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these towns are situated on the limestone belt, which is here nearly three miles in width, immediately to the east of Table Mountain, and have an elevation above sea-level of about 2,100 or 2,200 feet, being but little less than that of the plane of the mountain. The surface diggings here were from three to thirty feet in depth. The limestone bed-rock, everywhere exposed by the washings of the miners, is deeply eroded and cut in the most fantastic shapes by the action of running water at some remote period. The placers here were formerly extensive and rich, but at the present time they do not yield more than two dollars a day, and the unworked area is very limited. The best ground is covered with buildings in the various towns. These buildings are being removed for the purpose of mining the ground. The auriferous character of the ancient channel under Table Mountain was first discovered in 1854, near Shaw's Flat, where the denudation of the lava crust exposed the richest ground worked in this part of the State. As late as 1855–56 it is said that some claims at Caldwell's ranch yielded ten or twelve pounds of gold per day, for many consecutive days. At that time the town of Shaw's Flat contained two hotels and a dozen stores. Now there are not a dozen houses occupied. Indian antiquities, such as pestles and mortars of stone, are here found in abundance, and the remains of the mastodon and elephant are frequently unearthed by mining operations. These remains are found at depths varying from ten to thirty feet beneath the surface. At Gold Springs, near Columbia, an elephant's tusk nine feet in length, and of proportionate thickness, was found in a good state of preservation, but did not long resist exposure to the air. Brown's Flat, situated on Wood's Creek, about half way between Sonora and Columbia, has a population of one or two hundred persons, who are engaged in mining on the creek. The limestone belt is here pinched down to very narrow limits, and the depth of pay-dirt in the creek varies from twenty to sixty feet, the crevices in the rock being still deeper. The dirt is hoisted to the surface by derricks, emptied in dump-boxes, whence it is run through sluice-boxes. Several claims are yielding from $3 to $5 per day to the hand, but the available ground is now very limited. Yankee Hill, near the head of Wood's Creek, and at the base of Bald Mountain, has been noted for the existence of coarse gold. Among the nuggets found here was one of twenty-three pounds, one of seventeen pounds, and many pieces varying in weight from one to four pounds. Mining is still carried on in the bed of the creek, but on a small scale. The basin in which these towns are situated has on one side Table Mountain, with its channel of auriferous gravel, and on the other Bald Mountain, which is noted for the richness of its "pocket" claims. The gulches and ravines of this mountain still contain much gold released by the decomposition of the quartz veins.

The following is an extract from the early mining laws of Columbia district. Those of other localities described did not materially differ. "A full claim for mining purposes on the flats or hills of the district shall consist of an area equal to that of one hundred feet square.

"A full claim on ravines shall consist of one hundred feet running on the ravine, and of a width at the discretion of the claimant, provided it does not exceed one hundred feet.

"No person shall hold more than one full claim within the boundaries of this district, nor shall it consist of more than two parcels of ground, the sum of the area of which shall not exceed the area of one full claim; provided, nothing in this article shall be so construed as to prevent miners from associating in companies to carry on mining operations, such companies holding no more than one full claim to each member."

Another article provided that no claim should be sold to a Chinaman under penalty of forfeiture. Those owning ground now are very willing to sell to "John."

List of quartz-mills in Tuolumne County running during 1870 and 1871.

Name.

Stamps.

Owner.

Remarks.

Blue Gulch Eagle Mill. 10 Eagle Mill and Mining Work has been recommenced during present year

Lombardo Mine and 10

Mill.

Confidence Mine and 40
Mill.

Company.

Lombardo Company ..

Ben. Holladay.......

with favorable prospects; tunnel being run to drain mine at low level.

Running at intervals.

One of the best mines in the State; said to be yielding from $1,000 to $1,200 per day. The present owner took possession in 1867, since which time the mine has paid largely, and has been developed to a depth of 500 feet by an incline. Situated in the granite belt.

Running at intervals for two years past; ledge much broken up and pay spotted.

Buchanan Mining Com- Suspended for many years; prospecting resumed

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H. P. Gould

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pany.

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Spring Gulch Mine and
Mine.

Whitman's Pass Mill
Starr King Mine and
Mill.
Clio.....

25

20

Griffin & Co
Preston & Co

10 Sharwood & Co

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Clio Mining Company. Will resume work as soon as supply of water will

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It appears from the above table that twenty mills, with an aggregate of two hundred and sixty-two stamps, have been running during the past two years, and but few of these with regularity. Langley's Pacific Coast Directory for 1870-'71 gives a list of forty mills with four hundred and forty-four stamps in this county. The county assessors for that year made no returns, so that we cannot compare the number of tons crushed with that of previous years.

CALAVERAS COUNTY.

This county adjoins Tuolumne on the north. It possesses gravel and placer deposits of considerable extent, but not of great depth, and labors under the disadvantage of scarcity of water. It contains, also, near the foot-hills, rich mines of copper, now unworked, and numerous veins of quartz of great richness. Many of the richest claims on the Mother lode are found in this county. The county assessor, in his report to the surveyor general for 1871, says: "The placer mines of this county are things of the past.' True, now and then, in one's journeyings, you will startle some old 'forty-niner,' in his secluded ravine, with

pick, pan, and shovel, mayhap a rocker; now and then a squad of Celestials working, for the twentieth time, old tailings. But if the bright yield of placer mines has paled, we are content with the more resplendent glories of cement and quartz; of the first, we are but in our infancy." Throughout various parts of the county gravel diggings are found, and in several basins near the head of Table Mountain the gravel has a depth of thirty or forty feet, but drainage is difficult and expensive. Mr. J. Rathgeb, of San Andreas, has made close investigation into the character and yield of many of the gravel claims of the central part of the county, and furnishes the following valuable description and data:

The mining districts of San Andreas, Lower Calaveritas, and Fourth Crossing, in Calaveras County, are situated on the range of the Mother quartz lode of California, and are about eight miles in length by three miles in width. Since last year these districts have made progress in the mining industry and have advanced by their selfsustaining capacity to profitable operations.

The principal mines of these districts are the Davis, Sceiffart, Thorn, Rhead, Union, Anton, Miner's Dream, Bachman, and Thorpe.

The principal tunnel and hydraulic claims are the Garnet, Clarks & Co., Wilson & Co., Hedrick, Johnston, Bennet, Worthmann & Co., Pfeffer & Co., Cloyd, Raggio & Co., Rivera & Co., Oneto & Co., Waters, Gay, Peregrini and Driscol.

For the year 1871, the estimated product of bullion for these districts is fifty thousand dollars.

The ruling rates of wages are, for first-class miners, $3 per day, also $2.50 and $2; common laborers, $1.50 to $2 per day; Chinamen, $1.25 to $1.50.

List of stamp mills:

Demarest, 10 stamps, overshot water-wheel.

Union, 10 stamps, overshot water-wheel, 1 pan.

Thorpe, 5 stamps, overshot water-wheel, 3 arrastras.

Irvine, 10 stamps, overshot water-wheel.

Garnet, 5 stamps, overshot water-wheel, 1 arrastra.

A 10-stamp quartz-mill at the Thorn mine, and a 10-stamp quartz-mill at the Union mine, are in contemplation.

The Thorn mine has been sunk since last year to the depth of over 200 feet. There is in the shaft a well-defined gold-bearing quartz-vein of five feet in width. The total width of vein-matter from the foot-wall to the hanging-wall is twelve feet. The mill-rock is a blue-ribbon rock, similar to that of the celebrated Eureka mine, Amador County. The hanging-wall is a blue slate, the foot-wall a variety of granite. Substantial hoisting-works and other improvements are erected on this mine.

The Union mine is yielding well, and is being sunk to another level, having a good supply of timber on hand.

The Rhead mine has two shafts, thirty-three feet each. The vein is two feet wide at the bottom. Gold is impregnated in the foot-wall, and forming a thin coating on the talcose slate or rock of the foot-wall.

The Anton is a new mine, paying well.

The Thorpe mine has been worked till June; had to stop for want of water to drive a five-stamp mill and the pump attached to it to free the mine of water. The Bachman mine is yielding well.

Auriferous deposits of gravel occur in a nearly parallel line with these quartz-lodes, to the east of them, and arising probably from the disorganization of the net-work of quartz-veins and rocks bearing gold. Tunneling and hydraulic washing in these deposits have been lucrative. Water may be obtained in these districts from four to six inonths of the year.

The Garnet claim has been drifted upon 400 feet in length by 80 feet in width, has a five-stamp mill with hoisting-works, a heavy Chile mill (arrastra) attached, with 32feet overshot water-wheel. The yield has been $18,500.

Clark & Co. have extracted rich pay-dirt from a channel on the northern bank of San Andreas Gulch.

Wilson & Co. are getting out cemented gravel, hard to wash, because it will not slake for a long time.

The Harvey Hedrick claim is worked by hydraulic washing, and drifting is done when no water can be obtained for washing.

The Wade Johnston claim is a gravel formation, a channel through a hill, worked by drifting and hydraulic washing. The Bennet is on the same channel.

Raggio & Co. are excavating deep crevices in a limestone range in the river by means of a derrick and horse-power, getting good pay.

Worthman claim is a tunnel claim now; formerly a hydraulic claim; still yielding

well.

Driscol & Co. are cutting a tail-race and tunnel into good diggings.

Adjoining, southeast of Fourth Crossing district, are the cement-gravel tunnel claims of Dogtown.

The Hammerschmidt & Hensel tunnel has been yielding very well; they intend to build a mill for the extraction of the gold held by the cement, which slakes hard. The Barney Hurle tunnel is going further into good ground.

The Bully Tunnel Company have struck rich pay-$200 on 75 superficial feet-but water interferes badly.

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