Volume 11 (1865) (424 pages)

The Mining and Srientific Press. 183 Mining and Scientific Press. No Hee Sib). s <0 pee ciesecs Sxstom Epiror, Cc. we mM. sMiTH. DIWEY & CoO, Publishers. w, B. KWAK, a4. T. DEWALT, Drrica—No. 508 Clay street, curner of S.cusaue, Ui floor. Terms of Subsacripttons Duc cops, per anni, In alvance,. ie copy, lx tithe, le advance . #27 Fur sale by Carriers aid New elealers. 2a Fe te Tmpessltsle for editors to know att lhe merle ud demerits ol their correspondence, consequently the ewlor must not recelve the opiteadae of our coutribtlorr dotrown. lutelllsent dlcusion ds lavited pon all sldes od the evidences of any error whleh may aiqiear WH be re elved In Mlendship onl treated with respect. —— Amertenn und Foretyn Pateate,—Letters Palent For Inventors can be reciirel lui the United Stites and torelgu countries through the Mixes asp Scuiatirie Uxetsa Wateat Acascy, Wr offer npullcante rensonable terms, abd ihiey Pau resi aanared of a strict compliance with ose obligalions, bod wfalthifal performance nf nil contracts. For relerence, Wow tlurnish (be names ef wijuerons yoarifes for witow wehave ubtained patents during the pnst lwo years, Favoruble to Inveators.—lcrsons holdiug new loYcntions of machinery and lmpertant huprovements, can have the dame tusirated and explained Inthe Mining aND Scimsyiri Mexsa, free ot charee, lin our judgment the Hiscovery le one of real merit, aud of sutticiout luleresttu bur readers ty warrant puldlention. Payment tn Advance.---This paper wll not be sent osubscribers bevond the terinpald for, The publishers nyell know that a good Journal cautot be sustalued ou the credit svyslem. San Francisco: Saturday Morning, Sept. 23, 1865. SODIUM AMALGAM. We have declined to’give place in our colmmns to any of tho various paragraphs, which have of Inte been going the rounds of the press ot this State in reference to the newly discovered use of sodium amalgam, as an aid to the working of auriferous and argentiferous sclphurets, and to the amalgamation of the free precious metals, for the reason that nearly all which has yet appeared on the subject is quite erude and unintelligible, and much of which is manifestly in direct conflict with well known chemical science. An claborate eerics of experiments is now in progross in this city, under the direction of eempeteut persons, with the view of ascertaining, by practical operations, the actual effect which is produccd by the use of this amalgam ia the working of the various ores. and its chemical affinities in relation to their principal constituents. So soon ‘Jas these experiments are completed, the result will be made knowa througb the eolumas of the Mixinc anp Scientiric Press. In the mean time proper furnaees are being constructed for the manufacture of the metal, at ‘. the laboratory of Dr. Lansaweert,-on Silver street, in this eity ; for enough is already kuown to give it a valuc in this market, and to insure its introductiou on a scale of greater or less magnitude into amalgamtion for both gold and silver. The proprietors of this paper will be prepared in a few days to furnish the fullest information obtainable as to its use, priee, ete. We are also prepared to reeeive (if seut free of transportation) small samples of ore—from one to tweaty-five pounds—as a fair average, and give the same a thorough working test, and therefrom furnish, at a mere nominal cost, the necessary information to enable parties interested, to work their ores suceessfully on a large seale, by the use of this newly applied agent. We have uudertaken this work with speeial reference to the lurtheranee ot the mining interest generally, hy the intelligent introduetion of this new and important agent into the amalgamating room. Inprovep Saw Mity.—The San Franciseo Foundry are now huilding oae of J. Hendy’s improved douhle circular eaw mills, including a gang of eirculars, for Trinidad, Humboldt couuty, California, The lumher to he sawed by thie mill ie intended for the San Francisco market. o . Tue New Marcu Factory reeeutly established at Marysville, by Messre. Smiley & Simmons, is now ready to eupply orders promptly from all parts of Northern California. The. proprietors have had much experience in thei business. vf from dang -r. MINING ACCIDENTS. Vhere is probally no business follo sed npan ‘land Hate to such a great sacrifice of hionan lif: by acchlents, as that of utintng. ‘This is trne even whenevery precaution is taku which human foresight ern empley. Heney the importunce that nothing, within the convenient reach of mining superintendents sbould le neglected to scenre tv the miner immunity Que of the most conimon ¢lass af accidents of which we hear, are those attenting the work about shafts, and the passago of the workmen up and down these thorouglifares to nnd from their daily labor. At the sume time, by the exercise of a little care and precaution, there is no cluss of accideuts which are so completely under the control of the superintendent. ‘The safety-eago and the safety-hook, ure within the reach of all; and we have never heard of a bucket disengaged from the rope where a safety-hook was employed, or any eerious accilent happening in a shaft which was fitted with an improved safetycago; yet scarcely a week passes without the loss of one or more livee, somewhere among cur mines on this coast, where these precantions are not employed. So important is the employment of these safeguards considered in Kngland, that their use, under certain circumstances, lias been made a matter of legislative requircinent. It would be well for onr own Inw-givers to consider the propriety of some similar cnactment for Culifornia and Oregon. “Employers have no right to trifle with, or needlessly endanger, the lives nnd limbs of their employees. We have been led to these remarks from reading the fullowing notice, where six lives werg alinost miraculously saved the past week, at Virgiuia City. We copy from the Enterprise : Last evening about six o’clock, at the ehange of ™ shifts” at the Imperial mine, Gold Hill, six men came up the main shaft on the cage, and on arriving at the surface stepped off, when almost instantly the cable parted and the cage was precipitated several hundred feet to the bottom of the ehaft and smashed to pieces. How the cable came to last till the cage with its living freight reached the surface. and then broke just as it was relieved of its load, is one of those wonderful occurreucee for which there is no accounting. Had the cable parted a moment sooner, the chances are that every man upou tbe cage would have heen killed. We are also reminded of an oeeurrence whieh took place in the same neighborhood, a short time since, in the Sierra Nevada mine, if we are not mistaken. A safety-cage is employed there, and on the oecasion alluded to it had been loaded very heavily with ore, and just as it reached the top of their deep ehaft the rope parted. The load was so very heavy, that the descent of the eage eould not be completely checked, even by the approved meaus employed, and it went to the bottom ; but at such a slow rate that everything was landed safe and sound ; nota holt was started or a timber broken.’ It is easy to imagine the erash and destruction which would have fol lowed if the safety-clutch had not heen attached to the eage. We again repeat, that 20 shaft of any eonsiderahle depth, should be without this safeguard to life and limb; and no shaft of any depth, not even a hand-windlass, should be employed without a safety-hook. There is a peenniary economy in their employment, even if no higher consideration is taken into accouat. ‘ Erouty Mines or “Fxeur.’—Mr. Morgan, Reeorder of Excelsior, has heen figuring, He says that sinee June, 1863, when the first loeations were made, there have been made eighty miles of locations on leads within the distriet, embraciug over 418,700 feet of ground. Exeelsior is a good eountry for “ feet.” Invention.—Thomas R. Laad of Graes Valley has invented an improvement on the hook used in holding cars, tubs or cages in their deseent into sbafts, which the WVatioxal pronounces a good thing. un degreo of Master of Arts has been voted to Senator Stewart, of Nevada, by Yale College. Patest Teeeeraru Resn—We would call especial attention an advertisement in obother colin under the head of * Patent Paper teel fur Telegraph Revister.” This ady rlisement has heen called ont by an editorial notice which appeared in the Misixe axv Serestime Press same three weeks” since, of an tivention bs Mr. LW. Worth, of Sonoma, of an apparatas for tho muro convenicut adjustment of the ribbon of paper empluyed in telegraph offices, on which the messnges are recorded by the instrument, and by which the ribbon may be readily passed und repassed through the instrument. Mr. McGann, of this city, claims to have already obtuined a patent for the same invention, for which Mr. Worth has applied for a patent. Without expressing any opiuion as to the conflicting claim set up, we have no hesitation in saying that tho improvenicut isa very important oue, and onc which must uudoubtedly find its way into telegraph offices generally. ae Inédx Suettino 1n Cororapo.—According to tho Denver News, the business of irou smelting may uow be said to be fairly inaugurated in Colorado. It appears that the Belmont furnace is in operation near Denver, and is turning out two tons of pig iron per day‘he ores used are pronounced by competent jndges to be the best in the world, and are excelled in richness only by the Pilot Knob and Lake Superior ores; but possces an advantage over these in the fact that they can be easier and more economically worked. he supply of ore isdeemed inexhaustible and is easily obtained, one man heing able to mine three tons of it in a day. tu A New Veceraste.—tTle Esineralda Union has been furnished with some specimens of “tapoos,” which, it says, is the name given by the Indians of Owens River Valley to a rich grass root which, grows abundantly in that section, and whicb they gather to subsist upon in winter as they gatber pine nuts for the same purpose. ‘I'he root or bulb, when divested of the chaff surrounding it, is about the size of a large pea, is of a dark brown color, and hasa rich, pleasant taste, similar to that of a hazelnut theugh much sweeter. In its present wild state itis far superior to many of our favorite garden vegetables of the pea and beau kind. AspHattum Discovery in Virernta.—A large deposit of what is probably asphaltum. bas been diseovered in West Virginia, about ten miles from Cairo, and thirty-one east of Parkersburg, Wa. Aceording to the aceount before as, it “lays in a stratified form, and the vein is from 55 inches deep, to 250 feet tliek. So far as traced, the lode is about a mile in length”—a very lucid deseription truly. CbhemCacnotoxe.—This mineral, according to the stockton Independent, has been found by C. 1). Gibbes, in Lis “opal mine,” which be is now working in tho coast range of mountains. According to the report belure us, we should jndge that it wae fonnd unnsuilly massive, as it is described as occurring in veins [masses ?] three or fonr feet wide. ‘he editor of the Zndependent has seen a beautiful specimen of this vock, highly polished, und speaks of it as occurring sufliciently utassive Tor table-tops, cte. Cucbolong isa variety of the opal, and, like that mineral. is of volcanic origin, resulting chiefly from molten silex. It is nearly epaqne, of a porcelain or bluish white color. It has heretofore been chiefly found on tho river Cach, in Bucharia. It consists of from 95(@.96 per cent. ol silex, with 3.47 of water of chrystalization. It usually contnins from 0.2(@0.7 per cent. cach of sodium, potussium, carbon, manganese, and alumina. It is to these minerals that it owes its color. A Great Natural Curiosity. The Jacksonville, Oregon, Sentinel describes a remarkable natural curiosity, known as the Creat Sunken Lake, and situated in the Cascade mountains, about seventy-five miles northcast Irom Jacksonville. This lake rivals the famous valley of Sinbad the Sailor. It is thought to average 2,000 feet down to the water all round. ‘I'he walls aro almost perpendicular, running down into the water and leaving no bexch. ‘Vhe depth ol the water is unknown, and its surface is smooth and unrufiled, as it lies so fur below the snliee of the mountain that the currents of air do not affect it. Its length is estimnted at twelve miles, and its width at ten. There is an island in its centre, having trees apon it. No living man has ever been able, nor probably ever will be. to reach the water’s edgo. It iies silent, still and mysterious in tbe bosom of the “ everlasting hills,” like a huge well scooped out by the hands ol the giant genii of the mountaina, in the unknowa ages gone by, and around it the primeval forests watch and ward are keepne. ‘The visiting party fired a rifle several times into the water, atan augle of forty-five degrees, and were able to note several seconds of time from the report of the gun until the ball struck tbe water. Suchseems incredible but is vouched for by some of our most reliable citizens. The lake is certainly a most remarkahle curiosity. Tur breaking out of the cholera, which is now raging in Kgypt, is owing to the pernicious vapors from Mouut Araphat since the fetes of the Courban Bairam. ‘Thonsands of sheep are sacrificed during the eelebration of these ceremonies. ‘The sultan Abdul-Medjid had founded an endowment of 40,000 piastres, to be spent annually for the iuterment of the remains and offal of the saerificed beasts, which created so fearful an amount of malaria. On this last occasion it appears that the 40,000 piastres have beeu duly paid to the contractor for this business, who has quietly pocketed the money and left the putrid mass of flesb to engender disease and destruction over the world. ical aualysis sbows it to be “solidified petrolenm, ebrystalized upon the outside of the vein, and granulated inside.” It bas heen found “ possible to distil from the substance a pure oil, at tbe rate of 160 to 170 gallons to the ton.” Lanp Titnes 1n tHe Punnsytvanta O1n Recrons.—It appears that our Pennsylvania bretbren are beginning to be troubled with vexatious lawsuits. In consequence of tbe loose manner in which husiness was transacted pertaiuing to the transfer of real estate in Venanga County, Pa., when tbe lands were of little value, there has, now that the oil region has beeome so valuable, arisea great emharrassmonts to the validity of titles. Real estate litigation is rapidly inereasiag, and millions of property are in dispute. te ot ie Ric Mive.—We nuderstand that one of the leading quartz mines in Grass Valley, has dividod within a small fraction of one milliou of dollars, within the past three yeare. ‘f'bis is pretty good for a eompany in whieh there are only four stockholders. Tur New York poliee picked up over ten tbousaad lost children last year. -All hut two. hundred and eleven were reclaimed, and these were turned over to the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections. A Coxciomerats Snake.—The latest snak story is told, in good faith, hy the Springfield (Mass ) Republican, of a reptile recently found at Lee. It wasnearly four feet in length, about the sizeof a man’s finger,and shaped like a whip-lash ; and ona close examination the whole body was found to be composed of small worms about half an inch in length, with large ‘black head and semi-trausparent body. On separatiag them into fragments they would immediately reform into the snake shape and erawl, slowly off. Que or two other similar snakes bave reccntly been seen iu that vieinity. It is to be hoped that they will remain there. Horses Frepixe oxs Axotuxr.—M. de Bousanelle, eaptain of eavalry, inthe regiment of Beauvillers, relates in bis Military Observations, “That an old horse of his company, that was very fine and full of mettle, had his teeth all of a suddeu so worn tbat -he conld not ebew his hayand eorn; and. that he was fed for two months, and would Have been so, had he heen kept, by tivo borses. on ereh side of him, that eatin the same manger; that these two horses drew hay. from the same rack, which they chewod and afterwards threw belore him; they did the same with the oats, which they, ground very emall, and also pnt before bim. ‘his, added he, “ was observed and witnessed by a whole eompany of cavalry officers and men.” Nora single West Pointer _has yet heen pardoned by the President. Many of them are begging the boon of mercy, but their misdeeds are remembered against them and they are denied pardon.

The Mining and Srientific Press. 183 Mining and Scientific Press. No Hee Sib).. s <0 pee ciesecs Sxstom Epiror, Cc. we mM. sMiTH. DIWEY & CoO, Publishers. w, B. KWAK, a4. T. DEWALT, Drrica—No. 508 Clay street, curner of S.cusaue, Ui floor. Terms of Subsacripttons Duc cops, per anni, In alvance,. ie copy, lx tithe, le advance . #27 Fur sale by Carriers aid New elealers. 2a Fe te Tmpessltsle for editors to know att lhe merle ud demerits ol their correspondence, consequently the ewlor must not recelve the opiteadae of our coutribtlorr dotrown. lutelllsent dlcusion ds lavited pon all sldes od the evidences of any error whleh may aiqiear WH be re elved In Mlendship onl treated with respect. —— Amertenn und Foretyn Pateate,—Letters Palent For Inventors can be reciirel lui the United Stites and torelgu countries through the Mixes asp Scuiatirie Uxetsa Wateat Acascy, Wr offer npullcante rensonable terms, abd ihiey Pau resi aanared of a strict compliance with ose obligalions, bod wfalthifal performance nf nil contracts. For relerence, Wow tlurnish (be names ef wijuerons yoarifes for witow wehave ubtained patents during the pnst lwo years, Favoruble to Inveators.—lcrsons holdiug new loYcntions of machinery and lmpertant huprovements, can have the dame tusirated and explained Inthe Mining aND Scimsyiri Mexsa, free ot charee, lin our judgment the Hiscovery le one of real merit, aud of sutticiout luleresttu bur readers ty warrant puldlention. Payment tn Advance.---This paper wll not be sent osubscribers bevond the terinpald for, The publishers nyell know that a good Journal cautot be sustalued ou the credit svyslem. San Francisco: Saturday Morning, Sept. 23, 1865. SODIUM AMALGAM. We have declined to’give place in our colmmns to any of tho various paragraphs, which have of Inte been going the rounds of the press ot this State in reference to the newly discovered use of sodium amalgam, as an aid to the working of auriferous and argentiferous sclphurets, and to the amalgamation of the free precious metals, for the reason that nearly all which has yet appeared on the subject is quite erude and unintelligible, and much of which is manifestly in direct conflict with well known chemical science. An claborate eerics of experiments is now in progross in this city, under the direction of eempeteut persons, with the view of ascertaining, by practical operations, the actual effect which is produccd by the use of this amalgam ia the working of the various ores. and its chemical affinities in relation to their principal constituents. So soon ‘Jas these experiments are completed, the result will be made knowa througb the eolumas of the Mixinc anp Scientiric Press. In the mean time proper furnaees are being constructed for the manufacture of the metal, at ‘. the laboratory of Dr. Lansaweert,-on Silver street, in this eity ; for enough is already kuown to give it a valuc in this market, and to insure its introductiou on a scale of greater or less magnitude into amalgamtion for both gold and silver. The proprietors of this paper will be prepared in a few days to furnish the fullest information obtainable as to its use, priee, ete. We are also prepared to reeeive (if seut free of transportation) small samples of ore—from one to tweaty-five pounds—as a fair average, and give the same a thorough working test, and therefrom furnish, at a mere nominal cost, the necessary information to enable parties interested, to work their ores suceessfully on a large seale, by the use of this newly applied agent. We have uudertaken this work with speeial reference to the lurtheranee ot the mining interest generally, hy the intelligent introduetion of this new and important agent into the amalgamating room. Inprovep Saw Mity.—The San Franciseo Foundry are now huilding oae of J. Hendy’s improved douhle circular eaw mills, including a gang of eirculars, for Trinidad, Humboldt couuty, California, The lumher to he sawed by thie mill ie intended for the San Francisco market. o . Tue New Marcu Factory reeeutly established at Marysville, by Messre. Smiley & Simmons, is now ready to eupply orders promptly from all parts of Northern California. The. proprietors have had much experience in thei business. vf from dang -r. MINING ACCIDENTS. Vhere is probally no business follo sed npan ‘land Hate to such a great sacrifice of hionan lif: by acchlents, as that of utintng. ‘This is trne even whenevery precaution is taku which human foresight ern empley. Heney the importunce that nothing, within the convenient reach of mining superintendents sbould le neglected to scenre tv the miner immunity Que of the most conimon ¢lass af accidents of which we hear, are those attenting the work about shafts, and the passago of the workmen up and down these thorouglifares to nnd from their daily labor. At the sume time, by the exercise of a little care and precaution, there is no cluss of accideuts which are so completely under the control of the superintendent. ‘The safety-eago and the safety-hook, ure within the reach of all; and we have never heard of a bucket disengaged from the rope where a safety-hook was employed, or any eerious accilent happening in a shaft which was fitted with an improved safetycago; yet scarcely a week passes without the loss of one or more livee, somewhere among cur mines on this coast, where these precantions are not employed. So important is the employment of these safeguards considered in Kngland, that their use, under certain circumstances, lias been made a matter of legislative requircinent. It would be well for onr own Inw-givers to consider the propriety of some similar cnactment for Culifornia and Oregon. “Employers have no right to trifle with, or needlessly endanger, the lives nnd limbs of their employees. We have been led to these remarks from reading the fullowing notice, where six lives werg alinost miraculously saved the past week, at Virgiuia City. We copy from the Enterprise : Last evening about six o’clock, at the ehange of ™ shifts” at the Imperial mine, Gold Hill, six men came up the main shaft on the cage, and on arriving at the surface stepped off, when almost instantly the cable parted and the cage was precipitated several hundred feet to the bottom of the ehaft and smashed to pieces. How the cable came to last till the cage with its living freight reached the surface. and then broke just as it was relieved of its load, is one of those wonderful occurreucee for which there is no accounting. Had the cable parted a moment sooner, the chances are that every man upou tbe cage would have heen killed. We are also reminded of an oeeurrence whieh took place in the same neighborhood, a short time since, in the Sierra Nevada mine, if we are not mistaken. A safety-cage is employed there, and on the oecasion alluded to it had been loaded very heavily with ore, and just as it reached the top of their deep ehaft the rope parted. The load was so very heavy, that the descent of the eage eould not be completely checked, even by the approved meaus employed, and it went to the bottom ; but at such a slow rate that everything was landed safe and sound ; nota holt was started or a timber broken.’ It is easy to imagine the erash and destruction which would have fol lowed if the safety-clutch had not heen attached to the eage. We again repeat, that 20 shaft of any eonsiderahle depth, should be without this safeguard to life and limb; and no shaft of any depth, not even a hand-windlass, should be employed without a safety-hook. There is a peenniary economy in their employment, even if no higher consideration is taken into accouat. ‘ Erouty Mines or “Fxeur.’—Mr. Morgan, Reeorder of Excelsior, has heen figuring, He says that sinee June, 1863, when the first loeations were made, there have been made eighty miles of locations on leads within the distriet, embraciug over 418,700 feet of ground. Exeelsior is a good eountry for “ feet.” Invention.—Thomas R. Laad of Graes Valley has invented an improvement on the hook used in holding cars, tubs or cages in their deseent into sbafts, which the WVatioxal pronounces a good thing. un degreo of Master of Arts has been voted to Senator Stewart, of Nevada, by Yale College. Patest Teeeeraru Resn—We would call especial attention an advertisement in obother colin under the head of * Patent Paper teel fur Telegraph Revister.” This

ady rlisement has heen called ont by an editorial notice which appeared in the Misixe axv Serestime Press same three weeks” since, of an tivention bs Mr. LW. Worth, of Sonoma, of an apparatas for tho muro convenicut adjustment of the ribbon of paper empluyed in telegraph offices, on which the messnges are recorded by the instrument, and by which the ribbon may be readily passed und repassed through the instrument. Mr. McGann, of this city, claims to have already obtuined a patent for the same invention, for which Mr. Worth has applied for a patent. Without expressing any opiuion as to the conflicting claim set up, we have no hesitation in saying that tho improvenicut isa very important oue, and onc which must uudoubtedly find its way into telegraph offices generally. ae Inédx Suettino 1n Cororapo.—According to tho Denver News, the business of irou smelting may uow be said to be fairly inaugurated in Colorado. It appears that the Belmont furnace is in operation near Denver, and is turning out two tons of pig iron per day‘he ores used are pronounced by competent jndges to be the best in the world, and are excelled in richness only by the Pilot Knob and Lake Superior ores; but possces an advantage over these in the fact that they can be easier and more economically worked. he supply of ore isdeemed inexhaustible and is easily obtained, one man heing able to mine three tons of it in a day. tu A New Veceraste.—tTle Esineralda Union has been furnished with some specimens of “tapoos,” which, it says, is the name given by the Indians of Owens River Valley to a rich grass root which, grows abundantly in that section, and whicb they gather to subsist upon in winter as they gatber pine nuts for the same purpose. ‘I'he root or bulb, when divested of the chaff surrounding it, is about the size of a large pea, is of a dark brown color, and hasa rich, pleasant taste, similar to that of a hazelnut theugh much sweeter. In its present wild state itis far superior to many of our favorite garden vegetables of the pea and beau kind. AspHattum Discovery in Virernta.—A large deposit of what is probably asphaltum. bas been diseovered in West Virginia, about ten miles from Cairo, and thirty-one east of Parkersburg, Wa. Aceording to the aceount before as, it “lays in a stratified form, and the vein is from 55 inches deep, to 250 feet tliek. So far as traced, the lode is about a mile in length”—a very lucid deseription truly. CbhemCacnotoxe.—This mineral, according to the stockton Independent, has been found by C. 1). Gibbes, in Lis “opal mine,” which be is now working in tho coast range of mountains. According to the report belure us, we should jndge that it wae fonnd unnsuilly massive, as it is described as occurring in veins [masses ?] three or fonr feet wide. ‘he editor of the Zndependent has seen a beautiful specimen of this vock, highly polished, und speaks of it as occurring sufliciently utassive Tor table-tops, cte. Cucbolong isa variety of the opal, and, like that mineral. is of volcanic origin, resulting chiefly from molten silex. It is nearly epaqne, of a porcelain or bluish white color. It has heretofore been chiefly found on tho river Cach, in Bucharia. It consists of from 95(@.96 per cent. ol silex, with 3.47 of water of chrystalization. It usually contnins from 0.2(@0.7 per cent. cach of sodium, potussium, carbon, manganese, and alumina. It is to these minerals that it owes its color. A Great Natural Curiosity. The Jacksonville, Oregon, Sentinel describes a remarkable natural curiosity, known as the Creat Sunken Lake, and situated in the Cascade mountains, about seventy-five miles northcast Irom Jacksonville. This lake rivals the famous valley of Sinbad the Sailor. It is thought to average 2,000 feet down to the water all round. ‘I'he walls aro almost perpendicular, running down into the water and leaving no bexch. ‘Vhe depth ol the water is unknown, and its surface is smooth and unrufiled, as it lies so fur below the snliee of the mountain that the currents of air do not affect it. Its length is estimnted at twelve miles, and its width at ten. There is an island in its centre, having trees apon it. No living man has ever been able, nor probably ever will be. to reach the water’s edgo. It iies silent, still and mysterious in tbe bosom of the “ everlasting hills,” like a huge well scooped out by the hands ol the giant genii of the mountaina, in the unknowa ages gone by, and around it the primeval forests watch and ward are keepne. ‘The visiting party fired a rifle several times into the water, atan augle of forty-five degrees, and were able to note several seconds of time from the report of the gun until the ball struck tbe water. Suchseems incredible but is vouched for by some of our most reliable citizens. The lake is certainly a most remarkahle curiosity. Tur breaking out of the cholera, which is now raging in Kgypt, is owing to the pernicious vapors from Mouut Araphat since the fetes of the Courban Bairam. ‘Thonsands of sheep are sacrificed during the eelebration of these ceremonies. ‘The sultan Abdul-Medjid had founded an endowment of 40,000 piastres, to be spent annually for the iuterment of the remains and offal of the saerificed beasts, which created so fearful an amount of malaria. On this last occasion it appears that the 40,000 piastres have beeu duly paid to the contractor for this business, who has quietly pocketed the money and left the putrid mass of flesb to engender disease and destruction over the world. ical aualysis sbows it to be “solidified petrolenm, ebrystalized upon the outside of the vein, and granulated inside.” It bas heen found “ possible to distil from the substance a pure oil, at tbe rate of 160 to 170 gallons to the ton.” Lanp Titnes 1n tHe Punnsytvanta O1n Recrons.—It appears that our Pennsylvania bretbren are beginning to be troubled with vexatious lawsuits. In consequence of tbe loose manner in which husiness was transacted pertaiuing to the transfer of real estate in Venanga County, Pa., when tbe lands were of little value, there has, now that the oil region has beeome so valuable, arisea great emharrassmonts to the validity of titles. Real estate litigation is rapidly inereasiag, and millions of property are in dispute. te ot ie Ric Mive.—We nuderstand that one of the leading quartz mines in Grass Valley, has dividod within a small fraction of one milliou of dollars, within the past three yeare. ‘f'bis is pretty good for a eompany in whieh there are only four stockholders. Tur New York poliee picked up over ten tbousaad lost children last year. -All hut two. hundred and eleven were reclaimed, and these were turned over to the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections. A Coxciomerats Snake.—The latest snak story is told, in good faith, hy the Springfield (Mass ) Republican, of a reptile recently found at Lee. It wasnearly four feet in length, about the sizeof a man’s finger,and shaped like a whip-lash ; and ona close examination the whole body was found to be composed of small worms about half an inch in length, with large ‘black head and semi-trausparent body. On separatiag them into fragments they would immediately reform into the snake shape and erawl, slowly off. Que or two other similar snakes bave reccntly been seen iu that vieinity. It is to be hoped that they will remain there. Horses Frepixe oxs Axotuxr.—M. de Bousanelle, eaptain of eavalry, inthe regiment of Beauvillers, relates in bis Military Observations, “That an old horse of his company, that was very fine and full of mettle, had his teeth all of a suddeu so worn tbat -he conld not ebew his hayand eorn; and. that he was fed for two months, and would Have been so, had he heen kept, by tivo borses. on ereh side of him, that eatin the same manger; that these two horses drew hay. from the same rack, which they chewod and afterwards threw belore him; they did the same with the oats, which they, ground very emall, and also pnt before bim. ‘his, added he, “ was observed and witnessed by a whole eompany of cavalry officers and men.” Nora single West Pointer _has yet heen pardoned by the President. Many of them are begging the boon of mercy, but their misdeeds are remembered against them and they are denied pardon.