feet, with three levels of 00 feet. The pay ore averages one foot in width at the surface and 16 inches in the bottom of tho incline. Tho cutiiH) ore has worked $190 per ton. Tho Magnolia has two inclines ; one 75 foot, the otiior CO feet deep. The ore at the surface was one foot wide, but at the bottom of the incline it is 2| feet. Tho entire ore averages 1^200 i)er ton, but the last from tho lowest depth attain(Hl worked §480 per ton. The Fureka, a parallel 'ode, shows from the surface to 30 feet down, the depth now attained, the same character as the last- named mine, and tho ore is of the same value. Tho Mount Airy has a shaft CO feet deep. The ore at the surface was one foot, but at 30 feet down is tlirce feet wide, having entirely displaced the vein-matter. The ore has averaged only §C2 per ton, taough it is apparently the same vein as the Eureka. The Cedar lias one tunnel connnencinf^ at the ravine, which has i)enetrated the hill 230 feet. Three hundred and fifty-eiglit loot up the hill, and 192 feet in perpendicular heiglit from the first, there is another tunnel of 240 feet length. Still farther up the hill and 90 feet i)erpendicularly above the last- named tunnel there is an open cut CO feet long, and of an average depth of IC foot. Within tliis cut tliere is an air i)assa"o to tho tunnel below. The ore from this miuo has averaged $2C0 i)er ton. This is the only mine now actually worked. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 131 The lodes referred to compose the westerly group. There has been but little done upon those composing the eastern group. The I^ittlo Giant has an open cut of 20 feet length by 8 feet depth, and a shaft of 20 feet. The ore from the mine -worlciiil $175 per ton. The Monetary has a small cut and a shaft 12 feet deep. Tlio ore at the surface, and as low as worked, occurs iu a pay streak two feet wide. No ore from this mine has been worked, but It will average from $75 to $100 per ton as per assays. The walls of all the mines are very regular and remarkably well defined, the vein-matter being from four to five feet thick. In two of the three mines, where the water line is reached, the ore has entirely displaced the vein-matter. In tlio other the ore is in compact quartz, which has a tinge of pink by manganese spar. It is the purpose of the present company to run three tunnels ujiou the line of lodes from the base of the hill, and then cross-cut the other veins. Though the ore for the last year has been teamed to Belmont, fifty miles, and to Austin, one hundred miles, by road from the mines, they have been self-sustaining, while being developed and improved. From the position of the lodes indicated, it is clear that a large force can be put to work in open cuts, tunueling and sinking air shafts, thereby making stoping ground rapidly, if there was a mill upon the ground to warrant it. The entire range of mountains, as. far as the eye can reach, is covered with nut pine, mountain mahogany, and about three miles distant there is considerable white pine. Close by the present lower tunnel is a fine mill-site, with an abundance of water. When the mines are properly opened all the ore will pass through these tunnels to the mill, thus saving the expense of teams. The valleys are filled with bunch grass, sufficient for all the stock that may ever be required for mill and miijiug pui-poses. As the present company own all the mines thus far found, except two ni)ou the summit of the mountain, they virtually control the whole district. Statement of ores from Morey mines, tcorJced from June 18 to November 21, 1870. Pounds. Per ton. At Hot Creek 20,000 $290 Do 28,000 198 6, 540 512 Do 2, 544 289 Do 12,320 308 Do 3, 538 23,748 270 Do 318 Do 1, 326 196 40,000 251 The average number of miners employed from June 1, 1870, to tlie present time, (November,) has been five. The total returns from Eeveille district for the year ending June 1, 1870, as per census of 1870, were only $0,000, and those from the Silver Park district, according to the same source and for the same time, were $2,000. The product from all these old districts has been consid- erably impaired by the rush of miners to Eureka and Cope districts and to the Salt Lake country in Utah. Mr. Stephen Koberts, the assessor of J^ye County, has kindly fur- nished me with the following statistics : Assessor's returns of proceeds of mines in Nye County, Nevada, for the year ending June 30, 1870. Tons. Pounds. Gross j'ieltl. For the quarter ending September 30, 1869 121 692 $14,55164 For the quarter ending December 31, 1869 110 1,665 19,550 37 For the quarter ending March 31, 1870 113 1,518 16,561 92 For the quaitcr ending June 30, 1870 444 1,.503 46,400 93 Total 801 1,378 97,064 89 Advance sheets of the late census give the number of inhabitants of this county as 1,087, of whom only 0 are Chinese. 132 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. HUMBOLDT COUNTY. I am indebtod for a valuable report upon tbc mininj? operations in this county during the last year to Mr. 1). Van Leunep, of Unionvillc. His communication, together with such other information as I have been able to obtain in regard to the Humboldt mines, is embodied in % the following pages. To the relapse during several years, which followed the lirst mining excitement in the county, a more healthy state of affairs and steady progress succeeded in 1870. It is now acknowledged on nil sides that most of the Humboldt mines cannot be successi'ully developed without the aid of more or less capital. The only mines which have i)aid their way iVom the beginning have been those which, from the start, fur- nislied a large amoimt of shipping ores, or, at .all events, a sufliciency of ricli ores to pay right along for high labor and heavy freights. Ores assaying below $200 per ton have not been, as a general thing, rich enough to bo shipped to San Francisco. But since the completion of the Central Pacilic the shipping business has been largely inci'eased, and the mining interests are thus greatly indebted to the road ; and on the other hand, the more facilities the railroad will extend to the mines the higher will be its own earnings through the increased developments of the mining industry. Time has also measurably purged the mining districts of this county of that class who engaged in the business only as a speculation, and that without capital. Those remaining are more willing to earn their living and acquire wealth by hard work and by expending their surplus earnings in the further development of their claims, numbbldt County is emi- nently a silver-bearing region. The few gold-bearing ledges so far dis- covered have not given a uniform yield, but in almost all cases the pre- cious metal was found to be very unequally distributed in the lodes. Still less gold is found in placers in the mountain gulches; and even if there were a greater supply, it probably could not be worked to advan- tage in most localities on account of the great scarcity of running water. In most of the mining districts the rich silver ledges have been found in limestone and calcareous slates. Galena, copper ores, sometimes rich iu silver, gray antimony, and gold-bearing quartz have generally been dis- covered in metamorpliic sandstone and slates, iu trap, i)or[)hyries, etc., which frequently occur close to the limestone and calcareous slates. In Battle Mountain dvitrict, the oldest camp. Battle Mountain proper, has not seen continued prosperity. The Little Giant, the first discovery in the district and the main support of the camp, is yielding little or no ore at present. Both the mine and mill were sold in tlie fall of 1SC9 to a San Francisco capitalist, and for the want of ore the mill is now run on tailings. In consequence of all this the place has declined consider- ably during the year. Galena, another mining camp in the district, about six miles south on the same range of mountains, has, on the con- trary, been growing daily. There are several good mines in that vicin- ity, and it is likely to bo one of the best mining camps of the county, if not of the State. Galena predominates in the ores, and is mixed with rich silver ores. Some of this ore can only be worked or reduced advan- tageously by smelting, while others can be worked by null process. The Bntt(^ ledge, worked for about a year by the first locators, has yielded suflicient shipping ore to enable the owners to keep a body of twenty to thirty miners constantly at work. The mine was thus opened to great advajitage, exposing many thousand tons of ore. In the month of De- cember it was sold to a San Francisco company, together with a largo CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 133 amount of milling ore on the dumps, for $75,000. The buyers are niak- iug the necessary arrangements to build a 30-stamp mill a short dis- tance from the mine. The " Wliite" ledge yields also good ores of silver and lead, and the owners will undoubtedly realize handsome profits. A steam-pump was placed at this mine last summer, on account of the vast increase of water in the works. The Avalanch yields rich galena. The water and limited means of the owners are the obstacles to its imme- diate development. The Shiloh is also a ricli galeua mine, but it has been stopped on account of water and the small means of the owners. The Bueua Vista ledge has not yet proved a success. There are many other claims which will come to the notice of the public as soon as the neces- sary work is performed on them. In the same district, about two miles south of Galena, is another camp called Copper Caiion, in which are found good copper mines, bearing carbonates, oxides, native coppci', etc. One of them is owned by au English company. The ores are shipped at i)resent to San Francisco. They contain a small amount of silver. There has been an attempt to run a smelting furnace 0!i Duck Creek, the stream coming out of Galena Canon, but it has so far been a failui'O. The camp is yet too young to furnish the steady supply of ore necessary to run a furnace iirolitably. The Trenton ledge is also in Battle Mountain district ; it is situated about seven miles northwest of Galena ou the western slope, or rather in one of the western canons of the same range. Battle Mountain, Ga- lena, and Copper Caiion' are all in the canons cutting the range on its eastern slope. The Trenton has been worked for several months, and a considerable amount of ore is now out. In the month of December the company owning the mine have purchased one of the mills of Gold Euu district called Holt's mill, and have erected the same about six miles from their mine. It was expected to commence working the rock in the beginning of the year 1871. It has four stamps and two pans. In Gold linn district, the Golconda mine was worked until about the beginning of April, when, on account of the low-grado ores taken from the levels worked, it was discontinued, and has been idle ever since. The mine has been worked only to a depth of about 30 feet below the level of the tunnel. The auioxmt of water at that depth requires a steam pump to overcome it, and the company do not seem to consider it advisable to put this up at present. There is a good chance of get- ting richer rock lower down, for the ledge diminishes in size, and the pay streaks are more concentrated. In the upper portion it is from 7 to 8 feet wide. The mill of the Golconda mine was worked mostly on tailings in the winter mouths and until the middle of spring. The ore is decomposed and contains load and silver. It has been worked by the mill to nearly 50 per cent, of the assay value. Ou the second extension of the Golconda mine, work has been done last fall. About 200 tons of ore have been extracted, and the Golconda mill, a water-wheel mill, was to have reduced the ore. It is now re- ported that the ore is too poor to bear the expense of working and trans- portation. Besides the above-named ledge, the Jefferson, the Cumberland, and others, have been worked considerably in the above-mentioned district, but until now the mineral has beeu too poor to bear the exiieuses of ex- traction, milling, and transportation. In Central district, on the eastern side of the mountain forming the district, two persevering miners have worked a ledge during the year, and with a small ])rospecting mill have reduced enough to pay for their trouble and expenses. 134 MINING STATISTICS WEST OP THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. In the fiill another ledge, with a narrow streak of rich niineralj was found and worked. The ore is sent by rail to San Francisco. In Echo district, situated south of Humboldt district, the Alpha mine, owned by an English comjiany, has been worked but little during the year. Tlie ledge seems to have given out, and further prospecting has been carried on under a disad\'antage on account of too much water in the mine. The extension of the Alpha, owned by the original locators of the Alpha, has been worked with much success, and a" great deal of mineral was extracted. The richest portion was and is now shipped to San Francisco, and the poorest, or milling ore, is ready at the mine to be worked by a mill just erected near the Eye Patch Station, Central Pacific Eailroad, which is about three miles from the mine. Tliis mill depends for its supply of water on a well sunk near the mill. It has ten stamps, but only five have been put up. The pans are rimmed with wood, to avoid the action of iron on the chemicals. The ore is dry- crushed, then carried to a second story of the building, and dropped through fire in a furnace which works on the same principle as tlie Stete- feldt furnace. After this it. is worked in the pans. The result is not yet known, the work going on at the present hour. In ISanta Clara district, lying on the eastern slope of the Humboldt range, (it is northeast of Star Peak, and bounded on the south by Star district;) an old ledge has been taken up and worked a good portion of the year without any marked success. Star district. — The De Soto has been worked most of the summer and fall by a few hands, extracting all accessible shipping ore for the San Francisco market, and laying the poorer quality by for future concen- tration. This work was principally done with a view of prospecting the mine. Last summer the owners of the Sheba mine made arrangements with J. C. Fall & Co., of TJnionville, to work the mine and concentrate the ore found on the dump, as an overshot water-wheel was constructed a few hundred feet below the dump, and five stamps were erected, with sluices, etc., for concentration. It was run for a few days, but before everything couhl be arranged for a successful working the supply of water in the canon diminished so much that the wheel could not be run. It will be put in running order with the increase of the water in the spring. The mine has been steadily worked by a small force all summer and fiill, and regular shipments of the richest part of the ledge have been effected. The mine has been persevoringly prospected. The ledge on the western side of the main tunnel had been lost, being here displaced by a cross- course cutting it diagonally. The cross-course was followed last summer for about 200 feet, when casings with quartz were reached to the west of it. These casings were again followed about 100 feet, when a large body of quartz was found, bearing much rich mineral. It seems yet uncertain whether this is the continuation of the old ledge or merely a deposit of mineral. However that may be, the perseverance and faitii of the managers have been well compensated by the rich discovery. In the same district, in a cauou south of Star CaVion, two ledges of gray antimony have been worked in November and December, and the min- eral shipped to San Francisco in small quantities. It is thought to pay the owners a few dollars per ton profit. In Biiena Vista district the point of all-absorbing interest during the year has been the law-suit and final compromise of the tv. o mines of the Arizona and Silver Co.'s, which lie in close proximity to each other. The quarrel began last year, during the tall, and a receiver was appointed by the court to account for and take charge of lue ore coming out of the ground in dispute. UniouviUe, the couuty-seat, being iu this CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 135 district, and only about a mile from the mines spoken of, it was easier for the contending parties to have the matter examined by the judfte, the jurymen, etc., than if otherwise situated. The main point in the case was to ascertain whether the two mines found in the hill are on one and the same ledge, or on two different ledges crossing each other. The suit came off' last spring, and a verdict was given in favor of the two-ledge theory. The case was appealed, and the contending parties, after divers and vexatious expenses, hard feelings toward each other, and bad forebodings as to the final result, with which a long list of legal expenses, running high on this coast, was surely connected, determined at last, very wisely, to comijromise the suit by cousolidation. This was effected in bctober, and since then the lost time has been redeemed by greater activity, which has been rewarded by the extraction of a larger amount of rich ore than the mines ever yielded before. The ledges thus far have been worked for about 70 feet perpendicularly below the outcrops. Below this depth the quartz has given out ; the walls are yet discernible, but have not been followed. The foot-wall is black limestone and calcareous slates, in some parts of which are found ammonites. The most westerly ledge, running a little east of south, has been followed into the hill, until the present time, for about 550 feet on its course, and it bears uniformly good mineral, mixed with rich shipping ore. The easterly ledge runs nearly southeast, and has been followed for about 400 feet, 300 feet of which bear good mineral, and in places large spots of shipping ores. The last 100 feet were run in broken ground, in which the little mineral was all nuich scattered. Some work done last month on one side of the tunnel gives some hopes of finding the solid ledge again. The owners stoped out much ground last summer and fall. At pres- ent and during the rest of the winter the mine will be put in shape to extract a large amount of ore as soon as fine weather sets in. The Manitowoc mine, a mine adjoining the two mentioned above. ha« been worked out during the year. Work was discontinued at the end of summer. It is a nearly flat ledge, which has been followed into the hill about 200 feet, where it thinned out to a mere thread, and was abandoned. It belongs to Fall & Temple. The amount of rock which came out of the Fall & Temple mines during the first nine and a half months of the year, i. e., until the com- promise was made, is 5,233 tons. The rock taken out of the Silver Mining Company's mine during the same time is 1,421 tons. The rock raised since the compromise to the end of the year, t. c, from October 10 to December 31, is 2,492 tons. Total from the three mines during the year, 9,146 tons. The three mills, the Pioneer, the Arizona, and the Silver Mining Com- pany's mill, have run mostly on Arizona and Manitowoc ores viui'ing the year. The Pioneer Mill was renovated and enlarged in the beginning of the year 1870. To the old water-wheel a small engine was added as motive power. The eight old pans were replaced by three large ones of Wheeler's pattern. A new boiler was put uj), and a. fine battery of ten stamps completes the renovation. It has crushed since the change was effected about 2,600 tons of rock, and many hundred tons of tailings lu'.v<5 been passed through the i)ans besides. The Arizona Mill has crushed not far I'rom 3,500 tons. The Silver Mining Company's mill was stoppetl for a considerable time during the summer for want of rock and for repairs. It has now a battery of ten stamps and three large pans, and has worked about 2,000 tons of rock, besides many tons of tailings. I am unable to give the shipment of bullion from Uniouville in detail, 136 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. but I liiivo taken careful notes of the shipments from the books of the two firms that have sent the most to San Francisco, viz: Sent by J. C. Fall & Co. until the middle of October, actual value $170, 895 94 By the Silver Mining Company, value about 52, 300 00 By both firms for the second half of October, | ^^g'ggy } 96 In November .' 16, 582 96 In December 32,6-41 08 Total during 1870 291, 732 94 The old Inskip ledge and the North Star have been worked steadily all summer and fall for account of a New York company — the Pioneer and Inskip. The two mines are close together, and are supposetl to be on the same ledge ; they lie about half a mile southwest of the Arizona miues. The country rock in which the ledges are fonnd is calcareous slate, which is apparently cut throngh in two different i)laces by paral- lel dikes of porphyry. This eruptive rock has disturbed the ground much. In the Inskip the ledge has been persistently followed in all its freaks, but thus far the rich mineral has only been found in bunches. Work has been stopped at present in this mine. On the Nortli Star ground, cut already by several old works, prospecting was carried on on various seams until a wide ledge was found with paying mineral. This was followed until another smaller ledge was reached joining the first, and also bearing good mineral. From these quite a large quantity of quartz has been removed, and they are still yielding without any- falling olf. The rock taken out of the two miues and hauled to the Pioneer Mill amounts, to December 31, to 231 tons ; of this about seven tons of shipping ore have been picked and sent to San Francisco for sale. They yielded about $350 per ton, net. The ore has much lead in it, and produces very base bullion by mill process. The Potosi ledge is about a mile south of the North Star, on the same belt. A good deal of work has been done on it. Now some miners have a contract to run an adit of 50 feet ou the ledge, which shows quartz spotted with mineral. During the summer and fall the Crystal ledge, located near the snm- mit of the maiu range, at the head of Wilson Caiion, about four miles from Unionville, and west of the Arizona ledge, has been worked in a small way with constancy and perseverance by the discoverers. Ship- ping ore has been taken out to pay, probably, for all the work done ; but the inaccessible situation of the claim has, up to the present, prevented the shipment of the same. The claim lies in limestone. Its high posi- tion on the mountains prevents working in the winter. The Eclipse, another claim, has been worked by two of the owners during the year. It is in Eagle Caiion, and about three miles west of Unionville. Shipping ore has been sent to San Francisco, and said to have netted about $130 to the ton. The Seminole ledge, owned by an eastern company, was visiteii last B])ring by two of the principal owners. It is situated about a quarter of a mile west of the upper town of Unionville. The comi)aiiy have run a tunnel of over 600 feet in length into the hill to reach the' ledge, the outcroj) of which is found high up on the hill, northwest of the tun- nel. The latter haviug been run considerably beyond the point where the ledge was expected to cross its course, it' was deemed advisable to CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY NEVADA. 137 follow tliG outcrop above mentioned along the hill to a point right above the tunnel. But this was found to be impracticable without a heavy outlay, as the ground was disturbed on the line of the ledge, between the outcrop and the line of the tunnel. At this crisis the owners had about three tons taken out of a small shaft sunk on the outcrop of the edge, which was crushed and amalgamated in the battei'y to take up he gold found in the rock. The bullion, pulp, and tailings were tested l>y assay. The result seems to have been unfavorable, and since then tlie work lias been entirely stopped. The belief of the value of the mine had been based on assays made of specimens taken out of the shaft on the outcrop. But, as is too often the case, these people de- ceived themselves very inuocentlj^ by suijposing that a specimen is a criterion of the value of a mine. The prospecting done in Indian district, lying south of Buena Vista, Las not resulted in any valuable discovery. In Sacramento district, the Batavia Company placed steam lioistiiig- ■works on the Eochester shaft and considerable work was performed on the mine. But the drift run from the shaft to strike the ledge having failed to find any paying quartz, the work was discontinued. The presi- dent of the company visited the country with an enterprising stockholder and made arrangements to explore a claim found in the vicinity of the Eochester mine. This was also abandoned because the company finally purchased the Central Pacific mine, in Eclief district, about ten miles east of the Eochester. Belief district wa^i organized at the end of 18G9 or the beginning of 1870. It is about twenty-five miles a little west of south of lJuionville. The Humboldt range in approaching the Humboldt Sink divides into two branches, one extending west of the sink and the other northeast. Eelief district comprises a portion of the last-mentioned hills. The formations of limestones, metamori)hic sandstones, and traps are very distinctly recognized already at a distance from these hills. The ledges found there occur between the strata of the different rocks and run with them. Many claims have been located, but as yet only the Central Pacific ledge has been worked enough to test its value. The discoverer has worked it successfully by shipping to San Francisco or Eeno the richest portion of the ore. His partners, however, having brought a lawsuit against him, the larger portion of the mine was sold to the Batavia Company, an eastern company, at a low figure. The Batavia have worked the mine until recently. There being over a thousand tons of rock on the dump, work was discontinued for the present. Two or three shipments of ore were made by the company, and the report is that a ten-stamp mill will be erected in the canon in 1871; in fact, one of the leading members of the company is daily expected on the spot to make the necessary arrangements for construction. ' The mine is about seventeen miles from Oreana, a station on the Central Pa(;ilic Eailroad. I am not aware of the causes that have changed the former activity in Trinity district into the present stagnation; but the few facts that I know may be stated here, together with the general transactions during the year. The mines had been idle for many months, and the works at Oreana shut down and attached by the creditors of the Montezuma Company, when, last February, after the term allowed by law for sale had expired, the works of the Montezuma Company w^ere bought hy a San Francisco capitalist. It is reported that Toomey & Mosshcimer rented the works from the owners Ibr a number of years. Mr. Moss- heimer went to Oreana, made many repairs, and bought in the tools be- longing to the works and which had been in the hands of the creditors 138 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. of the Montezuma Company. ITc thus spent several thoiisaiifl dollars. Ho had a good deal of rock on hand, and made three or lour attempts to run the smelting iurnace, but failed to succeed in smelling the rock properly ; each time the furnaxie cooled and had to be torn down at the hearth and repaired. After this Mr. Drake, it is rei)orted, rented the works. Drake worked successfully for about a month, an(l shipiied T),\ railroad about 25 tons of metal to San Francisco, and from there i was sent to Swansea. He got, it is said, $00 per ton in advance, but having little ca])ital, and not being able to dispose of the metal immedi- ately, liad to close the works lor want of means. Mr. Strout also made an attempt at smelting. He leased the Savan- nah mine and built a furnace. The furnace was too large at first ; then the tuyere was too small. He made two rnns with partial success, and being without capital could not meet the demands of his creditors. The Savannah mine gave out in the portion ho was at work on, and this made his situati(m still less tenable. Mr. Torrcy, who in early days had built some works at Etna, about three miles on the Humboldt lliver above Oreana, and which had fallen into the hands of creditors at the time, went this summ(>r lo the spot, repaired the works, built a water-wheel on the river, and connected his machinery with it. The works are said to be constructed so as to work economically. He made, however, two dirt'crent attempts at smeltbig, but failed, and his workmen all became sick from the antiinonial fumes. Ho is still at work on tailings in a mill connected with the works, I am told. It will be conceded by people conversant with the mining interests of Humboldt County that smelting works on the Humboldt liivcr, pi'op- erly and economically built, erected and run by men of experience who understand the business, would bo very desirable. They would save much transportation, give employment to many in the county, and be a source of revenue to the county and the owners. Much (capital is needed for such an enterprise, in order to secure the greatest economy in smelting, buying of ores, &c. A formidable obstacle is, however, the scarcity of fuel ; but this may be overcome in time by new discoveries of coal and cheaper means of transportation by railroads. Coal from the Wahsatch ]\Ionutains, near the line of the Union Pacific Kaih'oad, is now delivered at Mill City for $ 1 .'5 per ton. This is likely soon to take the place of wood in all places near the line of the railroad. During the last year the bullion returns are no criterion for the prod net of the mines of Humboldt County, a great deal of oro having been shipped to diflerent places lor reduction outside of the county. The works at iieno, using the Stetefeldt furnace, and guaranteeing 8i per cent, of the assay value to customers, have reduced consid(!rablo mineral rich enough to bear the expense of transportation, bagging, and milling. It has also been the practice of miners to send to the same works a few tons at a time to test their rock. Others, again, sell their rich ores at San Fi-aucisco to the smelting works, or to English and eastern agents for further shipment ; w hile others, again, obtain advances and ship to Swansea direct for sale on commission. This in done for all kinds of minerals that are valuable enough to bear the inci- dental expenses. 1 have obtained a statement of ore shipments made from this place. It comjn'ises almost all the rich oro slii])i)cd. There were a few small lots sent out on trial which I could not obtain, but they would not mate- rially alter the total. CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY— NEVADA. 139 Shipped by J. C. Fall & Co., about 100 tons, yielding net in round iignres $33,500 Sliii)pc'd by the Silver Mininj? Company to the month of Octo- ber, aber cent. In fact, scarcely an.y of the mines in that region could have been worked without the facilities for getting the ores to market aftorded by the railroad. It will be seen that in twenty-three mouths 9,489 tons of ore ■were shipped. This ore was worth on an average at least $100 per ton, or in the aggre- gate $948,900. In addition to the above, there was shipped from Eastern Nevada metal (lead and silver extracted from base-metal ores) as follows, in 1870 : Ship'd West. Ship'd East. Founds. . Founds. January 119,247 February - 320,651 March 182,782 225,937 April 92,257 336,794 Mav 191, 346 382, 807 Juiie - 278,246 920,303 July 307,907 777,340 August 582,700 477,243 September 440, 490 02, 183 October 309,728 482,994 November 974,070 263,828 In 1609 102, 485 Total 3,907,969 3,929,431 Here we have 3,918^ tons of metal shijiped last year, worth about $250 per ton on the average, and in the aggregate, $979,625. The production of metal did not com- mence until the latter part of 1869, and that, as well as. the shipment of ores, could not have been attempted without railroad facilities. The increase in the shipment of met- als, it will be seen, has been great, going from 119,247 pounds in January up to over 1,200,000 pounds in November. It will also be noticed that while the shipments in this direction have been constantly on the increase, shipments to the east since June have been diminishing, showing the cheapest and favorite route of shijjment to be to- ward the Pacific coast. We have no means at hand of knowing the amount of pure bullion shipped from Eastern Nevada since January 1809. That probably would have been about the same had there been no railroad, so that the railroad lias increased the yield of the mines in twenty-three months to the amount of ores and metal shipped, as follows : Value of ore shipped $948, 900 Value of metal shipped 979, 625 Total ■ 1, 928, 525 Or, in round numbers, $2,000,000 added to the real wealth of the country, and the production increasing at the rate of from 300 to 400 per cent. i)er annum. The following statement, prepared by Mr. A. D. Hodges, jr., of San Francisco, diifers somewhat from the estimates of the Nevada State mineralogist. Mr. Hodges writes ihe with regard to his statistics as follows, January 17, 1871 : "The statistics were obtained from the cargoes as receivedin this city, (not as per invoice,) and any wastage must, therefore, be added. Again, CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 143 as the returns are partly made in sacks of ore and bars of bullion, it has been necessary to reduce these to tons. Up to September, in fact, all ore and bullion were thus giyen mo; but since then I have obtained the weights of all interior shipments. In reducing to tons, I visited shipping places and took the average of large shipments. 1 lind that the bars of bullion will a%-erage about 100 pounds, (the average of several thousand tons.) The ore sacks from the southern country aver- age the same (100 pounds) and are reckoned as such, while 90 pounds is the weight taken per sack of interior ores, as the sacks from Utah are smaller than the others and thus bring down the average. I give you these i)articulars as you may consider them essential. " My statistics commence in October 15, 18G9. I therefore add the fol- lowing for the rest of that j-ear." 1869. Ore-sacks. Bullion-bars. Interior. South. Intorioi'. Soutli. October 15-31 2,357 3,817 3,291 21 i.';8 G(i 198 1,189 Here is Mr. Hodges's table for 1870, published January 7, 1871, in the Scientific Press. It includes the receipts at San Francisco from the East and South. The columns headed " Interior" give the amounts re- ceived over the railroad ; those headed "South," the amounts from the southern countfy: / ORE. BULUON. Interior. Sontli. Interior. South. Tons. im 109 119 219 303 ac8 593 571 318 797 750 382 Lbs. 1, COO 250 320 300 320 1,390 1, 900 190 110 700 900 500 Tom. 4 Lbs. 400 Xom. Lbs. Tons. 40 47 25 40 63 48 113 40 30 137 Lbs. 900 l.TiOO 1,000 700 1, .WO 1,000 400 800 GOO 1,400 May July 19 22 40 20 4 04 18 3 48 2 800 700 1,400 300 100 1,400 700 300 1,500 500 45 57 58 119 131 289 144 86 425 323 1,000 700 400 200 COO 1, 900 500 900 1,300 1, MOO lis 500 4,537 600 247 ns 100 1,500 lbs 1,681 700 0 At\ 724 i tons 30U ,000 lbs. Average per montli : Ore, 398 tona 1,503} lbs ; bullion, 300 tons 916} lbs. If wo calculate that there are throe hundred working days, for smelt- ing works, in the year, (which number is in excess of the reality,) we have an average of nearly 18 tons of ore and over 8 tons in bullion per work- ing day, lor the year. But this average does not give a fair represen- tation of the existing state of affairs, lor the smaller shipments at the liegiuning of the year bring down the average. A fairer idea will be 144 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. given by taking the average of the four quarters of the year, with sev- euty-flve working days in each quarter. We have then — Ore. Biilliou. Tons, x>ouud8. Tons, iiouuds. Jiimiarv to March 5 1,2^8 2 405 April to June 11 1,445 5 327 ■Tuly to Seiitcmbor 20 54 19 304 October to December 26 912 14 1,111 The circumstance of the most interest and importance connected with these figures is the increase. That this increase lias been due in great measure to the present smelting works of San Francisco cannot be doubted, and it is reasonable to suppose that increased facilities will bring still greater supplies. An account of the works referred to is given elsewhere in this report. ELKO COUNTY. Several new mining districts discovered and organized north of the Central Pacific Eailroad have attracted much attention. Tlie most IH'ominent one is Cope district, which was mentioned in my last report. Bull Eun and Bruno districts are the newest, and, as far as known, both promise to become of some importance. Cope diHtrict has furnished considerable bullion during the year. My correspondent, writ ing from Mountain City, in the latter part of August, gives the following information : This city is located on the Owyhee River eighty-five miles north from Elko, on tho Central Pacilic Railroad. It is now a trifle over one year old, has about two hundred buildings, among whicli arc to be found specimens of cloth, adobe, log, frame, and cut stone, and the hammer and saw arc to be heard on every side. The population, in- cluding Cliinese and a few Indians, is not far from 1,000. Copo district, of which Mountain City is the metropolis, is chietly remarkable as presenting a case of modest merit, something exceedingly rare in these days of shams and false pretenses. Her miners, instead of making coyote holes in the hillsides, and then sitting down by them to wait for capital, very sensibly rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Ores were shipped to Reno aud other points, at an average expense of §100 a ton for freight and milling, that netted tho owners from $50 to $p300. Tho results were expended in further develojiments, and to-day tijere are few places in tho State that can show a, more inviting lield for capital or energy and ability than Cope. Late last fall a ten- stamp mill was put up by Atehinson, Drew & Co., and has been running steadily ever since, principally on Argenta and Crescent ores. Colonel Drew is the superintendent. Messrs. Norton & Co. are erecting a thirteen-stanip mill, under Mr. Turner's superin- tendence, below tho town. Tliey arc pushing t!io work with energy, and expect to bo ready for crualiing by October 1st. I learn that the Argenta Company will supply it witli ore. Tlu'ce-fourths of a mile above town, 11. H. Vance is l)uilding ouo of his "Little Gi.aut" mills. Tl)c ore is pulverized by the action of rollers on a revolving bed-plate. Tlie mill will have, it is calculated, a capacity for, crushing twelve ton.s daily. The invention has not yet been tested hero, I believe; but there is one in ope- ration in San Francisco that is said to bo a perfect success. This mill is to work ou ore from the Mountain City mine on contract. Report says that Wallbridgo & Co., of Idaho, are going to put a five-stamp mill ou tho Monitor mine; so tlierewill be thirty- five at all events, and jirobably forty stamps, in operation this winter — a pretty good showing for a district one year old, and tliat has paddled its own canop from the start. The facilities for mining here .are .above tho average. The climate is mild; .snow is never troublesome ; wood is abundant within i'rom seven to ten miles ; excellent water everywhere ; plenty of good pasturage; stock will thrive without feeding the ycir round ; and the mines, being located on low foot-hills 50 to 200 feet above tho valley, aro easy of access, and can lie .advantageously worked in winter as well as summer. Tho mines are located in the immediate vicinity of town, on both sides of tho river. As far as surface indications go, the quartz veins of Cope will comp.aro favorably with any other mining camp, but none of tho ledges have yet been worked to a sutilicleut depth to establish their permauenco beyond a doubt. The ores aro i)rincipally true silver ores and remarkably free of the baser metals. A claim consists of 200 feet, upon which two diiys' work must be done within sixty days after location, aud two day.s iBoro before the expiration of a year. Tho principal ledges are from a foot and a half CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 145 to fonr feet in wiclth, and approach a horizontal position, many of thora naviug an angle of 40°. AVhilo there lias been only one mill in the district, there have been ou'y about twenty men at work taking oat ore, but many more will bo employed as soon as the two new mills are ready to operate. The Columbia Company have struck the east- ern extension of the Argenta, 1,400 feet from the discovery shaft, demonstrating the fact that the ledges of Copo have some length as well as width and depth. John A. Lyttlo & Co. have traced the Nevada ledge down the side of California Hill, and are runnnig in a tunnel on the veiu, which is said to bo large and rich. Cutler & Co. are sinking on the Crown Point, opposite Dye's store, in Placervillc, and arc taking out some fine-looking ore. The Argonta and Crescent have been worked some disFauco below the water-level, and show black sulphnrets in abundance. The Buckeye, owned by Cope & Co., shows a large and well-delined ledge on the surface, but has not been ■worked to any depth. The Monitor, situated near the Cresceut, is one of the most ))roniisin3 ledges iu camp. It is live feet wide, and will probably yield $30 or §60 per ton. So far the mines liave been easily worked, the gangue being as yet comparatively soft at the depth reached in most mines. The develop- ments of the district progres.sed favorably throughout the year, and iu the fall the Crescent Company had 210 tons of ore worked at the Atchi- son or Drew Mill, which gave an average yield of $234 per ton, falling much below the expectations based on assays. The Crown Point (Cut- ler & Co.) had a shaft down 25 feet, in a large body of ore, milling $100 to the ton and upward. Fuller & Ferguson had commenced work on the Great Eastern, with good prospects, the ore assaying from $250 to $300 to the ton. The Ada Gossage, located one mile and a half from Mountain City, and owned by Henry, Velt, Upton & Frederick Brothers, had a shaft 70 feet deep, and ore assaying from $300 to $500 to the ton'. The Argenta, Argeuta ExceLsior, and Argenta Extension were all look- ing well. The Sunny Hill, three miles southeast ot town, Keystone, and Virginia were being actively worked and looked well. The Mountain City Silver Mining Company (Oppenheimer, Hart, and others) had out u large quantity of good ore, which was to be crushed as soon as the Vance Mill would be in readiness. Placer -mining by Chinamen, on the north side of the river, was going on actively, but v.ater was scarce. The Chinamen made irom two to three dollars per day, but competent judges, who have examined the ground, believe that if water were plenty the mines could be made to pay $10 per day to the man. H- Ex. 10 10 List ofmxnwg claims in Cope minivy dietrict, EJko Cmmty, Nevada, on the 1st day of July, 1870, reported ly F. W. Crosby. Name. Argenta Excelsior Crescent Monitor Buckeye Calilomia Idaho Idaho Extension. Mountain City. Oivner. Argenta Gold and Silver Mining Company. Dixon, Eicly, Cope & Co , ('artor. Cage & Co "W'allbridgc i:Co Cope &. Co Lyttle & Co Johnson & Holbrool^ Grant & Adams Mountain City Gold and Silver Company. . Character. Lode Lode Lode Lode Lode Lode Lode Lode Lode Course. N. & S.. N. & S.. N. & S.. N. & S.. N. & S.. N. & S.. N. &S.. N.&.S.. N. &S.. Dip. 45 45 45 SO 30 10 £0 20 Vertical Dimensions of claim. Width. 3 feet. 3 J feet 2 feet. 2ifcct 8 feet 2 feet 2 foot 6 feet. Length. 1, 400 feet 1, 400 feet 1,000 feet 1,000 feet 1, 400 feet 2, COO feet 000 feet , 600 feet Country rock. Granite Granite Granite Granite Granite Slate . . . Slate . . . Slate . . . Shite . . . Vein matter. Ore. *« ea on Value per ton. 00 50 SO 55 40 70 70 40 OS g 2! O 05 Ui H o Beuabks — The Argenta has produced abont $100,000 since Its discovery. In May, 1869. Thcdoepest workings ore on the Argenta, 250 feet ; Crescent, 175. California has a tunnel 500 feet long ; Excelsior, 400. So far there has been no " petering out." There are probably a» many more claims as aio here named, that may properlr b« called live viz: Mammoth, Great Eastern, Jlevada, Sunny Hill, Ophir.Kohinocr, etc. r j j . j f i~ j H O H H H O Q o 1 m CONDITION OP MINING INDUSTRY — NEVADA. 147 Return of the production of (/old and silver in the Cope mininfi district, IJlko County, Nevada, for the year ending July 1, 1870. — L'cjwrted by F. W, Crosby. Mill, Cope IMill ; owners, Atctliison, Dre\y & Co. ; location, Mountain City; mine, Cnstoiiis; average .yielcl, $00; time of running, eoinineneed running in December, 1800 ; whole number of stamps in mill, ten ; power, steam. liEMAiiics. — Entire product of tlie district, as obtained from Wells, Pargo & Co., and Oppenheimer & Co., in silver and gold, §2.50,000. Tlie first-(!lass ores were shipped to Jleno and San Francisco. Two new mills are being erected : U. Vanse «& Co.'s patent pulverizers, said to be lO tou capacity, and Norton's mill, 13 stamps. Estimate of costs of mining and, reducing ores in Cope district, Elko County, Nevada. — Report by F. TV. Crosby, July 1, 1870. Population of district, 600; Avages of first-class miners, $4; wages of second class miners, $3; wages of surl'ace laborers, $13 SO; cost of lum- ber, $00 to $75 per M; cost of mining timber, 8 cents ])er foot ; cost of common i)ow(ler, $7 .50 per keg; cost of Giant powder, $2 per i)ound ; cost of freight I'rom Elko, lA and 2 (ients per pouiul ; cost of fuel, $0 to $8 per cord ; (iostof ten-stamp mill, California pattern, including freight, erection, &c., $20,000 to $25,000. Bull Run district was discovered and organized in the summer of 18(!9. It lies about eighteen miles southwest of JMountain City, Cope district, and a good, tree road leads from the latter place to the mouth of ^ tlie cafion at V\^hito Eock City, in Bull linn district. The country is well wo()d(!d and watered, there being at least 20,000 cords of timber in the immediate vicinity of the mines, ami an abundance of water within three-quarters of a mile. The most imi)ortant ledges so far discovered are the following: The Porter — two to 4 feet wide; shaft, 32 feet downi; 100 feet further southwest, shaft 25 feet ; still further soutlnvest 380 feet, shaft 12 feet; ricli antimonial sulphviret, with some galena, said to assay from $-1,000 to $0,000 per ton; 20 tons have been shipped to Reno with satisfactory results. Central — shaft, 12 feet wide ; same ore; lode, 4 feet wide; assays $4,000 per ton. lievenue — shaft, 8 feet ; lode 4 feet wide; 2 tons on dump ; average assay, $150. Montana — lode, 4 feet wide; shaft, 10 feet; assay, $150. Fountain Treasure — shaft, 30 feet ; assay, $l(iO per ton. lUue Jiell — 0 feet wide; shaft, 18 feet ; will mill $100 per ton. Nevada — located for two miles ; 4 to 0 feet wide ; shaft, 18 leet; mills $100 per ton. This is eminently a self-sustaining mining camp, there having been no necessity I'or calling in the aid of cai)ital, and the holders preferring to develoj) their own mines and demonstrate their value, the ledges being of a pernument cliaracter and the grade of ore so high that thej' have paid from the commencement. From the proceeds of the mines the holders have been able from the first to sui)- ply themselves with tools, provisions, and all the comforts of life. There are about two hiindi-ed people at the mines, and there is every prospect that this number will soou be increased. lu Decendjer a correspondent of the San Francisco Scientific Press wrote from the district : Evorythini; is progressing satisfactorily horo in tho (liflForfiiit miiios wliich arc being ■worked. Tliisro arc ton tunnels now being run to varion.s lode.s, and sixty men at work ■wlio will coutiuuc to work all winter. Tlio ores sent to Vance's mill, at Jlountain City, for reduction, yielded satisfactorily, sonio giving as niucli as §1,000 jjer ton. Tlu' .John- son Company are about to start a shaft on their lode. The Sacrainonto Tuimel Com- 148 MINING STATISTICS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. pauy aro jmshinj; work forward as fast as possible ; they are rminiiij; a tunnel tliron<;li tho main mineral belt of till) district, and will cut some eifjht or ten of the leadin;^ minoM at a de];',!! of from 50 to 800 feet. Mr. Drew, of Mountain City, is al>oat to re- move his ten-s;::.::;) mill from that i)laco to hero, and will change it to a dry-criishor and add roasting furnaces. Ho exiiects to have it running by April next. Tho depth of the snow on tho mountain is only about three feet. We have had no very cold weather as yet. Tho anionnt of ona shipped from this district this summer amounts to l,7;J."i tons, valued at from §100 to §^,000 per ton. If wo had had mills here, over T>,000 tons of ores would have been worked during this last sunnner, of valu(!S ranging from .$ij0 to .S-,000 per (on. According to all appearances, there will be over 20,(MM) tons of ores taken out of the different mines next .year; and if thi^ro ai'e facilities for crushing, tho bullion shiiimeut will speedily demonstrate the value of the mines in Bull Kun. ExJdbit of producing mines in Bull Bun mining district, Elho County, Xerada, on July 1, 1870, reported by F. TV. Crosiy. Owner. lilnc Jacket Hope Montana liiijiadier Buster Potosi Feimd Treasure Mouument yifleeuth Amcudment Porter C. Eisenbers & Co ■\Villiam Porli-rfieW &. Co SI. Iluiiyanl &■ Co 1'. Fellows & Co E. D. Bowman & Co A. McKittrick & Co J. F. ChelUs do George Cowloa & Co Tucker & Co Vein ..do . ..do . ..do . .do . ..do . ..do . ..do . ..do . ..do . Course, N. &S ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... Dip. 30 W 10 E East ..do . do . ..do ..do . ..do . .do . ..do . Dimensions of claim. Country rock. Ft. 1,400 1,S!00 1,800 1, 0(10 1,000 1,000 2, SOO 2,200 1,2:0 1,200 Sl.lto Limestouo . ....do ....do ....do ...do Slate ...do ...do Limestone . Vein.matter. Decomposed quartz. Quartz do ...do ...do ...do ...do ...do ...do ...do Ore. Sulphuret silver, do .do . .do . .do . .do do . .do . do . do . $200 22.5 175 110 125 125 225 ISO 150 250 Product forthe vearend- ing July 1, 1609. About 100 toni of ore have been sbipped to Heno and San Frauci.s- co. netting from $100 to $-.^50 per ton : milling and freight, $80 to $00 per ton. Q O O O !Z| O I— I z M !Z| o o CD K Ekmarks. — There are about one hundred veins opened in the district About ono thousand tons of ore are now out. The ores are ba.se, containing galena and antimony. The six first enumerated claims are on the Nevada ledge — probably the mother-vein of the district. The distance from Elko is eighty miles west of north. CO 150 MINING STATISTICS WKST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. The total yield of the ores shipped up to July, 1870, was probably about $25,001). Bruno liintriot is situated twenty-five miles southeast of ]\I()nntaiu City, and was discovered in ]Sr()venil)er, 1809; the ores eoiitaininrucc timber. It is as well watered as any district in the county. Tiie ores are of two classes. Those on the south of the mountain are w-hat is denominated as good milling ore, or eldoride; those on the north are what is denominated as the best quality of smelling ore, or argentiferous galeiia. These ndnes liavc now been worked Ibr about a year, durnig' which time many assays have been made ii'om the ores, and both classes have, so far, given satisi'actory returns. The mine owned by J. B. Osborne has a shaft down 320 feet, which sliows rich ore all the way. On the side of the mountain below is an old incline, which runs into and connects with the shaft. The Latham, Schuyler, and Humphrey arc also favorably spoken of. I am not informed as to the actual milling value of the ores, small lots of which are re])orted to have been sliipi)ed from the district. In Railroad dutrict, which was mentioned in my last report, a smelt- ing furnace has been erected during the year, but its operations were unsuccessful. In December, a correspondent wrote about it: Tlio snu'ltiiis works of tlio Palisado Smelting Company, ut Railroad district;, iiro under attachniout for debt. If lialf the reports about the misnianageiniint of tlu! aiiUira of t!ie I'urnaco wUieli lia vo conio to my ears over siuce that " iron tub," called a eopp(!r- Bmeltor, was i)ut np last spring, are true, it would have been ,a blessing to the district if the attaehmc'nt had been served months ago. These remarks are severe, but just and true. For a long tinui the representations of parties from that district, and jiarties who had no intention to falsify, were favorable in regard to the movements of that company, giving them character by announcing the ellicient ]>rogress of the work ; but after mouths orcixporinieut ing at the cxjiense of the labor of the hard-working mincers, they have sus])onded under the inllneuco of a judicial writ. The district is one having merit., but the assumption, presumjjtion, and imposition of small-sized dealers in ore, and experimenters jn furnaces, havi! well-nigh settled it for the pres(!nt season. Another year, I trust, this district will recoivo the aid of more practical, intelligent, and finan- cially competent men. According to the late census, Elko Countj' has 3,147 inhabitants, 439 of which are Chinese. WHITE PINE COUNTY. White Pine district. — Mr. Arnold Hague, a brother of Professor J. D. Hague, contributes to the volume ou Mining Industry of the lieport of the United States Geological E.xploration of the Fortieth Parallel, a chapter on the geology of the White Pine district, which is highly inter- esting and valuable as the lirst careful and complete account luruished of the subject. The substance of Mr. Hague's conclusions will be here given. The Wiiite Pine Mountains are a southerly continuation of the Hum- boldt chain, though between White Pine and the Humboldt lliver there- is an interval of depression, where the range sinks to low and insignid- caut limestone folds or ridges. For a hundretl miles south of the river, however, the lino of rugged peaks rises 5,000 or 0,000 feet above the plain ; and at White Pine there is another culmination in Pogonip Peak, while six miles farther south tlio mountains are quite low again. The White Pino district, twelve miles square, with Treasure Hill as a central point, lies therefore in a sonu'what isolated mountain group. This group is divided into three north and south ridges, measuring iu width between the two outer crests about live and a half miles. These ridges are, lirst, Pogonip llidgc on the west ; secondly, the middle ridge, comprising Treas- ure Hill, the I5ase Metal Uange, and the Blue Ridge ; thirdly, Mokomoke, on the east. The highest peak, Pogonip Mountain, is 10,792 feet abovo CONDITION OF MINING INDUSTRY— NEVADA. 153 soa-levcl ; Telesiaj)!! Peak, on Treasure Tlill, is 9,228 feet ; Treasure City, 8,980 feet; Ilaiiiiltoii, 8,003 feet; ami Mokoiiioke, 9,239 ieet. Po^onip liidge trends nearly north and south. The eastern slope pre- sents a payish-hlue limestone, striking with the trend of the vidge, and dipping 22° to 25° eastward. But few and imperfect fossils have been fouudin it, presenting forms allied to those of Treasure U ill. Jlokomoko likewise presents a simple geological structure, the rocks being perfectly conformable, trending nortli and south with the ridge, and dii)ping 22° east, except in that i)art above the saddle connecting with Treasure Hill, where the rocks (sandstone and limestone) are considerably distorted. Between Pogonip and Mokonioke is the middle ridge, which is at once the nu)st complicated in its geological features and the most imi)ortant from its mineral wealth. It i)resents in structure, iirst, a v/ell marked anticlinal fold, the axis of which has a general north and south direc- tion ; and, secondly, a transverse fracture and displacement, which extends across tluu'idge at the southern end of Treasure llill. The axis of the anticlinal forms the canon between the Base Metal Eange and the Blue Ridge; then, bending around the north end of Tel- egraph Peak, continues along the east slope of Q'reasure Uill, 500 I'eet below the summit, through Pocotillo. This fold is in limestones, the western slope of which constitutes the west side of Treasure Hill ami the Base Metal Range, with the exce|)tiou of the caps of Telegraph Peak and the northern slo|)e of Babylon lilill, which present overlying shale and siliceous limestone. These westerly dipping beds form, with Pogonip l\idge. a synclinal fold. Treasure Hill is about one mile and a quarter in length, and, across Treasure Peak, one mile and three-quarters wide. On the north it de- scends steeply 975 feet to the town of IJamilton ; on the east, a preci])- itous wall, 400 feet in height, descends to Pocotillo. Bromide, Chloride, and Pogonij) Hats are floors of bedded limestone on the west slope, about 200 feet below the crest, the strata di])ping 7° to 10° westward. To- gether, they are a little over a quarter of a n)ile long by about 550 feet broad, and they terminate on the lower side in a cliff 150 to 200 leet high, below which the strata, much disturbed, strike to the bottom of Silver Canon. Pogonip Hat, t he southernmost of the three, terminates in a low escarp- ment, at the foot of which occurs the transverse fracture and displace- ment of strata already referred to. • It extends, nearly at right angles with the anticlinal axis, entirely across the ridge, contains the Eber- hard deposit, and has given rise to two small cross-canons. South of this i'racture the formation is much broken uj) by local displacements and sharp folds. Nowhere in the district do the beds underlying the limestone cro]) out. The thickness of the formation therefore cauuot be determined, but there are at least 1,500 feet of it exposed. The uppermost beds are highly fossiliferous, and belong without doubt to the Devonian i)eriod. The liTuestone is bluish-gray, har