MINING IN CALIFORNIA.

Dunstan Times, Issue 236, 2 November 1866, Page 2

MINING IN CALIFORNIA.

The favourable views expressed in our last quarterly report upon the subject of mining in California, may be repeated at this time, inasmuch as the business has since in like manner continued to flourish ; even, undergone further improvement in some of its branches. At no time, perhaps, within the past ten or twelve years, has there been a period when this pursuit has proved more generally remunerative and satisfactory, than within the last six months, or when it has presented such gratifying evidences of future stability and success. The copious i-ains that had fallen in the earlier part of the season having been continued to a much later period *han common, has had the effec', not only -.- ■ ve the miner In many places from the y ci buying water, but'by atiording pro-

longed and unwonted facilities for placer wnrV ng, has greatly stimulated that branch oTthe business, and secured to it n^ r .u r 01 tbo , than had of uWCi k «'*™ ' te..andsmaller gulches, XtiKJ!* X ing labour, being now nearly worked n,,t „T' operations in this depSLTSvfbX W ferred to the deep, buried, and basin like flats" lull diggings, and higher benches or to tt gravel and ceinent ranges that mark the sites of lacustrine and glacial deposits, and the Te of ancient rivers, which promise to open up a system of placers far more lasting than "hose superficial formations which, though so mX reached, and once so prolific, are now nearly ex hausted. Into .this new field the bushes of mining, aided by capital and a long exerience is now being carried on with an energy and on a si e unexampled in its earlier history Into i « service water has been pressed to a much greater extent than fonnerly, being brought to btaron rts work through the agency of sluices, •other hydraulic gear, whereby its force can be ?nr .nVY y P effect For collecting and conducting this element to the points where required for use, reservoirs covering hundreds of acres of land, and anue ducts hundreds of miles in length have been Wt at a heavy outlay of labour and mon* tunnels, shafts, and open pits, without S have been dug, either for purposes of expl X or drainage or for bringing the auriferous earth when found, to the surface. Latterly, stainpi, c mills lor pushing the indurated § cement are being largely employed in Enuich of numng, and scarcely a month passes but we hear of some new agent or novel contrivance ■being-brought into use for expediting the labor or economising the cost of separating the fine gold from the worthless material in which it is embedded Even the more common elements - the ram frost, atmosphere, and heat of the sun areavailedofforfeis purpose, immense quantities of tailings after having been exposed for a yZ or two to these influences, often paying well tor washing over a second or third time. The „u °i ness of re-washing this refuse matter wil be earned on quite actively at a number, of po tote the present summer, owing to the unusual facilities for washing the same. T he dcoverv ™t£z el T meuto{ additio » ai ceme »t SSvel beds, tiie opening up of new basins by fedrock tunnels, the re-working of tailings and tt finding of fresh diggings St various points in some cases outs.de the limit of our original gold fields, indicate for this class of mining a Wd degree of prosperity the present year, fnd tend to show how very far our placers are from beto worked out, it indeed we have more than S begun to prospect them. That these cement ranges, though less easily explored, wiH eventually prove more permanent and productive than the supert.cial placers, is the opinion "four most intelligent geologists and miners" hence we find numerous projects-some of them oil very formidable character, and backed by ample means-have lately been set on toot for the pur pose of working such claims as had already "en reached, or pushing the work of exploration sti further into the subterranean goldfields These cement and gravel beds, though supposed tl exist in all parts of the gold bearingbeloCalf forma, have not been much.developed, except, the more northern and central port om „?th■ tier of mining counties. As yet, the system Ins been found more prevalent in Sierra .Cad" Placer, and Eldorado counties, where infer?' the most extended search has been made' Though similar ,n their geognostic situation he strata of gravel is thought to be the res 'it „? glaciaaction, and to be anterior in the period o their formation to the cement deposits the it ter being asenbed to fluvial action. These W. are reached at depths varying from,w J>urn feet beneath the surface ; ail from 1 to 0f S in some places even 20 feet thick, their horizon?-1 breadth varying from 100 to -000 or 3000 feet and in some cases more, the i-riv.-l , ,, 1 having a greater In a few places this substance is so soft «,H easily separated that the gold can be exacted from it by the action of water. The creator portion, however is so indurated and tenacious as to require crushing ,„ a battery, after which it is amalgamated and otherwise treated Ik. auriferous quartz. Much of it i 8 found to rich in free gold yielding a larger per centege of metal to ho ton than quartz, while it is much more easily raised and reduced. I„ okL« ?£„ gravel is found to he especially nth mX-* cart load, and occasionally a sinirle nan v; "V several ounces Taken and cement beds have heretofore proved a profit able class of digging,, single companies cleamW up after a month s run, thirty, forty an 1 /, as high as fifty thousand iollarT' The S annual product ot the Blue Gravel claim, Butte country, is 24,000 dols Sin he past few years several other companies in that vicinity have done nearlv as w«ll V-l,;i • other localities not a few have ben workedwith large profit Of late, this description of laim has greatly appreciated in value, some out partially developed and in other cases before being opened at all, selling for lamnmu«f money. One situated near posed of not long [since for the sum of 115 0< 0 dols the owner retmnnur an unassessablelonttenth interest there,,, More recently, several properties of this kind, lying near North Bloomfield Nevada county, were sold, according to report, the one tor 109,000 dols and ti,„ i+i for 200,000 dols. The purtks?™ J? fc grounds will at once proceed to open them in the most effectual manner. Two other com pan.es of large means have been organized within the past few weeks to carry on very extensive operations at another point on the' same lead which has recently been traced to a much greater ex cut than it was formerly supposed to exist \\ bile from some portions of this cement ™i gravel the gold, as before stated. Z be "x traeted by means of water alone, the Greater ar.t often the richer portion requiring the action of the stamps to set the metal free; ami although a good many mills designed for crushing and working it have already been put up, thci? number is t0 il be My m «lt»P«e<l hereafter JVhile the situation of things in the department ■of placer mining is progressive and promising we find the quartz mining interest of the State to be in a condition still more flourishing and | sattstaetory—the product of bullion from this j source being rapidly in the increase-while the practical difficulties that beset the business in Its earlier stages are being successfully vanquished. In fact, quartz mining in Californi* has now about passed the trying»and critical stage which every great industry is apt to encounter at the outset • It has had "its day of difficulty and failure, not to say of loss and disasterresults to he imputed to an utter ignorance of the business, coupled with over-sangtiiue expectations, and what at this day would seem an unaccountable misapprehension of the most obvious facts on the part of those charged with its conduct. The extent to which these pioneer quartz miners wore misled is well exemplified by the tact that "they practically adhered" to the tlieory that these veins would pay only n the top, and that they became impoverished as descended upon ; whereas supsequent experience proves the reverse to be &e rule " But not only m a want of knowledge and exoe rience, -and in the troubles inherent to the busi ness .itself were lodged the elements of defeat in the early day ; the prices of labour and material were then so much higher than at present as to almost necessarily prevent the working ol quartz on a large scale Machinery imported from abroad at heavy cost, was often found after it arrived at its destination in the far interior, to be so little a da-ted to the u es for which it had been designed 'as tol> wV" y wor+htess; and inthi3v.ay "v- : . ' erious in ■'■■

•the defective part. And thus this business strug;|[l :d on through the period of its early infancy, lor it can hardly yet be said to'have reached an adolescent state, however it may have succeeded "m forcing a recognition as a legitimate T/ursuit upon the best classes of business men by ph (-nig itself in the front rank of the leading industries of the world. Any one desirous of engaging in quartz mining has now the same means for calculating results as when embarking in the most ordinary kinds of business ; since it can scarcely be said to be attended with greater uncertainty or risk than merchandising, manufacturing, or even stock raising, fruit growing, and'farming. The cost of erecting and outfitting a! quartz mill can be computed beforehand with as much precision as the cost of a woollen factory, a tannery or a foundry, nor is there a much greater margin required in estimating the expense of openi ing and working a mine than in running one of these establishments. Even the average yield of a ledge can generally be arrived at with sufficient closeness for all practical purposes after it has been opened to a point that enables the expert to judge of its peculiar features and the predominating character of the ores. From what ever point of view, then, we may choose to look = at it, quartz milling and minint'seems a business when properly conducted, as! likely to prove remunerative and safe as any other open to human • enterprise—an opinion that even a casual glance at the operations now going on in different parts •of California will abundantly substantiate.— 'San Francisco Mercantile Gazette and Prices Current.' A Pair of would-be Suicides.—We have often read of lovers putting an end to their mutual troubles by leaving the world tpgether; but an instance of brotherly love—strong even unto death—occurred in Sandhurst recently -which we venture.to say isnlmost unparalleled.—Two devotees at the shrine of Bacchus—the one a horse-dealer when he has the means, the other in one of our sale yards, and who in the language of Burns had been " drunk for weeks the gither"—found themselves at the end of the week with the desire still strong on them, but without the means of gratifying it. Every imaginable plan for raising a* drop was tried in vain. Disgusted with their fellow-mon, and tired of associating with a set of people incapable of appreciating their worth, and from among whom a single nobbier could not be raised, they took sweet counsel together, and resolved to take vengeance on an ungrateful country by sacrificing their lives. They were sworn brothers ; they had been equallv injured, and they would die together. They resolved on suicide together. They resolved on suicide in ompany. - The mode of death was calmly dis<e ssed; cutting the carotid artery was deemed aisagreeable to survivors, and vulgar ; poison cost money, and they had not a fartbinp between them, so hanging was resolved on. They shook hands on tho bargain. The ostler procured a rein, and throwing it over a beam in the stables a noose was made at each end, which was left to hang the proper distance from the ground, and a barrel or box was got from which they were to throw themselves off, and they were to be found clasped in each other's arms. ostler ascended the fatal scaffold and offered to assist his companion up, but the horse-dealer saw some difficulty in their both swinging at one time, and suggested that the ostler should first take the leap, promising to follow after. Tho ostler was a little doubtful of his companion's good faith, but was assured that the bargain would be kept, and agreed to take the lead, threatening the dealer in hors - 'esh with all sorts of pains and penalties—temporal and future in .■hiding a haunted bed—if hs played false and failed to follow. As then was not to be a corpse dangling at each eid it was necessary to secure the rein to the b am. This the ostler did by fastening it with his handkerchief, and again shaking hands with the horse-dealer as a pledge of good faith he actually threw himself off. and was suspended fo • several seconds. Fortunately the fastening of the handkerchief loosened, and the madman fe'.l to the ground perfectly unconscious. The horse-dealer frightened or sobered sang out for ■-assistance, and the rope still tight about the n?ck was cut, and a little rubbing soon brought the dead to life. He evidently thought he had had enough of it, and the other must have ventured to dare a haunted pillow, for both slunk ■of without another attempt to put an end to their sorrows.— Bendigo Independent.