)Iocu In I i't No. 14. IITSENATE.] [SESSION OF 1856. R E P O R T REPORT ON THE GEOLOG Y OF NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, EMBRACING THE MINERAL ANI) AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF THOSE SECTIONS; WITH STATISTICS OF THE NORTIIERN, SOUTHERN AND MIDDLE MINES. BY DR. JOHN B. TRASK. JAMES ALLEN, STATE PRINTER. COMMUNICATION FROM STATE GEOLOGIST. SACRAMENTO, March 1, 1856. To His Excellency, J. NEELY JOHNSON, Governor of the State of California: MY DEAR SIR: Pursuant to an Act passed in May last, by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California, authorizing a further examination of the unexplored portions of this State, and relating to their geological peculiarities and economical adaptations, I have the honor through you to submit the following Report: Yours, etc., JOHN B. TRASK. COMMUNICATION FROM GOVERNOR EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, Sacramento, March 11, 1856. J To the Senate of California: I have the honor herewith to transmit the Fourth Annual Report of Dr. J. B. Trask, State Geologist. Respectfully, Your obdient Servant, J. NEELY JOHNSON. PREFACE. In the early part of June the tour for 1855 was entered upon, and continued uninterruptedly till the middle of January, 1856, comprising a period of nearly eight months of actual labor in the field. With the exception of eighteen days, during which time I lay sick at Shasta City with the malarious disease contracted in the Sacramento Valley in the discharge of my duties, I have been engaged in examining the mineral and agricultural capacities of those portions of the State over which my ooute led me, and noting their economical adaptations. The first part of the season was spent in the line of counties extending from Marin to the south part of Mendocino, and included between the coast and Sacramento River, and crossing the coast chain in a diagonal direction, across the south-east and east part of the County of Humboldt, again to the plains. Subsequent to this, my course was directed to the northern counties, through Shasta, a portion of Klamath and Siskiyou. On the Upper Trinity, the head waters of Salmon and Scott Rivers, much of my time was spent in exploring the tolerably rugged mountains of this part of the State. The Salmon was axamined as far down as the junction of the forks, and the Scott River was followed from six miles above the-junction of the South Fork, down the main stream for twenty-five miles. After leaving the Scott River I passed down the Scott Valley, and over the low ridges which divide this from the Shasta and Yreka Plains, on to the town of Yreka. After leaving this locality I traveled through the valley of Shasta River and down that river to its junction with the Klamath. Leaving this stream at this point, on account of the difficulty of traveling along its course, I again struck it at two points below. During this part of the season the Indian troubles that existed in this part of the State, rendered traveling alone a dangerous undertaking, and as the season was considerably advanced, being then near the latter part of August, I retraced my steps, and reached the Sacramento in the early part of September. I then took up my route for the southern part of the State, and spent the months of October and November in those districts, as far south as the San Bernardino. Returning from thence, the balance of the season was spent in the mining portions of the State, the line traveled over extending from the branches of the Feather, through to Mariposa, at which time I closed my labors in the field. REPO R T. This Report will embrace a portion of the counties lying in the Coast Mountains, north of the Bay of San Francisco. The counties included extend from Marin to near the northern line of Siskiyou, including the following: Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, part of Mendocino and Humboldt, with portions of Shasta, Trinity, the east part of Klamath and Siskiyou. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. The above portion of the State is made up, for the most part, of mountain ridges having precipitous flanks, with deep, rugged, and in many cases, almost impassable canions. The ridges of the mountains preserve a great degree of parallelism for the greater part of their course, or until after passing the fortieth parallel of north latitude, when they become more rugged, elevated and confused, losing the peculiar characteristics noticeable in their more southern parts. Between these ridges lie more or less extended valleys at different elevations, some of which are of considerable magnitude and form the great agricultural regions of this portion of the State. Bounding these valleys are high, rolling hills, covered with the indigenous grasses and wild oats which furnish the grazing lands for the large herds that abound in this region. On the line, two or three large bays indent the coast, the more interesting of which is that of Tourales. The gap in the mountains which admits this bay, is about fifteein miles long, and from one to two miles in breadth; on the south-west point Tourales forms one side, extending in a south-west direction, and terminating finally in the high hills running northward from Touralpias, and on the opposite side, the high ridge which attains an elevation of about 1,400 feet as it approaches the hills in the vicinity of San Rafael. Between the two ridges, and near the bend of the bay, a lower gap occurs which readily admits the strong sea winds met so abruptly in passing up the straits leading from the Bay of San Francisco to that of San Pablo. This peculiarity will be noticed more at length in the following pages, as it will be found to exert a strong influence on the economical adaptations of the country within its range. From Tourales, northward, until arriving at Bodega, the country is made up of low mountains; and after passing this point the mountains assume a much more rugged and elevated character to Cape Mendocino, being but a succession of ridges and canlons all the way for that distance, with small and fertile valleys included. 2 10 Eastward from Fort Ross few persons have traveled, and fewer still will probably ever attempt to describe that portion of the mountain ridges; it is frequented only by the hunter, its rugged character rendering it unadapted to other uses. Between the western or ocean ridges and the first high ranges to the east, lies the extensive valley of Petaluma, the length of which, between its extremes proper, is forty miles, with a varying width from eight to fourteen miles. Separated from this by a range of hills is the valley of Russian River, an elevated fertile plain of about seventeen miles in extent, and which ceases at the great bend of that stream at the point where the river cainons, and in the vicinity of twenty-five miles fiom the coast. Near the head of Russian River, and between that stream and the waters of Clear Lake, stands the high truncated summit of Mount Helen; upon its summit, fastened to the solid rockl, is a plate of copper bearing a Russian inscription. North and west of the mountain extend a line of rugged, barren, volcanic peaks at a short distance from the edge of the valley which skirts the lake; and again, upon its north-west and northern end the same wild features abound. These mountains are covered, to a greater or less extent, with volcanic glass, most unmistakeable evidence of their recent origin. This lake, situated at a considerable elevation in these mountains, is not far from twenty-five miles in length, with a variable breadth of from one to seven or nine miles. The valley forming its shores is well timbered and possesses high productive capacities if properly tilled. This lake furnishes the principal water for Cache and Puta Creeks, which reaches the Sacramento through the tule marshes that border that stream to the south-east of where those streams emerge from the mountains. Traveling in a northerly direction from the north border of this sheet of water, you cross two ridges giving rise to several streams that flow into the Sacramento for forty miles beyond, when an oblique line of ridges commence, bearing a more westerly direction than those of the preceding portions of the mountains spoken of, and whose western flanks form the shed, furnishing the southern tributaries of the South Trinity and Lower Klamath with part of their waters, which are thus discharged directly into the Pacific Ocean. South of the preceding, there are several other streams furnished from these mountains, which discharge their waters at.various points along the line of the coast. From the head of Stone Creek I reached the valley sections of the Sacramento, and arriving at Shasta, again went over a portion of the route of the preceding year, to the base of that part of the Coast Mountains known as the Trinity Mountains, and crossed the latter from the waters of Clear Creek about eighteen miles above the point crossed in 1854. These mountains maintain an average hight for their entire length of nearly or quite four thousand feet and bear a westerly bend; the distance from base to base being about twelve miles. I have crossed this ridge at four different points, but never at a less distance than nine miles. They divide the waters of the Trinity and Clear Creeks; the one flowing into the Pacific by the Klamath, and the latter into the same ocean by the Sacramento. After crossing these mountains and the streams at their base, the route lies for the most part on or near the river. This portion of the stream is Steward's Fork, (improperly called the " North Fork," the North Fork proper being situated some thirty miles below Gibb's Ferry,) and may be followed with ease nearly to its sources, being fordable at short distances for its entire length. The ridge dividing the Trinity from the Salmon is an elevated, rough and rocky group of jagged peaks, having an average hight of about five thousand feet. On their southern slope there is nothing of interest, but on the northern declivities there are to be found the local drift deposits, which are observable on the flanks of the Sierra Nevada. 11 The route usually followed leads to the east of these mountains at a di of eight miles, and up the canions of Steward's Fork to the base of' Mountain, which is but a spur of. the Salmon Mountains, and divides the of the Trinity, Salmon and Scott's Rivers at this particular point. The distance across the Scott's Mountain is about eight miles, thougl estimated much higher than this amount, from the difficulty of making i and the time required in consequence of the rocky character of the trail. Immediately on reaching the base of this mountain to the north, you en head of Scott's Valley near Callahan's Ranch. At this point the South of the Scott joins the main stream, which winds through this broad plain oi western side and its center, for twenty-eight miles, or to a point nearly opp Fort Jones. From there the stream assumes a more westerly turn and joins Klamath some forty miles from the above named point. At a short distance beyond the Fort the road down the valley turns short the right and follows this northerly course for about twenty miles all the way on the level of the plain. At this point a low mountain intervenes, which separates the Scott's Riyer Valley from that of the valley of the Shasta River lying to the east, and that of the smaller valley of Yreka about seven miles t the north of its base. The latter valley is but a branch of the valley of Shas River and has received its name from the building of the city near its center. Among the higher southern ridges of those mountains which divide the two large valleys above noted, the Shasta River has its rise, and not as has generally been supposed and stated, in the mountains of Shasta Peak. This mountain a' adjacent hills furnish the waters at the sources of the Sacramento on the sou east and west, and on its northern flank throws off two of the southern tribu ries of the Klamnath. I think that at least six-tenths of the waters derived frc Mount Shasta, find their way to the ocean by the Sacramento, and this mounta furnishes the principal, and in fact the sources of that stream. This, it will be seen, modifies our views much respecting the geographical fe tures and positions of this part of the State, and teaches us the fact that tl latter river belongs strictly to the Coast Mountains, and not to the. Sierra Nevad, as heretofore represented. I am thus particular in this respect, for the reason that so many palpabl errors have crept into our local geography, that the utmost disorder at presenm prevails, and thus far this matter seems governed by one general law, viz: the law of general confision only. After crossing the Shasta River, we find little else than rugged hills, until arriving at the Klamath, and here those hills assume, and pass into the range known as the Siskiyou Mountains, which continue nearly to the coast, the Klamath winding its course at their southern base. To speak of these mountains would be but a reiteration of what has been said of others belonging to the coast mountains, and it is unnecessary to say more relating to them until we come to consider their geological structure, and influences on the climate of the surrounding country. GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF COAST MOUNTAINS NORTH OF THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO. The geological structure of this portion of the State has been treated of to some extent, but there are additional points relating thereto that require some attention. The district of country from the northern shores of the Gate to the head of the Arroya San Antonio, have heretofore been treated of by others; that portion will therefore be'passed over in order to avoid repetition. Our present examination will commence near the head of the above arroya, and continue through those parts of the mountains not before noticed. 12 COUNTY OF SONOMA. the known character of the rocks, both primitive and sedimentary, that along the shores of our large bays, and from thence extend to some disnto the interior, it might at first be thought that an easy inference could wn of the character of the country to the north-west-having so many of mneral external feattires that appear in preceding districts-but such is not let, for soon after leaving the coast line of the bays, we enter a widely difit character of rocks from those found near them on the head of the San onio, the serpentine and other primitive rocks which are found from this at southward, cease. The country from thence northward, to the town of etaluma, assumes a new aspect, the rocks changing from the primitive groups.o tlose of recently volcanic origin. So far as my examinations extended, these latter did not in any case present the slightest trace of any one of the sedimen-;ary rocks, excepting the local drifts. The entire group which underlies this part of the country is of a basaltic charter exclusively, having in some cases the massive form, in others again the true lumnar structure. At the distance of about one mile westward of the town f Petaluma the latter characteristic may be conveniently examined, for at this point the basaltic columns are being quarried for the purpose of erecting buildigs at this flourishing place. At this locality the prisms are usually about six,t in length each, and regularly pentagonal in form, standing upright, and on Prism of equal diameter in breadth. This enables them to be thrown down sily, after which they are cut into sections of the required thickness, and used v the-purpose above named. This group of rocks extend in a westerly direction, to within three or four iles of the coast, but are not found upon the shore line, with the exception of ie instance, and this occurs about six miles south-east of Lopes Embarcadero, i Tomales Bay. In a northerly direction and among the high hills skirting the valley of Petauma, these rocks are traceable for thirty or forty miles, after which they give )lace to the primitive rocks again, which continue on the ridge fronting the coast for fifty miles further on towards Mendocino. To localize more particularly the boundaries of the volcanic rocks westward from Petaluma, it will be necessary to state, that near the crossing of the Estero Americano, on the Bodega Road, the first out-cross of the primitive series is found, surmounted by the same fossiliferous rocks as those of Monte Diablo. This is the first instance in which the latter rocks are met with on this line of travel. It is interesting to observe the regularity that presents itself in these particulars, for this deposit of marine fossils fixes the relative age of these distant points, and shows us more plainly their cotemporaneous origin. The primitive rocks and the fossiliferous group resting upon them are tilted to the west, and at the contact of the volcanic and primitive groups the most unmistakable evidences of change in structure is apparent. In view of these facts it may not be amiss in reasoning upon this subject, and in considering the relative ages of plutonic rocks, not to place too strong a stress on more isolated facts, which might lead us to suppose that a primitive group may be of more recent age than those of known modern deposits. The basaltic rocks of this district are clearly post-tertiary, but I am inclined to the belief that the statements made, of the primitive rocks of San Francisco being of that age, will admit of some argument, though I do not design to discuss that question in this place. From Tomales Point (which is of granite), southward, and from the same point 13 northward, the coast line of mountains to Fort Ross are of the same character, being made up of rocks of the granite series, imposed upon those of sedimentary origin. The latter class consists for the most part of a coarse conglomerate, at distant intervals with small beds of the coarse brown and yellowish s. incident to almost every other part of the coast line from one extreme of tL to the other. The latter beds contain marine mollusca in the fossil state, bu were observed in the conglomerates which lie superior to them. At Bodega i. several beds of these conglomerates are found; and the point forming the reef this place is of the same character. There is reason to believe that this conglomerate is auriferous; and subsequen, to my visit to these localities gold was found in small quantities among the debris of these rocks. At Point Tomales on the west shore of the bay, gold also abounds, but in small quantity. It is found about one mile from the northern end of th( point, near the settlements on that shore. Leaving the coast line and passing into the interior, we find the geological character of the country changing in a material degree. At the distance of twenty miles from the coast and east of Fort Ross, the volcanic rocks again make their appearance, and continue northward and eastward almost uninterrupted for sixt) or seventy miles. Occasionally an isolated group of some of the primitive seri( is met with in these ranges, and when this is the case more or less of the marii tertiaries accompany them. All that were met with have apparently the sai relative age as those of the Monte Diablo groups. Among the mountains on the south-west and west of Clear Lake, there are lari masses of scorial associated with alsidian, (volcanic glass), which is spread broa cast among these hills, thrown out from recent craters, often met with in this pal of the State. Among the basalts of the country south and about the Petaluna district, ne scoria was found in place that had the appearance of having been ejected in the vicinity, but a plentiful supply is found upon the surface, all of which are evidently transported masses from the more northern sections. At first it is somewhat difficult to account for these features in the lower lands of this plain, as there seemed no adequate cause for producing so extensive a local deposit, as no river runs through this valley at the present time. In some examinations made in the earth thrown from a well on the premises of Judge Thomson, the secret was in some measure explained; for here the shells of several fresh water molluscas of the genus unio, and parts of a crustacean, (probably astacus), were found at the depth of eighteen or twenty feet below the surface. On subsequent examination of the plain, an old river bed was traced for nearly its entire length, having two distinct terraces on each side. This ancient bed was followed to within about two miles of the present bed of Russian River, from which it is divided by a very low range of hills, and here the former bed is entirely effaced. Near this point, (which is called Russian River Valley,) the Russian River Canions suddenly breaks through the primitive rocks in a broad chasm, the bend at this place forming almost three sides of a parallelogram. I have no doubt from the present position of the stream that it has been diverted from its course, which was originally through the great valley of the south, and forced into its present bed during those violent convulsions that, at a comparatively recent period, must have disturbed this entire section. A stream of the capacity of the above would be amply sufficient to account for the local drift of this plain, and which cannot be well explained on any other hypothesis. On the eastern side of the Petaluma Valley, a range or spur of low mountains separates the former from the-Valley of Sonoma. These mountains are made 14 same materials as those to the west, but at their southern extremity small out-crop of the primitive rocks. two valleys unite a few miles north of the Guilicus, and are, in fact, but,being divided into two branches by the group of low mountains above to.,oth flanks of the ridge in the middle of this plain, and at elevations varyom two to five hundred feet above the sea, are to be found beds of an jorial deposit in a fossil state, of considerable thickness. These beds are de up of the siliceous coverings of the Diatomacne principally. On the west mk of the inountain north of Santa Rosa, they extend for a distance of twelve.niles, making the entire length of these deposits on this line of ridges about twenty-eight miles. Crossing a similar ridge from Sonom% to Napa Valley, which is about twelve niles across, the same deposits are met with on both flanks of the mountain kirting the Napa Valley, and they extend in an easterly direction across the outhern spurs of the range to the declivities of the Coast Mountains, forming the west boundaries of the Sacramento Plains, and as far north on that flank as Puta Creek, beyond which point I have, as yet, been unable to trace them. This deposit bears the common name of " Chalk Rock" throughout this part the country. In all the points at which an opportunity has offered for examition, these fossil deposits were found reposing on the primitive series, associated unassociated with others of the sedimentary group; in some cases the latter re filled with other marine fossils, but in most instances they were destitute of ganic remains. IINERAL CHARACTER OF THE PRIMITIVE ROCKS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS. Among the primitive rocks of the above district the granite series was most predominant. These consisted of coarse granite, mica, schists, sienites, with occasional patches of the serpentine rocks. The granites were mostly micaceous, and the seams often contained epidote. It was a frequent occurrence to find small veins of quartz running through the series in almost every part of it. The drift derived from the breaking down of this series, contains a large proportion of this material, sufficient to attract attention in passing over almost any part of these plains. Magnetic sand was observed in most of the smAll streams, and the sulphuret of iron in a few localities. In the vicinity of the Sulphur Springs at the head of Napa Valley, and in the trappean rocks of that district, this latter mineral is abundant. It is owing to the presence of this mineral at these springs that they derive their sulphurous odor. SOILS OF PETALUMA VALLEY. From the character of the rocks above described, and which compose the mountains that surround this and the adjoining valleys, it will be easy to infer the character of a soil derived from such materials. Accordingly, we find on most of the lower bottoms, a compost, it might almost be said, that in itself would be adequate to the production of almost any crop that might be placed upon it. In the immediate vicinity of the recent volcanic rocks the soil is soft and mellow, being much superior to that on the bottom lands of the plain. On these bottom lands there is an intimate mixture of the arenaceous 15 materials found upon the hills to the north, which causes the texture of the soil to become much lighter and more susceptible to the influences of heat which supervene in the earlier part of the seasons. On the more elevated portions of this plain the soil is made up of a coarser material with a strong admixture of small gravel, which gives the impression of harshness and sterility to some extent, but a closer examination develops the fact that these grounds are equally capable of production with those of the bottoms. All portions of this plain and its branches are not susceptible of cultivation to the same extent as the above, for the reason, that in the vicinity of the lateral plains there are to be -found beds of coarse, arenaceous rocks. resting on patches of the granite, which have played an important part in making up the soils of those districts. Although the material composing these grounds is sufficiently comminuted for ordinary purposes of agriculture, still they will prove unprofitable for cropping, from the uncertainty to which they will always be liable, resulting from a deficiency in the elements necessary to produce the cereals in particular. In grounds of this character, two years has been sufficient to render these lands totally unadapted to the production of wheat, though barley and oats thrive fairly upon them still; this results evidently from a deficiency of the phosphates and lime, which are almost imperceptible in their productions or the soils themselves. I have conversed with farmers in this and the adjoining valleys, and found a very erroneous opinion existing as to the character of the soil and the presence of lime in the adjoining hills. The white, siliceous deposit of the infusoria was mistaken for calcareous rocks, arising probably from the name of chalk being ordinarily applied to this material. That the grounds forming the main body of the Petaluma Valley proper are, for the most part, well adapted to the produce of wheat, barley and oats, still it is, in my opinion, very questionabl6 if these crops can succeed well in this district, those of oats and wheat more particularly. The reason of this is most obvious, and is dependent on climatic influences entirely. One of the great causes operating to induce a loss in this species of cropping being the universality of the rust, to which they must be constantly liableaccording to our present information respecting the causes of its appearance. It is a matter of no small moment with the agriculturalist of this part of the State to determine this matter satisfactorily and weigh all the evidences pertaining to this point; and if he proceeds otherwise he incurs the risk of a loss of his labor and expenses in the introduction of crops. During the past year an extended range of the agricultural portions of this part of the State was traveled over by myself and nearly all the peculiarities relating to the grain crops noted; and I may state it as a general fact, that all the wheat, and of whatever variety, suffered almost total destruction from the supervention of the rust at the period of the milk, in this and the adjoining valleys to the east, as far as the Bucca Valley, that came within the range of the cool winds of the ocean. A field that was healthy to-day would in forty-eight hours become valueless, so sudden were the effects produced upon these crops. The wheat alone is not the only thing that suffers, for we find that the wild oats that cover the hills is affected in a like degree, and to that extent that cattle refuse to feed upon it. I heard of but four instances in which the cultivated oat was affected. This, however, is sufficient to show that there is an uncertainty existing touching these two grains, that should demand the careful attention of the farmer situated in these sections. On a preceding page of this Report I stated, under the head of " Physical Geography," that the position of the mountains forming the Coast Range woul( be considered again in relation to this subject. 16 The trend of the ridges extending from the interior to the Coast Line is usually about north-west, and this position is maintained from Fort Ross to Punta Reys. The winds that prevail on the coast during the summer and spring months are in nearly the same direction, and thus finds,a long line of direct avenues whereby it reaches the interior loaded with moisture from the ocean, appearing, as it enters the interior through these gaps, in the form of dense, cold fogs. It is from this cause that we experience the strong winds on the Bay of San Pablo in the evening, similar to those of San Francisco at the same time. In the Valley of Petaluma these winds also prevail, reaching the lower part of the valley about four o'clock in the afternoon. In the Valley of Russian River I find a more westerly wind prevailing, which enters that section through the cailon of that stream. Thus, it is evident that plains of this section, and situated in the depression of these mountains, must always be subjected to the influences of these breezes in almost every part of them. Our present knowledge relating to the peculiar causes inducing the rust in wheat, leads us to the conclusion that the crop on these plains must (from the above circumstances, and the relative position of the valley,) attach to itself that degree of uncertainty in its ultimate product as to render its introduction a hazardous enterprise. Thus far, barley and root crops have succeeded without injury, and sd far as quantity in product is concerned, have netted a large return; and it is to this variety of cropping, that I consider the district better adapted than to any other. Were these deficiencies in the soil, they could easily be remedied by artificial means, but where climatic influences are the causes of discrepant and unreinunerative results, it is beyond the power of man to control them. As a grazing country, this entire section has no superior on this coast, and its advantages in this particular have not been overlooked by many residing here. In fact, this entire range of valleys and hills, from the shore line to the western edge of the Sacramento Valley, is the great dairy of California. Some idea of this may be gained from the fact, that upwards of fifty tons of butter alone was shipped fromr the town of Petaluma during 1855, and a much larger amount of cheese froln the same locality-all of which is used in the market of San Francisco. The advantages of "this country for dairy purposes consists in the fact, that from the coast line, eastward, the amount of moisture absorbed from the ocean fogs as they pass over the grounds, is sufficient to keep plants and grasses, (of which there is abundance,) in a fresh and green state, during the greater portion of the summer months; while the interior, during the same periods, are parched and dried up almost entirely. I would take this opportunity of suggesting to the people of this section of the State, the culture of the honey bee.. It is the only portion with which I am acquainted that holds out the slightest hope that that insect can be reared with advantage and profit; for, it is only on the shore districts of this country that flowers are abundant during the summer season. Thus far the production of honey, by the natural process of manufacture, has failed in this State, but this portion of it certainly oflers the strongest inducements to attempt the production of this article as a source of profit. I think that the bee might be sustained for forty miles along this coast line. 17 PLAIN, WEST OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER. After leaving the Sonoma and Napa Districts on an easterly line of travel, you enter immediately on the southern end of the Sacramento Valley, west of the river. The Bacca Plain may properly be considered the commencement of the valley at this point. The soil along this line of country northward, to the County of Colusi, differs somewhat from that of the coast valleys preceding. They are made up for the most part of the debris of the trappean and other primitive rocks, which as a general rule, present but few traces of the serpentine rocks or its derivatives. Syenites and green stone, the equivalents of the eastern mountain range, are found here. The grounds are soft and mellow, easily tilled, and highly productive in character. It is evident, however, that a continued succession of the wheat crop alone in these lands, must in a few years render them unprofitable for this culture, for the reason that the materials from which the soils have been derived do not contain those elements in sufficient amount to insure with certainty a long series of cropping with this grain. The calcareous and phosphatic minerals are limited in quantity, which, as every informed farmer must know, will sooner or later seriously impoverish those lands, unless attended to early, and their grounds kept in condition, either by artificial application of the materials thus annually exhausted, or an intermission of the barley and oats, which will enable them to recover by a natural, and perhaps more profitable process. These remarks will apply to the entire range of country included between Puta Creek. on the south, and Stony Creek on the north. It would be well for agriculturalists in this part of the State, (those at least who are permanently located there,) to consider this subject well, as a heavy interest, in a pecuniary point of view, attaches itself to this matter. This part of the State (and also that on the east side of the river, included within the same parallels,) must become the main wheat producing districts of California. Other portions of the valley sections, though in many instances possessing a soil of superior fertility, cannot be relied upon with certainty for the production of this crop, although those districts will produce both wheat and barley beyond any question whatever. The reason of this is obvious, and it needs but a glance at the geographical positions of each to readily perceive why this is so. The relative position of the coast valleys and plains to the ocean, is such that the moist winds of the latter, with the chilling coldness that usually attend them must, and will, exert a pernicious influence on the wheat in any portion of them. The experience of rigid investigation for many years past in other countries, lead us to the above conclusions, and we should certainly profit by what that practical experience has demonstrated. Had we a series of meteorological observations instituted along our valley sections, situated in the Coast Mountains, and upon our great interior plains, we should not be left to fall back upon so many of those vague surmises that at the present time forms not only the basis of opinion, but of subsequent action also, relating to the constant discrepancies that arise touching the matter of agriculture in all its varied departments. But so long as the present system exists, we must expect to suffer from what we now look upon as unaccountable results, whens the loss of a crop (save in some half a dozen counties,) is found to occur. When these crops are successful, ample reasons are found to account for the fact why they are so, the fertility of the soil is made to shoulder and support the weighty fabric, as though no other agent had even the shadow of an existence in such 3 18 results. But the succeeding year this same crop is a total loss, and thousands of our laboring farmers are bankrupted as the consequence. What, then, is the reply? An hundred wild vagaries are put forth to shelter presumptuous ignorance, which finally falls back on the principles adopted by a coroner's jury, where the causes of death are not distinctly apparent, viz: "death by dispensation of Providence," "died by a visitation of God." This reminds us of the reply of an ancient philosopher, touching an important question in hydraulics, " Nature abhors a vacuum beyond thirty-two feet;" and we may safely infer that thefertility of our soils in such cases "abhors" the production of the crop, although the evidences of inexhaustibility in the soils are never more apparent than when that crop is successful. This is our present condition relating to this matter, and the usual number of causes assigned for such discrepancies are equaled only by the groundless premises on which they are based. As this subject touches a vital interest in this State's welfare, it should merit that attention which its importance demands, and measures taken to develop the facts which have a bearing upon this subject, leaving the fancies that have hitherto attached themselves to this subject, to their own support. To avail ourselves of such means of demonstrative evidences, should be one of our first motives of action, for in this subject the whole people have a direct interest, it being a matter that affects each person pecuniarily, and the State in the same manner, but to a more extended degree. To accomplish this result, a series of meteorological observations should be instituted, that would extend from Siskiyou to San Diego. Sixteen stations, at as many different parts of the State, would not be too small a number, which could be thoroughly equipped with all necessary instruments for about $1,800. The result of such observations would place us in possession of facts, whereby legitimate deductions could be made as to the influences that climatic changes and conditions exert on the different varieties of crops that our lands are capable of producing, and which have been made so wofully manifest during 1855. These are the only means by which this matter can be demonstrated, and until adopted, and systematically carried out, the uncertainty and doubt that now invest this subject must continue, the State, and private citizens being subjected to losses, in the failure of certain kinds of grains, without a hint even of the medicate causes producing the sad effects that it has been our lot to witness within the past year. SAN BERNARDINO. During the months of October and November, the country intermediate between Los Angeles and San Bernardino was partially examined. This district is made up of an elevated plain, ranging from two hundred to nine hundred feet above the sea, the ascent from Los Angeles to the highest part of the plain being gradual and uniform. The north side of the plain is flanked by high and rugged mountains, the mean trend of which is nearly east and west, and belong to the San Bernardino range. It is this same range that at Santa Barbara, and for a considerable distance eastward, has found a place on local maps, bearing the name of Sierra Madre, which is very inappropriate, and only serves to produce confusion. The range should bear the name of one of the principal mountains, San Jacinto, or San Bernardino; the latter would be preferable, as it is most prominent, and better known. As it is a distinct range, and of considerable length, probably not less than two hundred miles, or even more than this, and running in a direction almost transverse to every other mountain chain, either in this State or the adjoining province of Sonora, a name that would sep 19 arate it from the chain, bearing the appellation of Sierra Madre, in the latter province, should be adopted, for it is only by knowing the positions of our mountains that the geography of the State can ever be clearly defined. On the south side the plain is skirted by a range of high hills and low mountains, derived apparently from the high mountain near the coast, and on the east side of the Bay of San Pedro, known as the Santa Anna, deriving its name from the river which flows and discharges its waters into the sea at its base. The country after leaving the Monte, which is ten miles east of Los Angeles, gradually attains elevation for sixty miles, at the rate of about twelve feet per mile, and terminates near the western edge of the valley, on which the town of San Bernardino is built. From here the ground descends for several miles, forming the beautiful valley bearing the latter name. For the distance of about twenty miles of the route, the country is almost a perfect desert, producing but a scanty vegetation, consisting of almost leafless shrubs, with a few scattered species of the low palm tribe, and cactus. After crossing this desert, you enter one of the most beautiful valleys in the State, surrounded on every side by water, and a stream of considerable size, (the Santa Anna,) coursing its eastern and southern border. This valley contains about twelve leagues of land, and is situated about twenty miles west of the mountain. Similar in climate to the plains of Los Angeles, it is capable of producing the fruits and flowers of either the temperate or tropical zones. Indigo, coffee and tobacco, will flourish here, and either, as a crop, would prove more remunerative than those now raised in this or any other portion of the State. The introduction of either, or all of these staples of trade and commerce, in this locality in particular, is a subject that should command the attention of our citizens residing there. The production of wheat in this valley, must, for the reasons given in preceding pages, prove too doubtful a crop to be relied upon as a source of revenue entirely, for the blasting effects of the sea winds reach this place with ease. The character of the immediate and distant country that surrounds this section, must, so long as they exist in their present form, induce a frequent re-enactment of the disastrous results to that crop, which befel alike them and their more northern and western neighbors the past year. The soil is possessed of almost unlimited capacities, and a fine climate exists. This may be aptly illustrated by a statement of the fact, that after the blight of the cereal crop in 1855, the grounds were re-plowed, and planted to maize, which was nearly ready for harvest in the month of October of the same year. This district, like the primitive sections of the Sierra Nevada. produces gold in its rocks and streams, sufficient in quantity to warrant mining explorations to a considerable extent. But with me it would be a matter of doubtful policy, to abandon the more certain results of agricultural pursuits, with the advantages that soil and climate here present for the production of those staples of trade, which as a State we now so heavily import, for the more uncertain, but at times the more ready product of the mine and placer. When all other means fail, they have the material about them that will furnish all the necessaries of life that are purchasable for a long period of time. The streams that produce gold in this part of the State, are those of the San Gabriel, Arroya del Cabon, the Santa Anna and its mountain tributaries, with the valley at the base of San Bernardino, known as Valle del Oso, (Bear Valley). The metal is in coarse, thick scales, and small, pin-head grains, usually but little waterworn, and often quite rough. Between the mountains and Temescal, and also in the direction of San Jacinto, in the entrance of the Pass of San Gorgonio, an iron-shot auriferous quartz is found. I regard this deposit of gold, and that of the northern slope of the San Ber 20 nardino Mountains, as but the terminal portion of an auriferous belt, extending nearly two hundred miles northward, and is again met with at the Armagosa Mountains, a short distance from the immigrant road leading from Salt Lake to San Bernardino. GEOLOGY OF TABLE MOUNTAIN, TUOLUMNE COUNTY. This celebrated locality, of which so much has been said and written of late, is one of the most remarkable and interesting places to be found in this State. That portion of the mountain which has so recently attracted attention on account of the placer deposits found beneath its surface, is situated near the towns of Sonora and Columbia, being about equi-distant from either locality. A portion of Shaw's Flat is situated immediately at its base. The superior portion of the mountain is composed of basaltic rock having the prismatic form; but in a few instances, at different points, it assumes the pentagonal shape, so common to the columnar form of this rock. I have traced this basaltic overflow in an east and west direction, for the distance of nearly forty miles on its course, and it is probable that it will be found to extend to a much greater distance eastward than at present known. As yet the origin of this volcanic outbreak is somewhat obscure, as no decided volcanic vent is yet known to the east of this range, though such has been reported; nor is it necessary that a crater should exist to produce the features that are throughout its extent observable. From all the evidence existing on the subject and in our possession at the present time, it appears most probable that this immense mass of igneous material found its way to the surface through a large fissure produced from subterranean forces, and is in itself purely local. The vertical position of the columns prove, that for twenty miles of its course at least, it must have flowed in a horizontal direction, and at the western end of the bed, where it approached the plains and began to thin out, there we find it following the accepted rule as regards the crystallographic forms assumed by this rock. Although it is prismatic it loses to a certain extent its verticality, (as may be seen at Peppermint Falls,) and the columns are inclined to various degrees of the horizon. Its super-position is another proof of its horizontal movement, as well as its comparatively modern age. The rocks over which it flowed on the south side of the mountain are primitive in character, being composed of mica schist and others of the granitic series, the former at the points of contact having suffered in texture and compactness from the heated mass. Its breadth is very variable throughout its course, in no instance, I believe, less than four hundred feet and often to one-fourth of a mile. It seems to have followed the course of a stream, filling its bed and banks, and to have flowed in this course for the entire length that it is now observable upon the surface. To the east of Columbia it crosses the present bed of the Stanislaus at two different places, but what its position beyond this may be is at present unknown with any degree of certainty. From the relative position of the Stanislaus at the present time the evidences are almost demonstrative, that at the period of its occurrence it flowed into and down the former bed of this river, displacing the latter and filling up the space between its banks. The depth of the banks to the bed may be pretty accurately measured by the thickness of the basalt above that bed, which is about one hundred feet on a general average. Subsequent to the deposition of these rocks the drift-banlcs of the stream have been gradually removed, which has left the basalt in relief above them. A 21 portion of the ancient banks still remain on the south side of the mountain for about one mile in length, and this is found to rest on the same micaceous schist that is found at various points, as before mentioned. The drift is composed of the debris of primitive rocks alone. Within the outcropping mica schist on the flanks of the mountain and beneath the basaltic mass, is found a very modern aqueous deposit, consisting of clay, sands, fine and coarse gravels, similar in all respects to present river beds. Among these are found the shells of alosmodon and a few small univalves, the casts of which closely resemble some forms of physa-present inhabitants of the adjoining streams. Of the former shell I am unable to distinguish it from alasmodon yubaensis, a shell found in all our streams throughout the State at the present time. The fine clays contain an abundance of leaves of present existing genera and species, most of them may be found in the adjacent country distributed along the banks of the streams and in the deep ravines adjoining. The "bed rock " is primitive, like the present bank of the Stanislaus to the north, being composed of mica schist and the older trappean group. Time is yet required to determine with certainty the period to which this basaltic overflow belongs, but from present appearances it seems improbable that it should extend beyond the pliocene. The examination of the fossils, made by Messrs. Evans, Shumard and Newberg, about the Dalles, and other parts of Oregon and Washington Territories, may throw some light upon this subject, as these gentlemen have observed the overflow of basalt in those regions over the modern aqueous deposits to an extent that would make " Table Mountain" a mere secondary affair. The gravel and clay beds of this locality have been found to prove extremely rich in placer gold, but like all new discoveries of this kind, much that has been said is only conjectural. There is good reason to believe that the range will furnish a large amount of gold, from one extremity to the other, as it flows over a deposit which has been derived from the primitive rocks exclusively, from which the greater portion of the placer gold of this State has been set free. Another reason that confirms this opinion is found in the fact, that the drift deposits which lie beyond the western terminus of the Table Mountain, and inferior to the same, are well charged with gold. They are likewise co-extensive in an easterly direction with the mountain, so far as that limit is at present known. This being the case it will require no dangerous tension of the mind to believe that for many years hence, this district will yield ample rewards for labor, though in a minor degree to what either anticipation or report would make it. This mountain has been often blended with the table lands that skirt the base of the Sierra Nevada in many places. There is but one locality with which I am acquainted, that bears any resemblance to it, and that is in the vicinity of Pose Creek on the Upper Tulare. The relationship here existing is found in the character and age of the material, but not in the forms that it assumes; for in the latter case the overflowed matter is mostly scoriaceous and massive, and not prismatic. The table lands (called Table Mountains since the opening of the locality at Sonora) of other parts of the State are the remains of the ancient shores of the ocean, and are of marine origin exclusively, having their origin from aqueous causes alone, not from igneous. The peculiarities of form seen from a distance, has been the cause of confounding them together. Beneath the basaltic rocks of the Table Mountain, and below the fresh water deposits that immediately succeed the latter, are found a series of marine tertiary rock, composed of sand-stone, conglomerate and slates regularly stratified, and 22 having a westerly dip of eight or ten degrees. These aqueous rocks can be studied to the best advantage about two miles east of Dentville, on the Stanislaus River. At the locality known as "Two Mile Bar" these rocks are cut through by the river, exposing their surface and those of the basaltic columns above them, to the hight of more than two hundred feet above the primitive rocks on which they rest, and which are exposed for a hight above the surface of the stream for about sixty feet more. The scenery at this place is romantic in the extreme, but not more so perhaps than at other points further up. Above all the aqueous rocks the basalt appears in the columnar form, at places standing vertical, an aagain the columns lying horizontal resting upon the vertical masses. The mural walls of the aqueous rocks with the above, and their hight above the river, give to the district a wild, rugged, and at the same time, a fanciful aspect. About three miles above Dentville an adit was driven into the aqueous rocks, by Judge Stakes and others associated with him, in which several marine shells were met with. This work is still going on, and during the coming season will test most fully the character of these rocks. Gold was met with in the course of the works, but not in sufficient amount to justify them in stopping at this point for its extraction. This is but another instance corroborative of my former statements, of the existence of this metal in the marine sand-stones and conglomerates that skirt almost the entire line of the base of the Sierra Nevada, and is but an analogue of the present existing state of things along our coast line, from Oregon southward. We need no better evidence of this than the beach washings along that line at the present period. CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS. In my report of last year, attention was called to the existence of a group of rocks belonging to the coal measures. The line of country traveled over in this part of the State, has developed their existence as far north as the Shasta and Yreka Valleys, and westward of the points at which they were noticed last year, as far as the head of the Cottonwood. Those groups of the above district are much superior in position to those observed in 1854, and contain a series of fossils of higher organization. They are consequently further removed from the coal beds than those rocks situated between the Pitt River and Cow Creek, east of the Sacramento. On the Cottonwood, small seams of a highly bituminous coal is frequently met with, but as yet. no vein of sufficient power to warrant mining operations for this mineral. In the district east of the river two additional veins have been found, neither of which have yet been opened to any considerable extent. Within the ensuing year this section will be more thoroughly explored for this mineral, as its extension southward from Cow Creek we are now pretty certain is not less than thirty miles. SALINES OF THE UPPER SACRAMENTO VALLEY. Among the table lands of this part of the State, are found an extensive group of sedimentary rocks belonging to the lower Eocene period, abundant in marine fossil remains. In the vicinity of Antelope Creek, extensive saline deposits are met with, which, if properly worked, will furnish large supplies of salt for commercial purposes. Associated with the latter mineral in solution, and as an efflorescence on the rocks and earth, is found the tincal, which, when purified, forms 23 the borax of commerce, so much used in all metallurgical operations as a flux for the purification and smelting of metals and metallic ores. The capacity of this district for the production of this mineral alone, is equal to eight hundred tuns per annum. Considering the very few localities which furnish this useful agent in sufficient quantities to make it an object for commercial purposes, this locality, in this State, assumes an important position, and adds another to the many of our valuable resources. The day is not far distant when this mineral will be found to form an extensive article of export to foreign markets, and to compete with the produce of Tuscany, China and Thibet, at present the three main sources of supply for the world. It is found here in the form of bi-borate of soda, boracic acid, borate of lime, and of magnesia. In addition to this, iodine and bromine occur at the same locality. The springs which furnish these materials are abundant, and thus far have proved highly efficacious as medicated waters, a great variety being found in the immediate vicinity. Sulphurated hydrogen gas is found in some of these springs, forming an active medicinal agent, in the form of sulphur springs, a few of which are thermal. From all the springs heavy volumes of carbureted hydrogen is evolved, which burns freely, and with a clear flame. This latter is furnished in sufficient quantity to serve the purpose of evaporating the waters, for the manufacture of salt and borax. The elimination of this inflammable gas in such large quantities, and the occurrence of the coal-bearing rocks -and occasional seams of coal a few miles to the north is, to say the least, a strong inducement to believe that a bed of bituminous coal underlies this entire section of the State. The evidences are sufficiently strong to warrant an exploration to determine this point by boring. It is not probable that a depth to exceed three hundred and fifty feet would be necessary to determine the fact. MAMMOTH MINE SEVENTY-SIX, JAMISON CREEK. This mine is situated on Jamison Creek, in the County of Plumas. It was located and opened in 1851. The lode is heavy, and belongs to the primitive ranges, situated near the eastern line of the State, and near the main ridge of the Sierra Nevada. It is beyond doubt but a continuation of that line of lodes on which the Ariel Mine is located in the County of Sierra, eighteen miles southward of Downieville, on the south branch of the North Yuba, and also that of the National Mine, on the ridge of South Fork of the Yuba, in the County of Nevada, the Copper Hill and German Bar Mines lying intermediate, and between the Middle Yuba and Downieville. In 1852 the company commenced work with a set of arastras, and have continued with the same until the present year. During 1855 they have erected a Chili Mill at an expense of $18,000, employing water as a motive, with a capacity equal to thirty horse power. The expense of opening the mine, with the improvements prior to 1855, amounts in the aggregate to a little less than $10,000, making the cash capital invested equal to $28,000 at the present time. The present condition of the mine is as follows: A main shaft has been driven near the center of the lode, to the depth of seventy feet, and ten feet in diameter, occupying the power of the lode only; an adit two hundred and sixty feet in length cutting the vein thirty feet below the bottom of the main shaft, (the adit is five feet by six feet,) which will deliver the ores from the mine with greater 24 facility and quantity, than by the course heretofore pursued, and with a great saving of expense. An adit is to be connected with the reduction works by a train road. The adit has been driven through the trap rock for a distance exceeding one hundred and forty feet, at an expense of thirty dollars per foot. On these large lodes, wherever they have been opened, we find the same general rule holding good that have been repeated previously, viz: that a very general increase in power is manifest the greater the depth attained. In this mine the increase is eighteen inches in twelve fathoms, the vein at this depth being twelve feet in power. The Chili Mill reduces two and one-half tons per diem, the ore yielding thus far an average of forty dollars per ton. It will be seen fiom the above statement that this mine, as imperfectly worked as it appears to have been by the slow process of the arastra, together with the absolute amount of ore reduced, which amounts to seven hundred tons only, has paid the entire outlay of capital in its opening, and to the present time the yield being $28,000 with the contingent and incidental expenses. RECAPITULATION. Mine opened, 1851; erection of new reduction works, 1855; expense incurred for same, $18,000. Tuns of ore reduced per day, two and a half; average value of same, forty dollars. Depth of main shaft, seventy feet; length of adit, two hundred and sixty feet. Cost of adit, $5,320; cost of shaft, $1,260. Strike of lode, N. 30~ E.; dip 40~ W.; power, twelve feet. Walls of lode, talcose schist; ores, pyriferous and gossan. McGHEE, Director. EXPERIMENTAL MINE, COLUMBIA, TUOLUMNE COUNTY. This mine is situated about one and a half miles north of the town of Columbia, in the County of Tuolumne. It was first located in 1852, and some little money and labor expended upon it sufficient to fairly test the character of the vein. From this time until the early part of 1854, little or no labor was bestowed in developing the mine. During that year a company was organized with a small capital, who proceeded to erect a mill and reduction works, driven by water, and continued in operation until the failure of a sufficient supply of the motive power compelled them to suspend their operations for the time being. The capital invested in erecting their reduction works amounted to $3,602; and at the end of a little more than four months, the mine yielded $16,150 from fifteen hundred tons of ore, giving an average of a little more than ten dollars per ton. This, however, is but a preliminary movement to a larger operation, as the aggregate yield was found to pay a large interest on the capital invested. 25 SPRING HILL MINE, AMADOR, AMADOR COUNTY. Cash capital $18,000. The Spring Hill Mine is situated on Amador Creek, about three-fourths of a mile from the town, to the westward. The.lode comprising this mine was. located in 1851, by Rice & Co., who commenced operations on.the vein. in 1852. It is from this year that the mine must take the date of its existence, for during that period the first mining improvements were instituted. From 1852 to the beginning of 1855, the lode was worked with variable success by the original owners. This was attributable to the. loose manner in which the mechanical and engineering departments were conducted, and the lack of application of those means that were available and most effective during that period. Mechanical skill and a sad want of knowledge of the requirements of mining engineering marked its progress for three years, at the end of which time the mine was in a condition little better than valueless, and the motive power nearly on a par with the subterranean workings. The whole appearance of the property was that of a "present" interest only, and each department of its conduction was but a reflection of the same image, too frequent still, even at this time. The result of the above operation was the disposition of the property at a mere song, a moiety of its true value, which took place in the latter part of 1854. At this period a new company came' in possession of the entire property by purchase, and commenced the first improvements that partook of the character of permanency in the slightest degree. Their first movement was to place the mine in something like a safe working condition, which required a heavy outlay of capital in addition to the purchase, they being obliged to repair the defects of the workings of previous years. This done, they then commenced the extraction of such ores only as could be removed without subsequent injury resulting to the mine, and secured their excavations, as they proceeded, in a permanent manner. In the course of these workings, from their directions and the relative position of the older excavations, it became necessary to cut the latter, in order that easy and efficient communication might be had with the reduction works, for the transportation of the material of the lode; and in pursuing this course it was not unfrequently that the old works, as they approached them, would give way, from the total insufficiency of the artificial supports that were placed in them. Thus, after encountering obstacles of the above character, the company have succeeded in not only placing the mine in a safe and accessible condition, but have also taken from the lode an amount of ore sufficient to meet their outlay in repairs and other improvements, and a handsome profit on the capital investment. Since its occupancy by the present company a new building has been erected over the mill and wheel, and another for the accommodation of their men employed, which is twenty-six by fifty-two feet, at an aggregate expense of $3,500. The dead work consists in driving their upper adit one hundred and fifty feet, at an expense of six dollars per foot, and the sinking of the eleven-fathom shaft at its termination, at an expense of five dollars per foot, which in their aggregates amount to $1,230 more. The improvements on the mine for 1856, and which are in course of construction by contract, are one adit of ninety feet, at seven dollars per foot. This adit begins at the north shaft of the old workings and runs diagonally into the hill, and when on the vein will afford a line of level about five hundred feet in length. A new sixty-horse-power engine is in process of erection to replace the dilapidated machinery now in use, and a heavy Chili mill in connection with the former, the whole of which will be driven by a sixty-horse-power. 4 26 Statistics for 1855. Number of men employed, 11. Five miners at $60 per month....................... $300 One Stoker..................................... 50 One Whim-tender............................... 50 Two Battery-tenders at $60 per month................. 120 Two Engineers at $65 per month.................... 130 One hundred and forty-four cords of Fuel at $5 per cord.. 720 Provisions....................................... 240 Incidentals.................................. 240 $1,850 Average amount of ore reduced per month, 246 tuns; aggregate for nine months, 2,221 tuns; average value per tun, $21; aggregate receipts, $46,000. Aggregate deads and improvements................. $4,730 Average monthly expenses....................... 1,850 Aggregate of expenses........................... 16,650 Total expenses........................... $23,230 Net balance over all expenses................ $22,770 CONDITION OF THE MINE. Fathoms. One Whim Shaft............................... 19 One Air Shaft...................................... 19 One Air Shaft..................................... 11 Total Shafting................................ 49 Feet. Lower Level at bottom of Whim Shaft................. 130 One Adit........................................ 274 One Adit.................................. 30 Total Levels and Adits........................ 434 Strike, north and south; dip, 680 east; power, nine feet. Ores, pyritous. PACIFIC MINE, PLACERVILLE, EL DORADO COUNTY. The ground occupied by the mine of this company was located in 1852, and like many others of that period, had an existence only in the highly elated hopes of those who found the lode. Until 1854 the ground remained unimproved, when the present stockholders, becoming convinced of the value of the lode, commenced operations by opening the vein through shafts and adits, and subsequently by the erection of reduction works during the summer of the year. The mine was continued in active operation from that time up to the present without intermission, during the period in which water was obtainable, which is their motive power. The absolute running time for the year (ending November, 1855) was nine months and twenty days. The cash capital invested in the beginning of operations in 1854, was $11,000, about $7,000 of which was expended in the erection of their mill, and the balance in opening the lode and the construction of conveniences to convey their ores to the reduction works. The amount of work done upon the lode within the year, will perhaps convey a better idea of the activity with which the work has been prosecuted than any other means that could be adopted. The lode has been opened and is in good workable condition for more than two hundred feet and at an average depth of nearly sixteen fathoms for the above length below the surface. Near the center of the lode one thirteen-fathom shaft has been sunk and is used at the present for bringing the ores from the upper galleries to the surface. From the west side of the hill an adit has been driven to intersect the lode on a line with the main shaft, and which cuts the lode at twenty fathoms from the surface. From the entrance of the adit to the reduction works a train road has been carried on the side of the hill, about five hundred feet in length, which is now used for the delivery of all the ores of the mine; this has been constructed during the past year at an outlay of $4,500. During the month of December the company were engaged in erecting more effective machinery for the purpose of amalgamation, at an expense of about $3,500. This is a judicious movement, as it is most evident that a serious loss of metal has been sustained during the past year's operations. At the end of the year, terminating the 29th September, 1855, the company had declared six dividends, above all current and incidental expenses, and above original capital investment during the following months. The dividends are on forty-five shares: Per share. Net receipts. March 31st................. $25 00 $1,125 00 May 26th.................. 60 00 2,700 00 June 30th.................. 100 00 4,500 00 July 28th................... 20 00 900 00 August 25th................ 40 00 1,800 00 Sept. 29th.................. 25 00 1,125 00 The following is the statement of operations at this mine for the past year and its present condition. RECAPITULATION. Tuns. Amount of ore reduced per month................... 164 Aggregate for nine months..........................1,524 Average value per tun....................... $25 00 Aggregate yield for 1,524 tuns.................. 39,778 61 Current monthly expenses....................... 1,650 00 Aggregate of monthly expenses.................. 14,850 00 Net profits................................... 24,928 61 28 Fathoms. Length of lower level........................ 34 Upper gallery, north............................... 8 " " south................................ 16 Main shaft............................... 16 Main adit..................................... 31 Strike, north and south; dip, 580 east; power, 9 feet; dead work, $4,500. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LODE. The lode is situated in talcose slate, the superior portions of both being much decomposed and easily removed. A large amount of the upper portions of the vein contains cavities holding free gold. At the depth of about forty feet the vein becomes more compact and pyritous, having a slight ribbond appearance, from a small quantity of gruphite being distributed through the seams. The rock is thoroughly impregnated with thin; glistening scales of greenish and whitish talc, the latter often covering the surfaces of fractures entirely, and the latter containing microscopic particles of gold in considerable quantities; at times the surfaces are well filled with fine spangles of gold visible to the naked eye. This lode contains lead and molybdenum in small quantities, in the form of sulphurets, at times distinct but most commonly combined in the same mineral. Among the ferruginous sulphurets a small quantity of arsenic is noticeable, but to no considerable extent. This mine is situated in the corporate limits of the City of Placerville, and immediately south of the center of the corporation. EUREKA MINES, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY. Cash capital invested, $32,000. The location of this mine was made in the early part of 1852, since which time it has been actively worked up to the present date. Among the early adventures in gold mining proper, the persons who compose this company were among the first who entered the field of research to develop and demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of this branch of industry in this State. Their first operations were cotemporaneous with the few who launched on this tide of speculation in the County of Nevada, and with others in the Counties of Amador (Calaveras) and Mariposa. The difficulties encountered by these parties at the outset were such as to dishearten most of mankind, but a cool determination and prudence in the management of their affairs has enabled them ultimately to overcome the multitudinous obstacles that opposed their way, and ride out safely the wild tornado of public opinion that made its inception against them during the latter part of 1852 and the beginning of 1853. From the early part of the latter year the company progressed steadily in their operations, and in the latter part of that year the following was the condition of their mine: Near the center of the lode which forms their property, they had sunk one shaft to the depth of seven fathoms; at the bottom of this shaft a level was carried south one hundred and forty-three feet, and north ninety-five feet, making two hundred and thirty-eight feet of levels at the close of that year. During this year a heavy and long adit was commenced on the east side of the 29 hill, which was driven through solid rock three hundred and seventy feet, and at an expense of eighteen dollars per foot. During the year 1854 the main shaft was carried to the depth of sixteen fathoms, and an adit of one hundred feet driven on the west side of the hill, which intersects the main shaft at the depth of seven fathoms, and the upper galleries at the same point. The upper galleries were driven one hundred and fourteen feet further south and seventy-five feet north. At the bottom of the sixteen-fathom shaft levels were driven north sixty feet and south eighty-five feet, making one hundred and forty-five feet of levels, fiftyfour feet shafts and one hundred feet adits, on the lode and west side of the hill during that year; the train-track and adit on the east of th'l vein having been completed to the length of nine hundred feet during the same period. At the close of the year ending December 1, 1855, the main shaft had been sunk four fathoms, and a level driven south ninety-four feet and another north to the depth of thirty feet, and the long adit driven to the depth of five hundred and thirty-five feet below the surface; at this depth the vein carries a power of twelve feet. Prior to 1855 a portion of the lode only had been taken out, from the meager character it presented-seven or eight feet being the maximum of the strength of the lode used for mill-work. But since the commencement of 1855 that position of the vein formerly rejected has, at the depth of one hundred and thirty-two feet, assumed sufficient value to warrant its extraction, and the result is, an increase of one-third more ore in the same depth opened. The ores now taken from the mine are one hundred and twelve feet below the water line. During the months of January and February the Directors declared three dividends of one hundred dollars per share. The mine is free from debt. The limited capacity of the reduction works, and the increase in the power of the lode, bears little relation to each other; and the company, in place of stopping their present battery to erect one of greater power, purchased during the past year an adjoining mill, with its water privileges, of nearly equal capacity to their own, at an outlay of $6,000, and with an additional expense of $1,500, have put the same in operation, thereby doubling their former capacity for reduction. Expenses in repairs on the reduction works for 1855, $1,200. The scarcity of water in the creek from whence their power is derived, during the past year, has been such that but six months full running has been made, during which the average amount of ore reduced was fifty tuns per week. During the dry season the average of reduction amounted to twenty tuns for the same period of time. The following statement will give the comparative expenses in conducting the operations of this mine for 1854 and 1855: Statistics for 1854. Cash capital, $32,000. 4 Miners....................................$400 2 Stokers....................................... 120 2 Battery Tenders.................................. 150 I Carpenter........................................ 100 1 Blacksmith.............................. 100 1 Horse Team................................... 216 1 Ox Team....................................... 192 Provisions, etc..................................... 900 Incidentals...................................... 80 $2,258 30 Dead work on shaft and equipments, 54 feet, at $20 per foot.......... $1,080 Adit and train, 370 feet, at $18 per foot.......................... 4,660 West Adit, 100 feet, at $8..................................... 800 Aggregate monthly expenses for nine months...................... 20,322 Aggregate receipts per month, for nine months, at $4,000 per month.. $36,000 Expenses.................................................. 26,862 Balance........................................... $9,138 Statistics for 1855. 4 Miners......................................... $280 2 Stokers......................................... 120 2 Battery Tenders.................................. 150 1 Carpenter....................................... 75 I Blacksmith..................................... 75 1 Horse Team.................................... 216 I Ox Team..................................... 192 Provisions, etc..................................... 600 Incidentals........................................ 60 $1,768 Dead work on adit, 165 feet, at $7 per foot........................ $1,155.Expenditures on Mine and Mill...................13,298 Total ore reduced for 6 months, 1,296 tuns; do. do. for 6 months, 396 tuns Aggregate Expenses....................................... 14,496 Total receipts............................................ 33,000 Total expenses........................................... 28,949 Balance.........$4,051 Balance to credit on purchase New Mill................... 6,000 The greater proportion of the latter has been expended in improvements and liquidating liabilities. The balance for 1855 is over and above all expenses and dividends for the year, a very material decrease in the expenses of conducting the operations of the mine from that of 1854, which is a general rule throughout the State. The following recapitulation will show the condition of the subterranean works on the lode: RECAPITULATION. Fathoms. Depth Main Shaft.................................. 22 Feet. Length Upper Level................................. 230 " Middle "................................. 145 " Lower "................................ 124 Total length of Levels....................... 499 31 Feet. West Adit...................... 100 East "........................................ 535 Train Track........................................ 430 Total length of Adit Tracks................. 1,065 Power of Lode, 12 feet; dip of Lode, 70~ east. Strike, north and south. Aggregate amount of ore reduced, 1855, 1,692 tons. Average value, $20. KEYSTONE MINE, AMADOR, AMADOR COUNTY. This mine, like that of the Eureka, was one of the pioneer operations of the State. The mine and reduction works are situated but a short distance west of the town of Amador, on a small tributary of Amador Creek. The first permanent workings of this mine were commenced in the early part of 1853, and though superficial in their character, were prosecuted with vigor for a considerable part of that year. At the close of 1853, and in the early part of the following year, the old workings were abandoned, from the insecurity of the artificial supports used during the preceding period. It was at this time that the necessity of more permanent supports for the excavations became apparent to the conductors of the mine, and during that year they commenced their permanent structures in the underground operations, their first movement being the cutting of a main shaft of sufficient capacity to afford easy ingress and egress from the main adit to the lode below its level. During 1854 this shaft was driven to the depth of eight fathoms on the vein, and conforming to its dip, and from the top to the bottom was timbered heavily with oak, and the angles snugly tenoned and jointed, the ceiling being put in with heavy planking, and closely squared. By this tedious and expensive process the mine was safely secured from falling in, the upper part of it at least, a result which must have ensued had the old system of working been persisted in. The old works above the main adit were still in a weak condition, and began to present many features of falling in, and which would have produced serious inconvenience had they neglected to secure it in a proper manner. An inclined shaft was accordingly commenced that would connect that sunk from the end of the adit with the surface, in a direct line of inclination. This was done during 1855, and the depth of that portion of the shaft above the adit was seven fathoms. This whim-shaft was cased with solid timber from top to bottom, and put in with close joints, as it became necessary to use this heavy material in place of planking, from the loose character of the surrounding ground. The ores are now raised by a horse whim, through the line of shafting as described, and landed at the end of the main adit, from whence they are conveyed on train-ways to the reduction works, about four hundred feet north of the entrance to the mine. During 1855 the sinking on the lode in a line with the whim-shaft, has been five fathoms, and from this depth the lower level has been driven one hundred feet north, and south about twenty feet. The upper gallery has been driven each way but twenty-five feet. The lode at the depth of twenty-one fathoms, has a power of nine feet for one hundred feet in length. The ores of this mine are highly pyritous, and strongly impregnated vith graphite, the latter mineral imparting at times a black, mottled appearance to the oresf and at others a ribbond-like form, giving the idea of true lumination. 32 At the depth of seventeen fathoms the ores lose the character of porosity which in the superficial ores was a striking characteristic, the cavities containing free gold. The walls of the lode are of a graphic slate, often impregnated with arsenical crystals of iron, and the simple sulphuret of that metal. During 1854 this company declared monthly dividends through the year of $200 per share. The following statement will show the condition of the mine and the relative expenses of working for 1854 and 1855: Statistics for 1854. Number of men employed, eighteen. Six Miners, per month............................. $390 Two Engineers................................... 180 Two Stokers..................................... 120 Two Battery Tenders.............................. 120 One Teamster.................................... 70 One Blacksmith.................................. 70 One Carpenter................................... 70 Provisions...................................... 416 Incidentals...................................... 288 Eighty-five cords Wood per month................... 425 $2,149 Supplies, Repairs, etc.............................. $185 Dead Work and Improvements...................... 6,181 $6,366 Average ore reduced per month, 192 tuns-2,204. Average value per tun, $21........................ $46,284 Aggregate monthly expenses....................... 25,780 " deads and improvements................. 6,368 Total receipts.................... $46,284 Total expenses.................................. 32,148 Balance.................................. $14,136 Statistics for 1855. Number of men employed, twenty. Eight Miners.................................... $420 Two Engineers................................... 150 Four Stokers.................................... 200 Two Battery Tenders.............................. 120 One Teamster.................................... 65 One Blacksmith.................................. 65 One Carpenter................................... 65 One Whim Tender................................ 70 Incidentals...................................... 200 Seventy-five cords Wood, at $4 50................... 336 Provisions...................................... 400 $2,091 33 Dead work and repairs........................... $1,200 Ore reduced, 3,000 tuns. Average value, $20 per tun........................ 60,000 Aggregate monthly expenses....................... 26,282 " Deads and Improvements................ 1,200 Total Receipts................................. $60,000 Total Expenses................................. 27,482 Balance................................ $32,5.18 During the month of March a dividend of five hundred and fifty dollars per share was declared, since which period two others have been declared, the amount of which is not ascertained. The following recapitulation will show the amount of work performed upon the mine: RECAPITULATION. Fathoms. North Shaft............................ 4 Main "....................................... 21 Total........................................ 25 Feet. Upper Gallery.............................. 190 Middle "...................................... 200 Total........................ 390 One adit of 140 feet. Strike, north and south; dip, east. Power, nine feet. UNION MINE, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY. The Union Mine is situated in the town of Sutter, formerly known as Amador No. 2. This mine was located in 1852, though but little work was done upon the lode during that year or the following. In 1854, an attempt was made to reach the lode by driving an adit from the west side of the hill to the length of about three hundred and fifty feet; at this point the vein was tapped and worked with variable success, but owing to the insecure manner of supporting the walls, and a rather reckless method of working the lode, it became abandoned for the time being in order to settle up the affairs of the concern. The work during this period was performed under lease and contract-a most disastrous course to pursue in gold mining in this country. The result of the operation was, that at the time the ninety-foot level on the south was completed, the property was in worse condition and of less value, so far as those works were concerned, than in the original state in which nature had placed it. In the latter part of 1854, the company had decided upon a systematic plan of working, and in the course of the past year have put that plan into execution. The whole of the old works are abandoned for the present, and will not be used 5 34 for the extraction of ores until levels are driven at the bottom of the present main shaft, when by stopping a winze between the upper and lower levels, and putting the main'adit in repairs, good ventilation and an easy delivery of the ores to the surface will be made. With this view and plan before them, the company commenced their first permanent operations in the early part of 1855 by driving a six-foot shaft in the lode to the depth of twenty-seven fathoms. The shaft is heavily timbered and planked from the top to the bottom, and is separated in the center by a partition, on each side of which a pair of train rails are laid for the purpose of guiding the "ribble tubs" in which the ore is placed to be taken to the surface. In all the mines of this portion of the State having inclined shafts, this system is now adopted. Each tub when loaded will bring up about four hundred pounds to a cargo. At the bottom of the twenty-seven fathom shaft, two levels have been commenced, and are driven north and south about thirty-five feet; at the distance of one hundred feet north of the main shaft, another shaft has been commenced and carried to the depth of nine fathoms. At twelve fathoms from the surface, and connecting with the whim shaft, two galleries have been driven of ninety feet each; the south gallery connects with the end of the old adit of three hundred and fifty feet, and may be used for the transportation of ores at a future day. At the bottom of the main shaft the lode has a power of twelve feet and possesses all the characteristics heretofore mentioned of the lodes of this part of the State, being more or less pyritous and streaked with graphite derived from the investing walls of the lode. On the east side of the lode a rare feature is noticeable for this system of veins, and one wholly anomalous in this country. The ores are uniformly of a dark color, with a tint of blue in every mine thus far opened; but the east side of the lode of the Union carries a vein of pure white quartz, free from sulphurets or other admixtures, but containing pure metallic gold imbedded in coarse nuggets. The mine employs fifteen men at an average rate of seventy-five dollars per month each, with board, and up to the present period has paid the entire expenses of labor and all the incidentals pertaining to the operation for the year, from the ores extracted during the opening of the mine. RECAPITULATIONS OF WORKINGS. Fathoms. 1 shaft of......................................... 27 1 "....................................... 9 Total....................................... 36 Feet. 2 galleries, 90 feet each............................. 180 I adit, 1854................................... 350 Strike, north, 500 west; dip, 70~ east. Power, 12 feet. 35 MIDIAN MINE, HERBERTVILLE, AMADOR COUNTY. This mine was located in 1852, under the name of Lea & Johnson, and during 1853 a small amount of work was done upon it. In 1854 it passed into the hands of the present parties, holding it by purchase. The latter part of the year was spent in exploring the mine and the extraction of ore preparatory to reduction. During the past year the company have erected their reduction works and other necessary buildings, at an expense of $10,000; the power employed being water. During the past year the lower south level has been driven ninety feet and a shaft sunk to the depth of seventeen fathoms. From the bottom of this shaft, which is used for hoisting the ore from the mine by a horse whim, a level has been driven fifty feet, and the distance between levels is sixty feet. At this mine the sulphuret of molybdenum occurs associated with lead, and usually combined with the sulphuret of iron containing the gold. The characters of the ores have changed materially at the depth of seventeen fathoms. From the surface down to the depth of twelve fathoms the pyritous minerals were much decomposed, and at times a considerable amount of red oxide of iron impregnated the ore. At the present time the ores comport in their dark blue color with those of the surrounding district, being highly charged with pyrites which develops gold after calcination. The shafts and levels on the east side of the hill are not used at present on account of their distance from the reduction works, as a greater amount of mineral is obtainable from the workings in close proximity to the mill, the power of which latter is used to raise the ores from the mine, and a heavy item of expense is thus saved in teaming. The failure of water to supply power during the past summer, prevented the reduction of ores beyond the period of four months, which constituted the entire running of the mill for 1855; but this failure will probably be obviated the coming year by the introduction of a greater amount of water from other sources. The wall of the lode are of graphic slate on one side and an impure serpentine rock on the other; this latter is highly pyritous, and in the adjoining Herbertville Mine has proved highly auriferous. An examination of this rock will be found in the table of analysis and assay. No statistics can be given of receipts and expenses, from the short period that the mine was reducing ore. RECAPITULATION OF WORKINGS. Feet. 1 adit............................................ 60 1 level............................................ 90 1 "............................................ 50 2 levels, 1854...................................... 30 Whole amount levels and adit........................ 230 Fathoms.. 1 shaft................................ 8 1 " I............. 17 Whole amount shafts................................ 25 Strike, north and south; dip, east 70~. Power, 9 feet. 36 BADGER MINE, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY. The Badger Mine is situated about 1,000 feet south of the Eureka, and is a continuation of the same lode. The reduction works belonging to the company are situated on the creek, half a mile west of the town. This mine was opened in 1854. During that year an adit was driven to the length of three hundred and fifty feet, at an average cost of eight dollars per foot. Between the latter part of that year and the month of December, 1855, a shaft was sunk to the depth of twenty-nine fathoms on the lode, at an expense of sixteen dollars per foot, including timbers and equipments for a whim. At the depth of twenty fathoms from the surface, a level has been carried north twenty feet, and south to the same distance, and at two and a half fathoms below the latter another level has been driven south of the main shaft to the same distance. From the bottom of the twenty-ninth fathom shaft, a, level has been driven south sixty feet and north fifty feet. A winze is carried from the middle level to the lower one, through the depth of five and a half fathoms from the end of the south level, and the ground intervening between the end of the middle south level is being removed in order to connect the two at the depth of sixty feet south of the main shaft. From the latter part of 1854 up to date, the company have erected their reduction works and other necessary buildings at an expense of $12,000, and an additional expense of $2,500 in the construction of roads and kilns for the conveyance and calcination of their ores. The character of the ores of this mine are precisely of the same character as those of the Eureka, next adjoining on the north. The average running time of the mine during 1855, amounts to six months only, and a scanty supply of water part of the time. The power of this lode has increased about thirty per cent. at the bottom of the shaft over the size at the anterop. The ores are heavily charged with arsenic, iron and molybdic sulphurets, in which free gold is disseminated. The amount of assessments called on the opening of the mine and the erection of their works, was five hundred dollars per share, of five shares, and the balance of expenses for the period which they have been in operation, has been derived entirely from the proceeds in the opening of the mine. The mine has employed during the entire year twelve men, at an average of sixty-five dollars per month and board. The following statistics will show the general expenses incurred in getting into operation: Cost of Mill and Equipments...................... $12,000 " Main Adit......................... 2,800 Roads and Kilns........2............. 2,500 " Teaming 1,080 tuns ore............. 1,080 " Shaft, Timbers and Equipments............. 2,820 " Fuel........................... 192 Total general expenses........................... $21,392 The average amount of ore reduced per month, with full head of water, is one hundred and eighty tuns. The aggregate for the six months was 1,080 tuns, yielding $35,000, or nearly thirty-three dollars per tun. The condition of the subterranean condition of the mine will be found from the following recapitulation: 37 RECAPITULATION. Feet. 1 A dit........................................ 350 I Level, upper..................................... 20 1."'...2.............................. 20 1 " middle........................... 20 I " lower..................................... 60 1 " ".............................. 50 Total Levels..................................... 170 Fathoms. 1 Main Shaft..................................... 29 I W inze........................................... 5~ Total Shafts...................................... 344 Strike, north and south; dip, east 70~. Power, four feet. Working twenty-six fathoms below water line. HERBERTVILLE MINE, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY. This mine has been alluded to in former reports, and is among the earliest that were opened in this State. Its operations have continued almost uninterrupted until during the past year. During this year but a small amount of ore has been reduced, in consequence of the failure of water to supply the motive power, the company having removed their engine on the erection of their large water-wheel in the latter part of 1854. This has proved a serious inconvenience, not only to this company but also the Midian, adjoining, both of which were dependent on the water of an adjoining canal to continue operations in reduction. After the failure of the water the Director of the mine continued the sinking of the two whim-shafts, and the driving of the levels between them. Little, therefore, has been done other than to open the mine to a greater extent than formerly existed. This has been done at a heavy expense, and the small amount of ore reduced has nearly met the liabilities incurred. The condition of the mine at the close of 1854 was as follows: The south shaft had been sunk to the depth of twenty-three and a half fathoms and the north shaft to sixteen fathoms, with levels, uniting the shafts which are distant from each other, one hundred and twenty feet, and extending beyond the shafts the length of two hundred and eighty feet, inclusive. The work this past year consists in the sinking of the south shaft to the depth of thirty-six fathoms and the north shaft to thirty fathoms. From the bottom of the thirty-six-fathom shaft, levels have been driven each way and between shafts to the length of three hundred and twenty feet, the middle gallery to the length of one hundred and eighty feet, and the upper gallery two hundred and thirty feet; distance between levels sixty feet. At this depth the ore maintains the same features as formerly, being highly pyritous. 38 RECAPITULATION. Fathoms. 1 North Shaft............................. 30 I South "...................................... 36 Total Shafts............................. 66 Feet. Lower Level............................... 320 Middle "............................. 180 Upper ".................................... 230 Total levels................................. 730 Power, 10 feet; dip, 680 E.; strike, N. 18~ W. Working, 28 fathoms below water line. ROCKY BAR MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY. The Rocky Bar Mining Company was organized and went into operation as a gold mining company in the early part of 1852. The grounds belonging to this company are situated on Massachusetts Hill and upon Gold Hill, in the town above mentioned. Owing to the lateness of the season at which they commenced operations, and the sudden advent of the rains when but a small part of their adits and shafts were completed, they were obliged to relinquish the working on Massachusetts Hill for the balance of the season, or until the rains should cease, their works not being in condition to afford sufficient drainage. The company, therefore, proceeded to purchase a group of claims on Gold Hill, from which they commenced the extraction of ore, and its reduction by the machinery which they had erected. The reduction continued until the month of June, at which time the company settled up their affairs; and it was found that, notwithstanding the inordinate high price of labor and necessaries, that the company had met the outlays, which amounted to $47,000. This was accomplished in the face of every obstacle which the times in which they operated presented; and those acquainted with those early days are best capable of judging what men engaged in this branch of employment had, as a resultant, to encounter. At the close of 1852 the condition of the workings on Massachusetts Hill were as follows: An adit had been driven two hundred feett mostly through soft material, at an expense of ten dollars per foot, and another below it, of the same length, through hard trap rock, at an expense of $8,000. In addition to the above, five shafts, averaging fifty-five feet in depth, were sunk, at an expense of $500. On Gold Hill, two shafts of fifty feet each, at the same cost as the above. From the first part of 1853 up to the latter part of 1854 but little work was done upon the mine, from some dissatisfaction of the stockholders abroad. At this period the resumption of operations took place under a new Director, who has proceeded to erect a system of working similar to that proposed in 1853, to free the mine from water, which was the only impediment to progress at the time the operations were relinquished. The present Director has erected a fourteen horse-power engine near the summit of the hill and near the lode, and by the use 39 of heavy pumps succeeded in freeing the mine and sinking a whim-shaft in connection, that now affords easy communication and ample facilities for all the underground operations that may be required. The depth of the engine shaft is twenty'fathoms, with a diameter of eleven feet by six. It is well timbered and planked, and divided by partitions in such a manner that no impediments can interfere with the working, caused by ingress or egress and the many other incidents that occur in operations of this character. From the bottom of the shaft, an adit level has been driven eastward two. hundred and ten feet, and another westward one hundred and forty feet, each being well timbered and ceiled, and the whole mechanical department is done in a strong and workmanlike manner. The amount expended in dead work, in the re-opening of this mine, inclusive of the engine, has amounted to $25,000, and the enhancement in value to the property is more than double that sum. In the month of December little more than 1,000 tuns of ore had been removed and reduced since the lode had been reached, and it is to be regretted that with the'prospects before them, there appeared a disposition among some of the stockholders to withhold the necessary means that would place their property on a stable foundation and valuable source of profit for many years to come. There requires an outlay at the present time of a sum not less than $23,000, to put that mine in what would be considered a safe. and good condition or future operations. The pump shaft should be carried to a depth of not less than thirty-six fathoms, in order to be able to remove the ore on the lode to advantage, and not subject themselves to the necessity of skinning where the lode is at any moment liable to become pinched, from its loose and decomposed character. There is more of irregularity in lodes where much decomposition of their mineral constituents has occurred, and more liability of nipping out in such cases, and should such an accident occur in any mine, it will frequently cost a greater sum to obtain it again than it would to have sunk to the firm rock, inclosing it in the first place at a greater depth. Another improvement at this mine is most obviously required. This is the erection of their own reduction works; nearly one-third of the amount that would be required to erect a battery of sufficient capacity, and the necessary equipments, has been expended during the three months that they had been reducing ores, or up to the middle of December. It is to be hoped that the proprietors of this mine may not be blind to their own interests to that extent as to allow so valuable a mine as they evidently possess, to remain a second-rate affair, when such fair prospects of large returns are manifest as in the lode which constitutes their property. But it will be impossible to make that mine what it ought to be, with so small an expenditure of that which has been applied to its opening. No person in the slightest degree familiar with mining operations, can expect that the bare opening of the mine will in all cases pay not only expenses but a dividend on the investment, yet such seems to be the prevailing idea even at this late day, with the experience of years before them to the contrary. And it certainly seems singular our friends abroad should expect such a thing, as they manifestly do under the circumstances. Those who will examine this mine, and the work that has been performed upon it in its re-opening, cannot but conclude that the money has been judiciously expended, and the only thing to regret is, that a sufficient amount was not invested at once to do the work which is absolutely necessary. The following statistics will show the present condition of this mine, its expenses and receipts: 40 Number of men employed, thirty-four. 20 Miners, at $4 per day........................... $1,920 6 Stokers, at $3 per day............................. 432 2 Engineers, at $125 per month.............. 250 2 Whim Tenders, $100 per month.............. 200 1 Blacksmith, $100 per month.............. 100 1 Carpenter, $100 per month....................... 100 2 Carmen, $80 per month........................... 160 Incidentals.....2............................... 200 $3,362 Aggregate amount of ore reduced in three months, 1,000 tuns. Average value, $40 per tun.................................... $40,000 Cost of reduction, at $6 per tun................................ 6,000 Length of East Adit, 210 feet, cost $5 50 per foot................. 1,155 " West Adit, 140 feet, ".................. 740 Depth of engine shaft, 20 fathoms. Aggregate expenses on mine for three months................... $. 10,086 Aggregate of dead work, and value of engine since re-opening....... 25,000 Aggregate receipts........................................... 40,000 Whole amount Adit Levels, 350 feet. Shafts, 20 fathoms. Working eighty feet below water line, pump discharges 260 gallons per minute. BOSTON MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY. This mine is at present owned by a French company. No general history of the mine was obtained. The following are their statistics for 1854 and 1855 as nearly as they could be obtained: Statistics for 1854. Number of men employed, nine. 4 miners, $5 per day.............................. $480 2 engineers, $160 per month....................... 320 I battery tender.................................. 120 2' cords wood per day, $4 50...................... 264 2 stokers....................................... 160 Incidentals...................................... 280 $1,624 Amount of ore reduced per day, 13 tuns; average value $15. Aggregate receipts for 9 months................... $36,630 expenses "................ 14,616 Balance in favor.......................... $22,014 41 Statistics for 1855. 4 miners........................................ $384 2 engineers...................................... 200 I battery tender.................................. 100 2- cords wood per day, $3 50....................... 192 2 stokers....................................... 160 Incidentals....................................... 200 $1,236 Ore reduced per month, 338 tuns; average value $15... $4,070 Aggregate receipts for 8 months.................... $32,560 " expenses ".................... 9,888 Balance in favor.........................$22,672 The workings of this mine thus far have been confined mostly to the surface. No considerable depth has as yet been attained upon the lode. The affairs of the company appear to be managed in a prudent and economical manner. Their machinery is light but effective for its weight. OSBORN HILL MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY. The Osborn Hill Mine and that of the Lawrence Hill, adjoining, and which is the property of one company, are situated about two miles east of the town. The reduction works of the company are situated on Wolf Creek, near the middle of the village. The mine was one of the earliest that was opened in the State, and has continued in active operation since the early part of 1853. As was the usual case with most of the veins that were worked during that period, this mine, like others, was worked without much system until the latter part of 1853, when the company adopted a much more systematic course than had been previously observed. During 1853 the following work was done upon the lode of Osborn Hill: An adit was driven to the intersection of the vein on one side, to the length of one hundred and ninety feet. At the contact the lode was found to have a dip of twenty-seven degrees. From the termination of the adit two levels were carried to the length of one hundred and twenty feet each, and one winze sunk to the depth of twenty-five feet. At the bottom of the four-fathom winze the lode had acquired an angle of forty-one degrees. Subsequent to this another adit was commenced fifty feet below the former and carried to the length of one hundred and twenty-five feet, the last fifty feet of which was carried into the green-stone trap, which was very hard and compact. From the very heavy expenses attending the driving in this rock and the great distance that it would be necessary to carry it, the enterprise was abandoned. At this time there was considerable water in the mine, and as the season advanced it was judged most prudent to abandon this part of the lode for the present and attack it at a more advantageous point, with the exception of the extraction of such ores as were available above the points of drainage. Accordingly in 1854 the lode was opened on Lawrence Hill some six hundred feet to 6 42 the north of the old workings. On this hill the company put in what may be considered their first permanent workings. On this hill they commenced and carried down a large whim shaft to the depth of nineteen fathoms. From the bottom of this shaft a level was carried north about one hundred and sixty feet and south one hundred and thirty feet. These two levels laid out a heavy bed of good ore two hundred and ninety feet in length. The advantage of this deep whim shaft will become apparent when it is stated, that it cuts the lode fourteen fathoms below the lowest point worked in the old operations of 1853, and for a length of six hundred feet will drain that part of the mine, thus affording an opportunity to extract that mass of ore at any future day. During 1855 the works have been continued in this part of the mine. The north level is carried to the length of two hundred feet, and the south level to one hundred and sixty feet. On the north level two winzes have been sunk to the depth of five fathoms, and on the south level one winze to the same depth. A breast of fifty feet has been carried down to the depth of six fathoms below the winzes. The lode is now opened and in condition for drainage to the depth of twenty fathoms below the old workings and with which the vein is continuous, and will keep the mine clear of water to the depth of thirty-nine fathoms for the length of eight hundred feet south. The engine now discharges the water from the main shaft, and with its lateral attachments, to the depth of one hundred and forty-two feet. The cost of sinking the engine shaft was thirty-three dollars per foot, and in fact the best investment ever made upon the mine. They are now working sixtyeight feet below the water line on this part of the lode. The following statistics will show the comparative expenses of working during 1854 and 1855: Statistics for 1854. 20 Miners, $80 per month....................... $1,600 2 Engineers, $112 "....................... 225 2 Battery Tenders................................ 150 5 Stokers........................................ 250 2 Shaft Tenders.................................. 200 1 Blacksmith.................................... 15 1 Carpenter..................................... 75 2- cords wood per day, at $4 50.................. 240 Teaming........................................ 900 Total................................. $3, 15 Dead work on engine shaft at $33 per foot........... $3,828 Average amount ore reduced per month, tuns......... 520 Average yield per tun............................ 29 Average yield per month.......................... 14,880 Aggregate yield for 7 months......................$104,160 Aggregate expenses for 12 months................. 48,408 Balance in favor..........................$55,752 43 Statistics for 1855. 18 Miners, at $75 per month....................... $1,350 2 Engineers at mill............................... 200 2 " at mine.............................. 160 2 Battery Tenders............................. 120 2 Shaft "................................ 120 3 Stokers................................... 150 1 Carpenter.................................... 65 1 Blacksmith................................... 65 21 cords wood, at $3............................. 156 Teaming, $20 per day........................... 480 Total................................ $2,866 Engine and dead work for mine.................. $10,000 Amount ore reduced per month, tuns.............. 520 Average value per tun............................ $25 Aggregate receipts for 6 months.................... $78,000 Aggregate expenses for 12 months.................. 44828 Balance in favor........................... $33,112 RECAPITULATION OF WORKINGS. For 1853. Feet. 1 Adit.......................................... 190 1........................................... 125 Total Adits............................. 215 2 Levels, 120 feet each............................. 240 1 Winze, 5 fathoms; 6 Shafts, 240 feet. For 1854. Fathoms. 1 Whim Shaft.............................. 19 Feet. 1 Level, north................................... 160 1 " south..................................... 130 Total Levels......................... 290 44 For 1855. Feet 1 Level, north..................................... 40 1 " south................ -........ 30 Total Levels......................... 70 Fathoms. 3 Winzes, 5 fathoms each.......................... 15 Breast......................................... 6 It should be borne in mind, that during those periods in which improvements are going on, the companies are obliged to retain their men at ruling rates, though no ores are reduced in the interim. This frequently subjects them to heavy expenses, as in the case before us, and also with most of the other mines in the State who date their opening in 1852 and 1853. The ores of this mine still retain their peculiar characteristics as in the preceding year; the arsenical sulphurets predominating. EMPIRE MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY. The reductions of this company are situated in the town of Grass Valley. The lodes, which constitute this mine, are situated one upon Ophir Hill and another upon the hill known as the Ben Franklin, and about one and a half miles east of the town. The company commenced its operation in 1852, and have continued almost uninteruptedly since that year, or more particularly so from the early part of 1853. Most of the workings during 1853 were of the superficial character that was so general throughout the State in this department of mining, owing to the then prevailing idea that was promulgated by pretenders, that the lodes would, in all probability, give out at small depths below the surface. In the latter part of 1854, the company, like their neighbors of Osborn Hill, commenced their first permanent improvements. This was done by sinking a large whim shaft to the depth of seventeen fathoms, and the driving of a series of adits and levels from the bottom of the shaft. The opening consisted in driving what are known as the east and west levels, which are one hundred and twenty feet apart. The west level was driven north of the main shaft three hundred and twenty feet, and south of the same one hundred and forty feet; and the east level corresponding to the former. Between the levels and south of the shaft two winzes of one hundred and twenty feet each were driven, and north of the shaft another winze of the same length and which extended east of the east level sixty feet, connecting with another smaller level which had been driven to the length of ninety feet; a winze, one hundred and eighty feet was also carried to the depth of thirty-five feet between the east and west galleries, and was subsequently carried entirely through to the depth of one hundred and twenty feet. The mine was, therefore, divided into six compartments of about one hundred feet square, and all connected directly with the main shaft, affording easy communication with the surface and the advantage of uninterrupted workings in all parts of the mine. 45 During 1855, a large proportion of this ore was sloped out and reduced, and at the time I visited the mine the company had commenced opening another level one hundred and seven feet west of the engine shaft, and had made a cross-cut seventy-six feet in length. On the Ben Franklin lode an adit had been driven one hundred and seventy feet, at which point the vein was cut, and a level was being driven to the south, which, in December, had attained the length of thirty-five feet. A considerable body of ore had been delivered to the surface, having many of the characteristics of Ophir Hill. The character of the ores of this lode are such, that the gold which it contains, is in a free state, owing to the extensive decomposition of the pyritous elements originally contained within it. There are some portions, however, which require calcination, in order to liberate the metal. The depth of seventeen fathoms has not been sufficient to produce a solid wall to the lode, though all the Tnines which have opened in this vicinity have presented this feature usually at about half that depth. From the position of the green-stone, it is highly probable that a few feet below their present workings, this rock will be met, as in the adjacent country. The following statistics will give the operations of this mine for 1854 and 1855: Statistics for 1854. Number of men employed, thirty-six. 20 Miners, $5 per day.............................. $2,400 6 Stokers, $4 "............................. 576 2 Engineers, mine................................. 200 2 " mill........... 260 2 Battery Tenders................................ 180 2 Shaft Stokers.................................. 120 1 Amalgamator.................................. 130 1 Carpenter.................................... 130 1 Blacksmith.................. 130 4 cords Wood per day, $4 50 per cord............... 432 Teaming, $25 per day............................. 600 Total...................................... $5,158 Sinking Engine Shaft............................ 1,500 Aggregate expenses for 10 months.................. $51,580 Dead work..................................... 1,500 Total expenses............................. $53,080 Aggregate ore reduced, 5,200 tuns. Aggregate value ore reduced....................... 130,000 Balance in favor............................ $76,120 46 Statistics for 1855. Number of men employed, thirty-eight. 21 Miners, at $4 per day......................... $2,184 6 Stokers..................... 432 2 Engineers, mine.............................. 180 2 " mill................................ 200 2 Battery Tenders.............................. 180 2 Shaft Stokers................................ 120 1 Amalgamator........................... 100 1 Carpenter.................................. 100 1 Blacksmith................................... 100 4 cords Wood per day, $3 per cord................. 288 Teaming...................5.................. 500 Incidentals.................................... 500 Total....................................... $4,884 Aggregate expenses for 9 months.................. $43,884 Dead work..................................... 2,000 Total expenses.............................. $45,884 Aggregate ore reduced, 4,680 tuns. Aggregate value, at $25 per tun.................... 116,000 Balance in favor........................70,000 In regard to the figures given, touching the valuation of ores not only of this mine but those of several others, I will state that I am fully aware that they are actually below what they have averaged for months consecutively; and in these statements I prefer to err by being below the absolute yield than to commit an error in being above their value. My object and aim in these statements has been to place the results of these adventures before the public in such a form as will have a tendency to convey a more lucid idea of the probabilities of success or failure in this branch of employment. In giving these figures, it may be that I have overstepped,the bounds of prudence, and perhaps, to some extent, the confidence of those who have from time to time furnished me with the statistics of their operations; and if so, my only apology for so doing is, that we have arrived at that period in our history when it has become incumbent upon us to demonstrate the practicability or impracticability of operations of this kind within this State, and to divest the business, as much as possible, of either the suspicion that rests upon it, arising from the precedents of gold mining in other States and countries, or, the surmises of success or failure, by which it is at present encompassed. Original capital paid in (cash)..................... $32,000 Nominal capital............................... 600,000 Month of August, one dividend on nominal capital, 1 per cent. "~ September, " " October, " " " " IELVETIA AND LAFAYETTE MINE, LAFAYETTE HILL, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY. The above mine was located in 1851, and soon after its location the company commenced operations in the opening of their lode. It was not, however, until the early part of 1852 that any considerable amount of excavation was made; and it is from this period that the mine should date its beginning. During the general crash that befel most of the gold mines in that year, this company pursued a uniform and continued course of working throughout the panic, and carried their operations through, almost uninterrupted, up to the present date. It is therefore one of the oldest established mines in the State, and ranks one of the first among the pioneers of gold mining in California. From the first opening of the lode on Lafayette Hill, up to the close of 1855, the reduction works of the mine were situated nearly two miles from their vein; they have, consequently, been subjected to a heavy expense in transporting their ores to the mill. During 1855 they have erected a new and capacious mill directly upon their lode, the machinery of the reduction works doing nearly all the labor of hoisting of ores, pumping, etc., that had previously been done by hand, on the mine. During the years 1852 and 1853 the workings on the lode at Lafayette Hill consisted in the following amounts: An adit was carried from the north side of the hill to the length of two hundred feet, and from the end of this a level was commenced and driven on the vein to the length of eleven hundred feet, at an average depth of nine fathoms below the surface. On the strike of the vein some eight shafts were sunk, four of which were nine fathoms, three eleven fathoms, and one thirteen fathoms; each of these shafts were supplied with a hand-windlass, and from most of them ores were delivered to the surface alternately. After the level had been carried through, and a connection formed with the surface by means of the adit, the shaft delivery of ores was abandoned, and the mineral matter taken to the surface by the latter means. During 1854 all the ores were taken out by this channel on train-ways laid for the purpose. During 1854 the underground workings consisted in breasting down the lode for nearly its entire length, which was carried to the depth of seven fathoms. The walls of the. lode being for the best.ninefathoms, a very compact and hard greenstone trap, the lode and walls requiring blasting every foot that was excavated. During the year 1855 the company have completed the erection of their new mill, as above mentioned, and the subterranean workings to connect with it, are as follows: From the end of the adit a heavy cross-cut has been carried northward fortysix feet, at an average expense of forty dollars per foot; at the end of this a shaft (engine shaft) six feet by eight, has been sunk to the depth of fifteen fathoms, heavily timbered and planked throughout. The cross-cut connects with the 1,100 feet level, and thus easy and eficient communication is established with the surface of the mine throughout. From the bottom of the engine shaft a level.is to be driven during the coming year, the end of which is to be equal to that of the main level of 1,100 feet, and at its completion a body of ore will be placed in position to be sloped down, having an average depth of twenty-eight fathoms below the present line of workings. This, it will be seen, will afford facilities for obtaining ore to any amount that may be desired for at least three years to come. The reduction of ores during the past year, have not been as extensive as for 48 merly, from the fact of heavy and costly improvements going on, and the desire to avoid the burdensome expense of the transportation of ores to such a long distance. This expense will be entirely saved during the coming year, and will materially increase the net receipts to an amount little short of $11,000. The greatest depth attained in the lode, at the close of 1855, was twenty-four fathoms; at this point the vein carries a power of four feet. At this depth there appears to be a material change in the mineral character of the ore from that of the preceding year, with the exception, perhaps, of a slight increase of the arsenical sulphurets, but even this is questionable. Lead and a small quantity of molybdenum, with occasional traces of zinc as formerly, are among the products of the ore. The following statistics will furnish some additional information of the operations of this mine, and also its present working condition: Statistics for 1854. Number of men employed, twenty-four. 16 Miners, at $100.$............................... 1,600 2 Engineers, at $125.............................. 250 2 Battery Tenders, at $100.................. 200 2 Stokers, at $75................................. 150 1 Blacksmith.................................... 125 1 Carpenter..................................... 125 2~ cords Wood, at $4 50......................... 299 Teaming, $30 per day............................. 780 Incidentals...................................... 650 $3,529 Aggregate ore reduced in eight months, 4,160 tuns. Average yield, at $18 per tun...................... $74,880 Amount dead work............................. 6,450 Total receipts.................................. $74,880 Total expenses.................................. 42,348 Balance.......................... $32,532 Statistics for 1855. Number of men employed, forty-five. 34 Miners, at $80................................. $2,720 2 Engineers, at $125.............................. 250 2 Battery Tenders........................... 200 4 Stokers, at $55................................. 220 1 Blacksmith.................................... 125 1 Carpenter.................................. 125 2- cords Wood, at $3............................ 195 Teaming, $30 per day........................... 780 Incidentals.................... 650 $5,265 49 Aggregate ore reduced in eight months, 4,000 tuns. Average yield, at $25 per tun.................... $100,000 Dead work on mine............................. 30,000 Cost of Mill................................... 20,000 Total receipts.............................. $100,000 Total expenses.............................. 92,120 Balance................................. $7,880 Below will be found a recapitulation of the condition of the mine on the 1st of January, 1856. RECAPITULATION. Feet. 1 adit......................................... 200 1 level.......................................... 1,100 Fathoms. 4 shafts, each...................................... 9 3.......................................... 11 1 ".......................................... 13 1 engine shaft....................................... 15 1 air shaft...................................... 12 Total...........................~............ 60 Strike, east and west; dip, north 41~. Power, four feet. Working fourteen fathoms below water line. MOUNT WASHINGTON MINE, FRENCH GULCH, SHASTA COUNTY. In the northern part of the State this company were pioneers in this branch of industry. The mine and reduction works are situated on French Gulch, about two miles from the town, and on the Shasta and Yreka Roads. Simultaneo us with many of the openings made in the early part of 1852, in the middle and south part of the State, this company located and opened their lode in this region. )uring that year and the subsequent one, a considerable amount of loss was sustained in their operations, arising from the unsystematic methods adopted in working. The lode was found to be valuable, and the utmost confidence was reposed in its productions, but the necessity of a radical change in the conduction of their operations became apparent to all concerned, in order to insure success and profit fromn their property. Accoidingly a new directorship was the first result of the above conclusion, and which s:aved the mine literally fromn total abandonment. On tlhe advent of the new administration the mine was heavily involved, but by the mlonth of September, 1853, the entire liabilities were discharged from the proceeds of the mine, over and above expenses. During that year the company drove an adit at anl expense of $1,800, which was 130 feet in length, and opened a line of level together with the adit, which amounted in their aggregate to nearly 300 feet. During the latter part of 1853, and to the close of the year 50 ending August, 1854, they had expended in improvements on the mine, $1,080 additional, in placing the workings in a stable condition. The employees upon the mine during the latter period averaged nine men for each month during the year, at an aggregate expense of $1,360 per month, inclusive of board; and the incidental expenses amounted to about $175 per month additional. The receipts from the mine during the same period were as follows: September, 1853............................ 7,341 20 October, "............................. 5,012 00 November, "............................. 4,508 58 December, ".............................. 3,262 80 January, 1854................................ 5,246 40 February,................................ 4,170 20 March, ".......... 6,77 20 April, ".............................. 5,420 45 May, "................................ 3,280 40 June, "................................ 2,618 80 July, "................................ 2,594 40 August, "............................... 3,000 00 $53,232 43 Cash capital.................................. $7,000 Expenses for year................................ 16,320 Dead Work.................................... 2,880 Receipts.................................... $53,232 43 Expenses................................... 19,200 00 Balance............................ $34,032 43 From the above statement it will be observed, that from May to August there is a diminution in the monthly receipts. This occurred from the failure of water during those four months to that extent that not over one-half running time was actually made, the water for the motive power being derived from the creek on which the mine is situated. The lode is situated superiorly in slates, and inferiorly in the trap rock. The ores are peculiar, and differ somewhat in their general appearance from most of the ores of other mines. The attendant metallic compounds are lead, molybdenumn, arsenic, iron, and a small quantity of copper, all in the form of sulphurets, but much more intimately blended than is usual in other parts of the State. Associated with these is metallic gold, easily visible, but more commonly invested by its associated minerals. It is probable that a considerable per centage of silver abounds in these ores, though no absolute experiment has as yet been instituted to ascertain that fact. The following is the present condition of the mine and its workings, with expenditures and receipts for 1855: Since the latter part of 1854 an adit has been driven two hundred and twenty feet, which cuts the main lode ninety feet from the surface. The upper levels have been driven to the length of five hundred and twenty-two feet, and from the western end of the latter an inclined shaft has been driven on the lode to the depth of thirty-two fathoms. In the course of driving on the lower adit of two hundred and fifty feet, several beds of ore amounting to twelve feet in thickness 51 were driven through, each containing gold, but insufficient to warrant its extraction in preference to the main lode. The train-way from the mouth of the mine to the reduction works has been completed, and is three-fourths of a mile in length. It is carried over two inclines of eight hundred and twenty-seven feet in length each, and has cost for its completion, $5,400. The running time for 1855 has amounted to eight months only, the balance of the year being lost from insufficiency of water for power in part, and necessary improvements. RECAPITULATION. Number of men employed, 12. 3 Miners, $90 per month............................ $270 2 Battery Tenders, 860 per month..................... 120 1 Superintendent, $150 per month..................... 150 4 Stokers, 50 "................... 200 1 Blacksmith, 70 "............... 70 1 Cook, 60 ".................... 60 Incidentals, 50 "................. 50 $920 Ore reduced pet month, 117 tuns. Average value, $24 62 per tun. Aggregate ore reduced for eight months, 936 tuns. Aggregate value, $22,132. Dead Work................................. $6,090 General Expenses............................ 7,360 $13,450 Balance in favor................. $8,682 CONDITION OF MINE WORKS. Feet. 1 Level................................. 522 1 Level........................................... 222 1 Level........................................... 97 Total Levels................................ 841 Fathoms. 1 Shaft............................................. 30 1 Shaft.................. 12 1 Shaft............... 23 Total Shafts...................... 66 Depth below water line, twenty-two fathoms. 52 MARBLE SPRING MINE. This mine is situated on a branch of the North Fork of the Merced River, in Mariposa County, and te highly metalliferous character of the quartz and the uniformity of its yield in gold renders it one of the most interesting of the quartz mines of California. The ore is a grayish blue quartz, very hard and solid, containing large quantities of sulphurets of iron, zinc and lead, the latter predominating. From ten to twenty per cent. of the ore consists of sulphurets. The gold yielded is of a low degree of fineness, not averaging over 790-1000, and giving so great a proportion of silver, that taken in connection with the argentiferous galena produced and the general appearance of the ore, it is not unlikely that the mine may, when more extensively and deeply worked, prove to be a silver mine; it now bears all the appearance of what the Mexicans call oroche. The mine was discovered and located in the summer or fall of 1851, by Silcott, Bunyon, McPhane, "Harvey, Humphries and Davenport, and by them sold to the Empire State Quartz Mining' Company. New claims have been located in continuation of the same veini by the present proprietors, and it is now claimed by them to the extent of about 1,760 yards. The general course of the vein is nearly north and south, passing along the back of a ridge of high hills, along whose base, upon one side, flows the Marble Spring Creek, and upon the other, the North Fork of the Merced. The vein lies between trap rock upon the upper side and slate on the lower, and all the ore is obtained by blasting. It stands at an angle of about fifty degrees, and has kept an average width of two to three feet, and increasing in bi eadth downward. The advantageous position of the vein has rendered it unnecessary to sink shafts. Four tunnels have been run in, each twenty to twenty-five feet perpendicular hight the one above the other, and starting at the base of the hill and continuing upon and in the direction of the vein, northerly. Their respective lengths, commencing at the lowermost, are three hundred and fifty, two hundred and fifty, two hundred and one hundred feet. They have been opened up, one into the other, and the trap rock taken from above the vein has been used to stow away in the place of the quartz taken out, leaving the tunnels about six feet high and five feet wide, for the conveyance of the ore from the drifts. The ore is conveyed in cars upon train' ways froin each tunnel direct to the mill, which stands within one hundred yards of the mouth of the openings. The total amount of ore taken out, to the commencement of the present working season, has been i1,300 tuns, the whole of which has been reduced witlout selection, and has yielded $56,197 in gold, being an average of forty-three dollars per tun of 2,000.pqolnds. The ore is delivered in the mill at a cost of about five to six dollars per tun. The works at the mines, inaddition to the necessary out-buildings, smitll-slops, etc., at this time consists of a steam mill, having an engine of fifteen-horse power, running ten stamnps f five hundred and thirty pounds each, and capable of reducing to a fine powder ten to fifteen tuns of crude ore per day of twenty Iouls. The process of collecting the gold consists of blankets, Goddard's Amalgamnating Tubs, and lastly, a newly invented riffle box. The fuel used is pine wood, of which great abundance is found in thle inmmediate vicinity, and is delivered at the mill for four to five dollars per cord. The number of hands required and the wages paid are as follows: 53 Superintendent of Workmen, per month.............. $100 " Amalgamating................... 150 First Engineer................................... 130 Second Engineer................................. 75 Carpenter...................................... 60 Teamster..................................... 50 2 Stamp Feeders, each 50.......................... 100 Cook.......................................... 50 6 Miners, $80 each.............................. 480 $1,195 In addition to salaries, all the employees are boarded, which costs the establishment about twenty dollars per month for each man. PITTSBURG MINE, NEAR NEVADA, NEVADA COUNTY. This mine was located in the month of September, 1850, by the present proprietor, R. S. Whigham. After its location and during the following year, the engine and appurtenances for reduction were manufactured for this mine in Pittsburg, and shipped in November of the same year. On the 20th of June, 1852, the engines and batteries were erected and ready for running, and during that month went into operation. During the erection of the mill, house and machinery, a shaft had been sunk on the vein to the depth of seven fathoms, and an adit driven two hundred and sixty feet, which cut the lode at this point, at right angles to its strike; a level was then driven northward for two hundred and sixty feet, which gave the same length of backs on the lode ready for excavation. In addition to the above, a train-road was laid from the mouth of the adit to the mill, a distance of five hundred and sixty feet. From the month of June, 1852, to the end of the year (June, 1853,) the mine was in active and constant operation, obtaining the ore exclusively from the Pittsburg lode, the yield of which varied from ten to fifty dollars per tun, the average for the year being twenty-four dollars and ninety cents per ton. At this time the mine was leased to the West Mariposa Quartz Mining Company for a period of two years, their lease expiring on the 25th of June, 1855. The operations of this company were under the principal superintendence of S. M. Murry, the English company's agent, who, with his attaches, commenced operations in their characteristic style, and closecl out their labor department in 1854, with the exception of such as required the use of ink and paper only. At the time this company took charge of the Pittsburg Mine it was well opened, and in good working condition. They had driven an adit but a short distance south of the former workings, when a peculiar idea seized the minds of the Directors, that the lode would run out at some future time, if they persisted in following its legitimate and well-defined course. Accordingly, an order was issued to cease operations on the lode, and to drive in a direction at nearly right angles to the strike of the vein, that they might strike it again at a point some distance ahead, where the merest novice would see that such an event would be a total impossibility, fiom the line of cutting adopted, and the distinct, well marked course of the river. At the point of the new workings they left a lode whose power was sixteen inches, and had increased nearly four inches in twenty-seven feet on the line of strike; and after driving as directly as possible to the distance of ninety-three feet 54 away from the vein, they arrived at the sage conclusion that the lode had run out, and reported accordingly to the parties by whom they were employed. In this case we have one of those strange feats of nature, that are so remarkably rare in their occurrence that they are regarded as phenomena of great interest, and find a place in annals of science, to be handed down to posterity. This was no other than an optical delusion on the one hand, and an extraordinary pre-vision on the other. For in the one case their optical powers would not permit them to discern an eighteen-inch lode two hundred and sixty feet in length, over which they were obliged to pass constantly in and out of the mine, and on the other hand their mental powers were of sufficient strength to descry a lode one hundred feet beneath the surface, and ninety-three feet from any point that one could possibly exist. The result of these operations was, that they had the effect of nearly ruining one of the most valuable mines in the State, and at the expense of about $20,000 for their stockholders at home. This magnificent failure (to call it no worse name,) of the foreign company, soon made the Pittsburg Mine a by-word rather than anything else, and injured that property to an extent, that had it been put under the hammer it is doubtful if the whole concern would have brought the first cost of the engine, and a more sad mistake was never made than the lease of this property under the circumstances. There is no censure that is too severe for conduct like the above. On the 25th of June, 1855, the proprietors again came in possession of the property by the expiration of the lease, and at the time I visited the mine they had repaired their machinery, and had commenced the reduction of ores again from the mine. The period in which ore had been reduced from Pittsburg Hill was about two months, and at no time had it yielded a less sum than twelve dollars per tun, and ranging from that to forty-six dollars per tun, thus showing that the mine was worked with its former success. How is it that men unskilled in metallurgy and mining can succeed in this manner, and such universal defeat mark the progress of men making high pretensions in those departments, who have been, and still are, engaged in the same branches of industry in our midst? I am not disposed to reproach or criminate where it is not justly due, but at the same time I cannot permit some things to pass unnoticed where a State is to be the sufferer, even though it may prejudice the private interests of friends, acquaintances or individuals. This subject is by no means exhausted. Much more might be said than here committed, not only in relation to this, but other operations similar in character. But I have no desire to drag personal conduct and management into a public document, it is far more fitting for a private journal. I have thus far seen no reason to retract one syllable from the remarks that may be found on page Eighty-Four, Document No. Fourteen, Session of 1855, but each additional feature that presents itself relating to this subject would only place that language in a still stronger position. The following statistics will show the operations of this mine for 1853, the full running time being nine months, the period named would constitute at that time the workings for one year. Number of men employed, eighteen. 8 Miners, at $100............................. $800 4 men at Mill, $4 per day......................... 416 1 Carm an...................................... 50 1 Shaft Tender.................................. 60 1 Engineer...................................... 100 1 "..................................... 75 55 2 Battery Tenders, at $75.......................... 150 3 cords Wood per day............................ 234 Incidentals...................................... 208 Total monthly expenses....................$2,093 Engine and Mill................................. $30,000 4 Shafts................................... 1,344 1 Adit......................................... 2,080 1 Level...................................... 3,120 1 Train Way................................... 6,720 Total dead work.......................... $43,264 Aggregate ore reduced, 4,680 tuns. Average yield per tun $24 90. Aggregate monthly expenses..................... $18,937 " receipts.............................. 112,320 Balance in favor............................... 50,000 RECAPITULATION. Fathoms. 4 Shafts............................................7 Feet. 1 Adit............................................ 260 Level......................................... 260 1 Train Road.... 560 Working three fathoms below water line. This brief history and statistical matter of those mines, from which we have the returns of their operations for the periods given, is sufficient to show the healthy and stable condition of this branch of employment, and their yield is fully sufficient to warrant all that I have said in former reports relating to their intrinsic value. The rapid increase in the number of mines, during the past three years, mav also be taken as an evidence of success; more particularly so when it is known that this species of property does not appear as stocks either in foreign or domestic markets. Their rise and advancement, therefore, cannot be attributed to speculation, or jobbing, at home more particularly, for here this property has not, as yet, divested itself of those opprobriums that unprincipled speculators (who were more willing to earn their living by any other means than legitimate labor,) on the one hand, and the inconsiderate manner of investment and working on the other, attached themselves, like deadly parasites, during the days of its comparative infancy. But a kind Providence interposed, and soon produced a finale to their brilliant career. Unsupported by any of those extraneous influences usually brought to the support of faltering mining property, they have lived beyond the possible reach of further injury fiom the causes that have hung with so heavy a weight upon the reputation and integrity of gold mining in California. It would be interesting to review their past history in full, did time permit, for each mine would furnish 56 a goodly amount of valuable instruction of itself; but, as a condensed view will serve our purpose equally well, and at the same time convey a clear idea of their advancement and progress, this course will be pursued. I will thus state the number of mines that could be considered in full operation fiom 1852 to the close of 1855, a period of three years, the figures being the aggregate at the end of each year. In the beginning of 1852, the number of mines that continued to the close of that year was fourteen. At the close of 1853, the number had increased to thirty-nine. At the end of 1854, their numbers amounted to fifty-one. And at the close of 1855, the total number is sixty-five. In addition to the total for 1855, as above, there are thirteen companies opening their lodes, preparatory to the commencement of erecting reduction works and the reduction of their ores. But as no reduction works are, as yet, erected, they are not included as in actual operation. I have pursued the uniform rule, never to consider a mine as having a legitimate existence until it has been in operation one full year in the reduction of ores. For if it can sustain itself during that period, and prudently managed, it is certain to do more than this subsequently, in this State. The strict adherence to this rule h.as brought us to the above result, as regards the number actually engaged, and which may be considered among the permanent things of the State. But had a departure from this rule been adopted, and every little vein on which a mere scratch had been made, recorded as a mine in operation, we should, if honest, have been obliged to chronicle failures equally numerous with those that occurred during the " great crash " in this business in 1852. The greater part of those failures were in mines of this character, and many of them even worse than this, viz: failures from having no lode whatever. Such operations are not legitimate mining, and it is a harsh rule to judge legitimate operations by. To apply such a rule would be equally consistent with the striking illustration of Mr. Everett, who, a short time since, in lecturing before a public body, elucidated the comparative value of gold and the products of agriculture, by which, through immense labor, he proved to his wondering and delighted audience, that the product of that metal from the mines of this State, for five years, amounting to nearly three hundred millions, did not equal in value the entire products of agriculture of all the States inhabited by our Atlantic neighbors. If their aggregate had not been sufficient to have swamped us, in this herculean estimate, he could have fallen back on the world at large, and the wonder is that he did not do so. It was to be hoped that the day had passed by, when we were to suffer such prejudicial detraction from men of high character and education, but it seems otherwise. In years gone by, men of small capacities indulged in such material to astonish and delight. "Former precedent " of our capacities in the production of gold was their guide, but that pedestal has slipped fiom beneath their feet, and they are now silent. But the above comes from a higher source, and conveys more meaning than floats upon its surface. What heinous act have we, as a people, committed, that Atlantic savans should thus seize every opportunity to detract from even the small amount of credit, which, on fitting occcasions, they are willing to acknowledge is our due. It is not enough that we send them from fifty to sixty millions per annum, for the material which each year they force upon our markets, and furnish large sums for many of their internal improvements to the prejudice of our own, but we must then be coolly told that the labor of eighty-six thousand men does not equal that of the balance of the Union. And would thus insinuate an idea, which their tongues would parch at, did they attempt boldly to utter. I hope I may not have misconstrued the import of the temarks alluded to, but I can place no other construction upon them. 57 In the appended tables will be found the aggregate product of eighteen mines, for the years 1854 and 1855, presenting, in a condensed form, the results of each; and for the items from which these figures have been derived, the reader is referred to the history of the individual views in the preceding pages. From these returns, some approximate estimate may be made of the character and importance of this branch of employment, and the position that we maintain as a mining State, compared to one of the greatest mining nations on the globe. In carefully reviewing the operations of the English, Welsh and' Irish mines, for forty-three years, and those of Cornwall and Devon, the close of 1847 presents us with some interesting facts and figures relating to the product of those mines, and by which we may form some estimate of the value of our own. From the Welsh, Irish, and English, imines, there were raised and sold in forty-three years the amount of 417,040 tuns of copper ores, being the product of ninety-one mines for the above period. Upon this ore I place an average value of fourteen pounds sterling per tun, being a higher sum than would be claimed for those ores by those best acquainted with their value. Their aggregate would therefore be equal to $29,192,800, giving an average product for each year from the ninety-one mines of $681,730 per annum. The product of one hundred and three mines of copper in Cornwall and Devon, ending in 1847, amounted to 37,000 tuns, which, at the same price as the above, gives us an aggregate of $13,076,015 as their value. The total number of mines engaged, it will be seen, amounts to the number of one hundred and ninety-four, the aggregate product of which in value, is $42,268,815. This shows us an average per annum, from the total number of mines, of the sum equal to $972,763. During 1854 eleven of the gold mines of this State produced $777,790; and in 1855 eighteen mines produced the amount of $2,216,697, being an increase of $1,438,907 over that of the preceding year. The aggregate product in value from the total number of mines in two years being $3,016,951. Thus we find that the mines of copper of the United Kingdom, and amounting to one hundred and ninety-four in number, do not produce an annual aggregate in value equal to eighteen mines of gold in our own State. RECAPITULATION OF THE PRODUCT OF ENGLISI COPPER MINES. 91 Irish, Welsh and English Mines produced in forty-three years the value of.......................................... $29,192,800 103 Mines of Cornwall and Devon, ending at same date........ 13,760,015 Total......................................... $42,952,815 Aggregate and average product per annum.................. $972,763 RECAPITULATION OF THE PRODUCT OF CALIFORNIA GOLD MINES. 11 Gold Mines of California produced in one year, 1854........ $777,790 18 " " " " " 1855........ 2,239,161 Total........................................ $3,016,951 Aggregate and average product per annum.................. $1,625,520 8 58 Prior to this time speculation has been the principal guide in the estimates of gold mining in this State, but at the present time we have something more tangible to rest upon; and it is to be hoped that hereafter those engaged in this employment will not so stubbornly. withhold statistical matter, so necessary in forming opinions in regard to any branch of business whatever. We cannot establish the integrity of our mines by any other means, and so long as it is withheld it must, and will, cast a shade of doubt on all such operations. It is a known fact, that nearly every mine in active operation in 1854 declared at the end of the year a handsome profit on investment and labor, yet it is impossible almost to draw any facts from the proprietors of the greater portion of them. I have in my possession at the present moment the receipts of eight additional mines for 1855, obtained from parties indirectly interested, and on whom reliance can be placed, but with whom it would be a breach of confidence to make public the figures furnished. I have omitted their publication for this and an additional reason, viz: that the expenses of these mines for the same period are unknown. These figures would swell the amount already given for the past year to $3,641,090. Had we the full returns of the product of the fifty-two mines that have continued in operation through the past year, it would be safe to presume that their aggregate product would fall but little short of $6,000,000. 59 TABLE Exhibiting the nunmer of Mines from which returns have been received up to 1854 and 1855, with their depth, in fathoms, below the water line and amount of ores in tuns reduced; together with the aggregate receipt from the same. Depth be- 1854. 1855. 1854. 1855. NAMES. low water Ores raised. Ores raised. Receipts. Receipts. feet tun. tuns. Badger............. 26 1,080 $35,000 Midian............. 12 840 9,000 Union.............. 21 1,000 18,000 Keystone........... 23 2,204 3,000 $52,000 60,000 Eureka............ 1 1,400 1,296 48,000 33,000 Pacific............. 9 1,924 39,000 Experimental....... 4 1,000 12,000 Mammoth........... 3 1,095 1,095 28,000 Spring Hill.......... 17 900 2,04 20,000 46,000 Herbertville......... 28 3,400 1,200 72,000 20,000 Rocky Bar.......... 14 1,200 1,000 47,000 40,000 Boston............. 2,088 2,674 32,000 36,000 Osborn Hill......... 12 4,680 3,120 104,000 78,000 Empire............. 12 5,200 4,680 130,000 116,000 Mt. Washington...... 16 2,670 936 56,000 22,464 Helvetia & Lafayette. 14 4,160 4,000 100,000 74,000 Marble Springs...... 9 To date. 4,320 56,197 Pittsburg............ 3,00 1,000 112,000 19,000 Totals................................. $777,790 $2,239,161 Total for 1854 and 1855....... $3,016,951. 60 EXAMINATION OF. THE SULPHURETS OF IRON FROM QUARTZ CONTAINING GOLD. These sulphurets were taken from the tailings of mines in different parts of the State, and examined, to detect any metallic gold that might be contained in them. The process pursued to extract the metal is one that would be practicable on the large scale, and was adopted as a means of illustrating the practical results obtainable by those means if fully carried out, and long since suggested. A detail of the process may not be amiss, though containing nothing that is new. The sulphurets were separated from the sand by washing, and dried. After being thoroughly dried, they were introduced into a shallow porcelain capsule and roasted at a clear red heat, being constantly stirred, and the heat continued until all fumes of sulphur were dissipated. The mass at this time has the appearance of a coarse brownish-black powder, which, on being reduced to a fine powder, presented all the appearances of being entirely peroxydized, and in this state was of an red iron-rust color. It is to this condition that it is necessary to bring this mineral in order to extract any gold by amalgamation that it may contain. After thus reducing to a powder the calcined sulphuret, it was washed and amalgamated, and from the amalgam the following results were obtained: The quantity used being one ounce avordupois in each case. Spring Hill Mine gave 6-8ths grain, equal to $820 per ton. Mt. Washington Mine, " 3-16ths " 135 Osborn Hill Mine, " 5-16ths " 225 Empire Mine, " 1-8th " 90 " Eureka Mine, " 3-16ths " 135 Badger Mine, " 1-9th " 80 " Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, 1-8th " 90 0 The grain of gold in these cases is estimated at the value of three cents, its fractional value being omitted. The results are what may be expected in mill work, if properly conducted, and do not represent the absolute amount of gold contained in these mirnerals. Chemical analysis will show a much greater amount of metal, and would have been presented in connection with the above had it been completed in sufficient time for this report. I am well persuaded that if the above process had been conducted with that strict care pursued in close and rigid investigations, that at least twenty-five per cent. would have been added to the above figures. My object was to present the probable amount of gold that might be expected, from the reduction of those minerals by a similar process on a large scale, and which are now rejected and thrown away. It would be difficult to estimate the amount of gold that is thus thrown away each year from these mines, but a comparison of the average yield of the ores of the mines of the State generally, will show that the amount is certainly very large. The yield of these sulphurets is about seven times greater than the produce in the first instance in the majority of the cases, and they compose about twenty per cent. of the ores as they come from the mine. This being the case, we cer 61 tainly sustain a loss of at least two hundred per cent. above the aggregates that are realized from the working of these ores, which would place the amount of metal that escapes equal to six millions of dollars from the eighteen mines, whose operations are reported for 1855. I have repeatedly suggested to miners the saving and separation of these sulphurets, by those means that are used for the separation and saving of metallic minerals less dense than the sulphurets of iron, and much less valuable. But, as yet, no such means have been adopted, or, at least, but very imperfectly, and is to be regretted that more attention is not bestowed upon this subject. ANALYSIS OF SALINE WATERS FROM LICK SPRINGS, SIASTA CO. The analysis of these waters was recently made by Dr. L. Lanswert, and the results are as follows: The quantity used for quantitative purposes was one gallon. Solid matter contained in one gallon waterGrains. Chloride Sodium, (common salt)................ 1,168 0 Sulphate Soda................................ 104 0 Borate Soda................................. 9 6 Borate Lime................................. 12'8 Proto Sulph. Iron.............. 0 0 Sulphate Lime, Alumina and Silict............ Loss............................... 35 6 Total grains-per gallon.................. 1,600 0 In addition to the above, considerable quantities of the boracalcite of hazes is found upon the surface and on the rocks adjoining. These springs yield about twelve gallons water per minute, or an amlount equal to 17,280 gallons per day. From the analysis we find that at the i)resent time they are capable of producing of solar salt, 2,628 pounds; borax, 331 pounds; borate lime, 458 pounds, together with a heavy amount of fiee boracic acid. This product will be equal to the amount of 3,793 tuns of salt, 556 tuns borax and 659 tuns borate of lime. On comparing the waters of these springs with those of Tuscany, (which is the principal source of supply of the borax of commerce for the worli,) it is found that they produce naturally ahn amount nearly equal to four timles that of the Italian Springs. The Tuscan springs require two hundred pounds of water at their highest point of saturation to produce one pound of the boracic acid of commerce; this latter contains but about fifty per cent. of the article when refined. The springs of Shasta produce fromn one hundred and sixty-five pounds water one pound of the refined borax of commerce, in addition to tlhe ot.ier associated salts. It will be seen then, fiom the character of these waters, that in a sloit period hence these articles will become materials of export from our s1hores, anlld form an important article in commercial transactions. 63 GOLD MINES IN OPERATION IN 1855. NAMES. Location. County. When Power. Directors. oie'd. Mt. Washington, French Gulch, Shasta, 1851 Water, Mr. Swartz. Eureka, Seventy-Six, Plumas, 1851 "Coulter. Mammoth, " 1851 " McGee. Ariel Downieville Buttes, Sierra, 1852 " Copper Hill, Minnesota, 1855 Steam, " Gaston. German Bar, Middle Yuba, 1853 Water, Laramie's, Grass Valley, Nevada, 1852Steam, " Laramie. Whiteside's, " " 1852 " Whitesides Boston, " 1852 " " Cheevan. Lafayette & Helvetia " t 1852 " " Conaway. Empire, i 1852 " " Hotaling. Osborn Hill, " 1852 " " Crossett. Orleans, Hoaston Hill, " 1854 " " Stackhouse Gold Hill, Grass Valley, " 1851 " " Atwood. Mt. George, Mt. George, " 1852 " Roberts. Canada Hill, Canada Hill, 1852 Pittsburgh, Nevada Road, " 1851 " " Whigham. Wyoming, Deer Creek, 1851 Water, " Lambert. Gold Tunnel, Nevada, 1851 Steam, " Kidd. Illinois, Deer Creek, 1851 Water, " Adams. Rocky Bar,* Grass Valley, 1855 Steam, " Seyton. North Carolina, Rough & Ready, " 18551 " "Hirsch. National, South Yuba, 1855 Water, " Raymond. Croesus, Auburn, Placer, 1852 Steam, " Langdon, Pennsylvania, Humbug Cation, " 1855 " " M'Martree Volcano,* Sarahville, 1855 " Hancock. Sierra Nevada, Grizzly Flat, El Dorado, 1851 Water, " Knox. Eagle, " " 1852 " McKain. Mt. Pleasant, " " 1851 " Steely. Maryland, Placerville, " 1854 " Pacific, " 1854 " " Smith. American, " 1855 Union, Aurum City, " 1852Steam, " Foster. Tennessee,* Consumnes River, " 1855 " " Ray. Columbus, Cold Springs, " 1855 Water Marion,* Volcanoville, " 1855'Sieam " Baker. Cornucopia, Logtown, " 18541 " Mills & Co., Consumnes River, " 1855 Water,' Mills. Hermitage, " Ridge, " 155 Steam, " Hoover. Pochontas, Logtown, " 1855 " Ranchoree, Ranchoree, Amador, 1853 Water, "Williams. Amador, Amador, " 1852Steam, * Resumed Mines. 64 GOLD MINES-CONTINUED. NAMES. Location. County. When Power. Directors. ope'd. Spring Hill, Amador, Amador, 1852 Steam, Mr. Burke. Keystone, A 1852 " Manning. Midian, Herbertville, 1854 Water, " Maxan. Herbertville, " 1852 " " Davis. Eureka, Sutter, 1852 " Murray. Union,* 1855 " " Tibbetts. Badger, 1854 " 1" Haywood. Onieda, Jackson, " 1852 Steam, Grass Valley, Grass Valley, 1855 Water, " Smith. Drytown, Drytown, 1855 " McGrady. Palmer & Co., Dry Creek, A" 1855 " " Williams. Hingston & Co., Drytown, " 1855 " " Glover. Butte, Butte City,. 1855 " Huffalker. Foote & Lindsay, Mokelumne River, Calaveras, 1855 " " Lindsay. Lone Star, N.F. Mokel. River, " 1855 " " ade. Texas, N. & M. F'ks Mok., 1855 " " Raymond. Wood House,* I " 1855 " Experimental, Columbia, Tuolumne, 1854 " " Pownell. Wheeler & Co., Big Oak Flat, " 1855 " Wheeler. Marble Springs, N. Fork, Merced, Mariposa, 1851 " " Wheeler. Washington, Quartsur g, " 1852 Steam, Ortega, Bear Valley, " 1852 Agua Frio, Agua Frio, " 1852 " Atwood. Resumed Mines. 65 ALTITUDES BY BOILING POINT AND BAROMETER. No.Obser-! COUNTIES. Town and Position. vations. Boiling Point. Altitude. Levels. Barometer. j Yuba, Camptonville, 8 207 20 20! 2,3881 2,401 Foster's Bar, 6 209 30 00 1,371 1,300 t" Oregon Hill, 2 204 80 00 3,677 San Bernardino, SanBernardino,, 6 210 20 00 909 El Chino, i 4 210 80 00 6361 Los Angeles, Hill San Pedro,! 1 1209 40 001 1,5441 Los Angeles, 12 211 40 50 2501 Nevada, Nevada Bridge,l 12 209 80 251 1,852 1,810 Sugarloaf Peak,' 5 207 00 20 2,535 2,4T5 2,551 G"rass Valley, 4 207 80 30 2,0901 2,021 Omega, 4 4,800 Omega Hill, t5,750 5,650 l Omega E. Ridge -t6,380 6,350!Ridge B. Valley! t7,000 71,038 Hodge's House,! t5,1621 5,300 iBearValley Gapl t5,3761 5,400 Omega Gap, t! 5,162i 5,200 Cabin Gap, t,5,0881 5,110 Mountain Gap, 5 t5,239j 5,210 Bear Valley, t4,7861 Steep Hollow, t 1 -4,720 4,780,lMount'n Spring,l 5,340 Alpha, 1 5,266 Placer, Auburn, 4 208 80 30 1,072 1,080 1,372 illinoistown, 3 207 80 00 2,234' 2,301 Mineral Bar, 3 209 00 30 1,121 Mount'n Spring, 4 208 00 30 2,090 "Iowa Hill, 12 205 60 30 *3,299 Brush Cafi. Brg. 2 208 20 001 1,947 Brush Can. Hill 2 207 60 30 2,2301 Yankee Jim's, 5 205 80 00 3,185 3,241 Michigan Bluffs 3 205 20 301 3,492 3,504 Baker's Ranch, 1 205 60 30 3,285' Forks' House, 2 205 00 00 3,622 El Dorado, Placerville, 1 14 207 80 201 2,109 2,058' Coloma, 4 210 20 30 835 857 Georgetown, 4: 207 10 301 2,433 2,484 Bottle Hill, 1 207 00 00 2,3891 El Dorado, 2;209 30 20! 1,311 1,430 Amador,!Herbertville, 3 210 20 301 980 1,004 * Corresponds with a series Ty Dr. Blake. t By Mr. Hornfrey, Encineer. 9 66 ALTITUDES-CONTINUED. No.ObserCOUNTIES. Town and Locati vtionvations. Boiling Point. Altitude. Levels. Barometer. 0 Amador, Sutter, 5 210 20 75 919 988 "' Jackson, 3 210 00 30 934 Calaveras, Mokelumne Hill 8 208 60 30 1,681 Tuolumne, Sonora, 6 208 00 30 1,971 Shaw's Flat, 3 20T 20 30 2,270 Columbia, 3 207 00 30 2,314 2,166 Montezuma, 3 207 40 30 1,787 Sierra, Downieville, 2,044 Galloway's, 3,586 " Ariel Mine, 6,090 Butte, 8,846 Mariposa, Agua Frio, t2,665 Mt. Ophir, t2,635 Killaly's Ridge, 5,000 " Bullion Knob, t5,000 Steptoe'sLode, 3,020 Harodia's Ridge t5,125 "Simpsonville, I t2,865 " lQuartz Station, t2,880 Ridley's Ferry, t1,450 t By Mr. IIomfrey, Engineer.