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Page: of 428
370 MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS ‘(December 12, 1874.
Bringing Water to the Mine—Heavy Hydraulic Mining Operations.
The work of hringing water to the mines on
Dutch hill, Plnmas connty, is nearly completed. The Plumas National gives a detailed description of the undertaking, from which we
extract as follows:
A psrty of gentlemen, composed chiefly of
Sacramento ‘capitalists, having purchased the
mines near the North Fork of Feather river,
and lying about six miles south of the Big
Mesdows in this county, known as the Dutch
Hill, Barker's Hill, Cummings’ Hill, aud Ow]
Hill mines, incorporated uuder the name of the
North Fork Mining company, with a capital of
half a million, consisting of 20,000 shares at
$25 per share, for the purpose of working the
Same. These mines had long heen known as
among the richest iu Plumas county, but situated as they were on an isolated point, ata
grest altitude, it was deemed impracticable,
and by some impossible, to bring water upon
the ground; hut this company, knowing thst
the quality of their ground would justify an
immense outlay, had surveys made, and upon
those snrveys have constiucted ditches and laid
a Jiueof pipe, and in ten days from the present
writing will see at least 2,000 inches of water
upon their clains.
The water privilege of the North Fork Mining Co. is allthe waters of Rice’s creek, flowing throngh Rice Creek Mesdows. This water
was purchased by the company from Henry C.
Wilson, Esq., of Tehama, who held the mesdows under a swamp land pstent issued by tbe
State of Californis. Rice creek heads under
the south side of Lassen’s Butte, snd is centinuously fed from melting snows, and is the extreme westerly brsnch of the North Fork of
the Feather river. It contains at its very lowest stsge shout 3,000 inches of water (miners’
Measnrement) thus sffording a never failing
supply. :
Surveys demonstrated only -one practicable
route for the wster, viz: crossing the ridge into
Tebama county, thence carrying the ditch on
the south side of the point or ridge dividing
Butte creek from the.Big Meadows. This could
only be done by means of a tunnel 1,150 feet
long, starting snfticiently low to tap sll the waters of Rice Creek Meadows. The contract for
building this tunnel was let to Angus Mcintyre, of Indian valley, for $8 per foct, the
work to be completed by the first of December.
To finish this work within the time specified,
it was necessary to sink two shafts on the same
line, aud between esch end of the tunnel, thus
affording a cbance for six gangs of mento work
at the same time, one setof men at each end
and two sets in each shaft, working in opposite
directions: and even with this force it required
the best mansgement on the part of the contrsctor to hreak ground 1,159 feet within the
prescribed time, The tunnel is now completed
and the work init reflects great credit upon
Mr, McIntyre and his assistants, This tunnel
is six and a half feet in hight, 5 feet wide, and
has a grsde irom one end to the other of 40
inches. It is capsbie of csrrying all the waters
of Rice creek, in ordinary seasous.
‘The water, after psssing through this tunnel
will descend about 100 feet, and empty iuto a
lake in Tehams connty known es Tule lake,
the surface of which in an ordinary stage of
water, covers an area of about 160 acres and is
about ten feet deep in the deepest part.
This lake the compsny proposes to use asa
reservoir or feeder for their ditch. The water
is conducted from Tole lake through a cut in
solid lava 660 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 11 feet
deep at the deepest point. Of tbe cost of this
cut we are not informed, but being asitis in
solid lava rock, can have amounted to no small
som. From this cut the water is conyeyed in
a flume built on a solid lava foundation, a distance of 924 feet, whereit is taken up by the
ditch which extends a distance of 15 miles to
the head of the pipe. The first six miles of this
Seotion of the ditch is on the western slope of
the divide ridge between tho waters of the
North Fork and West Branch of Feather river,
the summit of which coustitutes the county line
between Plumas and Tehama, and which ceases
to be a defined ridge at what is known as Deer
Creek Pass, on the divide between Butte snd
Deer Creeks. At six miles the ditch crosses
the ridge into Plumas couuty aud follows the
side hilltoa point ou the Stover mountain,
overlooking the Big Meadows. With the exception of ahout two anda half miles at the
head of this sectiou ditch the line is in granite
rook, which rendered blasting necessary on
nearly the whole line, Ou this work one of
DeVolson Wood’s steam drills was used, which
proved a decided improvement on hand work,
doing the work of six men and sinking a hole
in hard granite rock at the rate of 22 inchesin
81x minutes. On this section of the ditch both
white men and Chinamen were employed, the
Chinamen gigging and the white men hlacting
and trimming up the ditch,
The line of pipe connecting with the ditch ie
a few feet over eight milee in length, and heads
at the Stover mountain, passing in an almost
Girect line to the mountain just north of the
upper end of Butte valley. It has a pressure of
one hundred and fifty feet, and at a distsnce of
five miles from the hesd bas a depreseion of
500 feet measured from a grade line. The pipo
is made from the hest Pennsylvania iron, and
was manufactured in Pittshurg for this particular work, and. over 600 tons have been used in
its construction. The contract for making and
laying the pipe wss let by the company to E.
C. Ross & Co. (Ross, Ragan & Bsrbour} of
Marysville, who erected works on the line for
its msnufacture, and itis claimed by them that
they had in their employ some of the best
pipe makers in the State, and from a, critical
examination of their work we do not doubt the
truth of their assertion.
The most indefatigable energy snd perseverance has been displayed by the chief head ou
this work, in its prosecntion to an early completion. The whole of the iron used in making
the pipe was shipped from Pittsburg by cars to
Omana, thence by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific roads to Chico, thence freighted to
Pipetown, where it was manufactured into
pipe. As an instance of what can snd what
has been done in these days of fast freight and .
machinery, hy energy snd perseverance such as
has been displeyed by this enterprise, we are
ciedibly informed that some of the material
used in the manufacture of the pipe was taken
from the mines in Pennsylvania, made by the
Pittsburg foundaries into iron and rolled into
sheets, transported scross the continent to
Chico, and thence hauled hy freight tesms to
Pipetown a distsnce of 70 miles, manufactured
into pipe and laid in the ground in its proper
place, all within 60 dsys.
From the discharge of the North Fork Mining compsny’s pipe a ditch is carried adistance
of six miles on the face of the ridge sloping towards Butte valley,the contract for the building
of which was let to Ah Shune, of Silver creek,
in this county. This enterprising Mongolian
has completed his work, and in such a manner
8s would reflect credit on a msster workman of
the more favored race. This ditch is six feet
wide on the top, and has a uniform depth of
three feet. Atsix miles from the discharge of
the pipe the ridge dividing Clear creek from
Butte valley is crossed hy mesns of a tunnel,
835 feet in length, snd 200 feet helow the apex
ofthe hill. This tonnel has been rnn under
coutract, by McIntyre & Young, and the work
superintended by Mr. John Young, one of the
parties to the contract. Hard bed-rock was encountered almost from the very commencement,
necessitsting blasting nearly the whole length
of the tunnel. From the tunnel an old ditch,
known as the Ohio creek ditch, is resched hy a
new ditch one snd one-fourth miles in length.
This was also built by Chinamen, and the old
Ohio creek ditch, whith runs to the Dutch hill
mines has been enlarged to the capacity of the
new ditch leading to it.
To complete the 2514 miles of ditch and 8
miles of pipe, a large force of men has been
employed during the whole summer. The
Management ofthe work on tbe pipe has been
under the supervision of Mr. Ragan. That of
the ditch has been solely under the coutrol of
Mr. Myron Wagner, who is also superintendent ot the works at the’ mines, and too much
cannot be said in the praise of this gentleman
ferthe manner in whioh he has conducted the
work.
Rerractory Ores Worsep Successruniy.—
Mines were discovered in Flint district, Idaho,
says the Silver State, several years ago, which
at the time created considerable excitement and
attracted a great msny prospectors and considerable capital. A quartz mill which, it is said,
cost $140,000, was built in the district. After
numerous trials, all of which proved unsuccessful, the mill was taken down and the machinery sold to different partics. A large lot
of it, brought to this county hy returning freight
teams, found a market iu Unionville. This
Jed to the abandonment of the district. Since
then another trial has been made, which bids
fair to prove successful. The ores of Flint
district, as its name implies, consist of hard
flinty quartz, carrying a large percentage of
base metal. They are very refractory, snd cannot be worked by ordinary mill process, as has
been proved by experience. Yesterday abont
four tons of this refractory ore were bronght to
the Humboldt reduction works to test the effiescy of the roasting process in reducing and
amalgamating it. Lot No. 1, containing 1,851
pounds, was sampled, andit assayed $400 per
ton. Lot No. 2, containiug 6,078 pouuds,
assayed $350 per ton. No difficulty was experienced in the treatment of either, and the
result snrprises the owners, who did not expect
to realize moro than $150 per ton from either
lot. As the experiment has proved successful,
large quantities of ore from Flint will be
brought to the Humboldt reduction works, snd
the district will again «attract the attention of
mining men, this time, it is hoped, to work the
mines profitably and successfully. The ore is
from the Rising Star mine, ten miles south of
Silver City.
_ Rovemne rr at Panamrnt.—A letter containing the following items from Panamint was recently received hya gentleman at Reno, Nev.:
“There are more meu broke herethan at Reno,
There are about 800 men here, and it is very
cold; no lodgings. It is hard to stay here this
winter, but I cannot think of returning to Reuo
at present, as I think by remaining I will sucoeed. We are obliged to pay $1 for meals, and
poor at that. The mines are ell located.”
Tue Virtue mine, Oregon, turned out $8,000
recently, from 16 days’ run, with 16 stampe.
The Mineral Wealth of California and
Nevada.
Notwithstanding the incessant ‘‘ blowing,”
which has been kept np by the Pacific coest
press during the past quarter of a century, it
is safe to assert that no more than one in a
thousand of our Atlantic-side friends has
formed even an approximate conception of the
illimitable mineral wealth of California and
Nevada. Independent of the incalculable
wealth which yet remains unearthed in the
incompsrable gold and silver mines of the two
States, there are vast and innumerable deposits
of other useful minerals, which, without the
presence of gold and silver, are cspable of entiching an empire. Among the usefal minerals
which exist in limitless profusion and in
gigantic veins and massesin various portions
of Northern California and in Middle and
Western Nevsda, we may mention the grest
iron mine of Plumas county, California, which
Clarence King declared to be one of the
heaviest deposits of rich iron ore in the world.
Much of this ore is strongly msgnetic, and
experts assert that it will yield iron fully equal
to the best Swedish metal. Not fsr from the
great irou belt of Plumas there exists an enormous mass of black oxide of manganese, which
will yield from fifty to eighty per cent. of
oxygen. Close at hand there is a lsrge hill,
which contains a thick stratum of crystalized
quartz, admirably adapted to the manufacture
of fine glass, and we shall expect that at some
time in the near future, these deposits ot
oxygen and pure silex will be utilized in the
manufacture of plate glass. In Roop county,
Nevada, there is a body of land, prohahly four
or five miles in circumference, which is actually
covered over with a solid sheet of sulphate of
soda. This sods deposit lies immediately
under the surface soil. It varies in thickness
from eight inches to two feet, and when first
exposed to the light is as clear and pura as a
sheet of ice. A company of enterprisiug gentlemen have secured this valuable soda-bed,
and propose to utilize it in the manufacture of
carbonate of soda. In various portions of
hoth States are to be found extensive veius of
steatite, which is the best known substance for
the manufacture of fire-hricks. In view of the
fact that large quantities of fire-bricks sre
being annually shipped to this country from
Europe, and that the bricks sell for enormous
prices when delivered, it i? eimply amazing
that our steatite beds are not profitahly utilized.
In addition to the useful minerals already
mentioned, we have copper enough to supply
the world. We have native snlphur enough to
supply tophet for ages. We have zinc mines,
emery mines, ashestos mines, lead mines, antimony mines, cobalt mines. baryta mines, borax
mines, and heavy beds of lignite and bituminous
coal, Our marsh lands in many localities are
richly impregnsted with the alkaline salts, and
sometimes contain extensive beds of pure
chloride of sodium, Thus it msy be readily
seen that, notwithstanding the miraculous
richness of our mines of silver and gold, California and Nevads can boast of containing a
greater variety of the useful metals than can be
found in auy other equal area of the earth’s
surface.—Virginia City Enterprise, Nov, 25.
A Little Giant Railroad.
The business now being doue hy the Virginia
and Trnckee railroad is absolutely immense.
The average dsily shipment of ore over the road
is 1,100 tons. Beeides which there is constantly a.great rush of merchandise and other
freights of every description, Thusthe freights
received here and at Gold Hill alone, during
the twenty-four hours ending yesterday at noon,
were as follows: Wood, 29 car-loads; lumber,
21; merchandise, nine; ties, three; machiuery,
one; frnit, one; coal, two; potatoes, one; steel
rails, seven; iron, two. Total, 76 car-loads.
But for the excellent management and ‘‘eternal
vigilance’ of H. M. Yerington, general superintendent of the road, its busiuess would soon
fall into almost inextricable confusion. The
road is doiug several kinds of business at one
and the same time. It hss first to perform the
work for which it was specially coustructed,
namely, to carry supplies of ore from the mines
to all tbe mills at Silver City and on the Carson
river, and bring to the mines their supplies of
timbers, wood and lumber; but, in the meantime, it must bring all manner of machinery
for the mines and mills, haul all of the stone
coal used on tbe Comstock range, bring all the
goods of every kind required by our bnsiness
men, trsusport live stock for our butchers, and
fish, frnit, vegetables, and all kinds of perishablo articles for our family markets; oarry pasSengers snd the mails with all the regularity
and punctuality of the biggest railroad in the
Union, and hesides doing all this, must be able
to furnish excursion trains as often as required,
and often at very short notice. All this is
done, however, and what seems to the mere
looker-on confusion of the wildest kind, all is
system of the most perfect and admirable description. All of the whistling and snorting,
pufiing and blowing, backing and filling, and
charging to and fro on side tracks, means bnsiness, andinthe whole there is design,— Virginia Enterprise.
Tue silver bullion shipments of Professor N.
P, Hill, agent for the Boston & Colorado
Smelting company, during the week ending
November 14th, 1874, consist of 15 bars ot
which the eggregate coin value ie $20,219.74,
or a little over $28,300 currenoy value,
New Discoveries in Inyo County.
We hsve the pleasure to record, says the
Inyo Independent, what from all eccounts is
likely to prove the most valuable snd important
miniug discovery ever made in the county.
Indeed Judge Hanson of this place, one of the
lucky ones, (and whose judgment is to be
relied upon, since he is well acqnainted with
slmost every mine in the county,) thinks the
prospect the most flattering ever seen on this
coast. It is a discovery made about two weeks
sines by Willism and Rohert Brown, brothers,
iu Coso district, about ten miles northesst of
the old Coso camp or town. It consists of
huge veins or deposits of carhonate lesd ore,
rich in silver, and of the very best smelting
class, as has heen demonstrated by actual trial.
In amount, so far as surface indicstions can
prove the fact, the ore is simply inexhaustible,
The Judge insists upon it that he is not in the
least excited, end yet at the same time feels
perfectly assured that in less thsn twelve
months from date this new camp will eclipse
in the amount of rich bullion it will turn out
every other smelting district in this or any
other State; snd, from what he-says of it, we
think it extremely prohable. The cre, by several assiys msde at Cerro Gordo and Swansea,
yields on the average over seventy onnces in
silver and over fifty per cent. lead. The two
principal veins are over twenty feet wide, of
solid ore. The formation is soft limestone
and porphyry, nearly as soft as tbe ore itself,
owing to which fsct the country rock has worn
away as fast at the ledges or vein mutter leaving
the latter exposed, when otherwise the more
rapid oxidation of the lead contained would
have caused the ores in the lapse of yesrs to
sink out of sight. Geologically the conditions
could not be more favorable, hoth for permanency and ease of working; tsngibly the ore in
unlimited quantity is there, plain to be seen,
and however extravagant the Jndge’s opinion
may Sppear to he, we fnlly believe from his
account and onr faith in his truthfnlness, that
his anticipatione will, sooner or later, be fnlly
realized, snd that this discovery is, in point of
fact, the most valuable one yet made in this
county. But taking things as they are, material for active work is being sent out as rapidly
as possible, the district has been dnly orgsnized, its bonndaries defined, a set of laws
adopted, numerous locations have been made
end recorded, and now all who ohoose esn go
and see for themselves, and find mines for
themselves. It is not at sll probable the claims
have been taken, for as yet it does not appesr
that over a dozen persons have ever beeu in
this camp, notwithstanding it forms a portion
of the old, by name, well known Coso district.
Specimens of the ore cau he seen at this office.
We cannot at this issue attempt a minute description or sccount of the ledges or district,
but shall do so soon. The district is less than
thirty miles south of Cerro Gordo, and fnll as
easy of access, being only six miles esst of the
Panamint road. Plenty of wood and water is
found within available distances, and altogether
the uew Cosa is very favorably located, and on
its own merits is going to be the csmp of all.
Chrome Iron.
One thing is demonstrated beyond question,
that there are immense deposits of chrome iron
in Sonoms county. -It is now being shipped
Esst, and we are informed nets only $1.50 4
ton. At tbe manufsctory it is worth from $40
to $60 a ton. Here is a msrgin for profit.
Chromium is oxtracted from chrome iron stone,
named from its tendency to impsrt usetnl and
beautiful colors. Chromium componnds are
used in photography in printing and in dyeing.
The brilliant green color used on legal tender
notes is a chromic oxide. The same pigmentis
used in stéining glsss and painting porcelain.
The base of all its combinstions is the common
yellow chrome of commerce. One of its combinations, a chromic chloride, is said to possess
virtue as a remedy for cancer. Witter springs
in Lske county may owe its peculiar virtue in
caucer to this ingredient in its waters, as it is
surrrounded by deposits of chrome iron. =
Chromium steel is msde by combining five
per ceut, of chromium with cast iron, On account of its excessive hardness it 1s used in the
consirnection of safes. It has also great tensile
strength and is extensively used in the construction of suspension bridges.
We haye vast deposits of this valnable metsl
in Sonoma end the day must come when it will
be utilized and made a source of profit and
revenue. In the United States the only chrome
iron mines worked are in Maryland near Baltimore.—Sonoma Democrat,
New Mines.—W. R. Mitchell, an old resident
of Paradise valley, says the Silver State, discovered a few weeks ago some fioat quartz on the
east side of the West Paradise range, between
Provo and Woodman, He hsda sample of tbe
flost assayed, and found that it contained $13
iu silver and $6 in gold. Last week he went
to tracing the float, and succeeded in finding
large-sized ledge, or rather @ series of ledges &
few feet apart. He showed us a specimen of
ore taken from one of them which he thinks
will assay $100 per ton in silver. It has long
been believed that the West Paradise range
contained valuable mines, as some stock herders found ore westof Willow Point Station several yeale ago, which was represented ae being
very richin silver, Prohably Mr. Mitchell’e
discovery wlll induce others to Prospes} the
range, and Jead to important mining discover
ies in that vicinity,
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