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accompanying pans, machinery, &c., to successfully run a mill of its caliber. Drifting was commenced on the 800 feet level in the latter part of 1871. On the 700 feet level the drifts have been run 400 feet on either side of the shaft. Two pay chutes or chimneys run through this location. One has a length of 700 feet, the other of 400 feet, and both dip to the north. The mine has immense reserves in sight, and is a very valuable property.

The Kennedy mine, situated next adjoining the Oneida, on the south, will doubtless soon become one of the leading mines of the country. They own 2,300 feet of ground. Up to the present year hoisting was done by means of a whim, but the claim passing in the hands of energetic owners in the early part of 1871, powerful hoisting-works were erected and the shaft sunk to a depth of 500 feet. In sinking, the vein was followed at an angle of 60°. The first level was opened at 350 feet, and drifts were carried 200 feet south and 180 feet north. The next level was opened by the present owners at 500 feet. The vein is here four feet wide, the quartz averaging $20 per ton, though rock of a much higher grade has been struck since our visit. This claim has a foot-wall of granite and a hanging-wall of slate. An old shaft, sunk many years since at the north end of the ground, near the Oneida line, developed the existence of a rich chimney in that part of the mine. It is in contemplation to clean out this shaft or sink a new one at this point. Three distinct pay chutes have been developed by the drifts. The company have erected a first-class 20-stamp mill, which is constantly supplied with rock.

The Keystone mine at Amador City, one of the extreme northerly claims of the Mother lode, and considered by many second to none in Amador County, has also been described in the report for 1869. The mine is owned in San Francisco. It consists of 3,000 feet of ground, and their improvements consist of two sets of hoisting-works and a mill. The latter, containing forty stamps, is run by an engine of 125 horsepower. The hoisting-works are also run by steam-one by an engine of 20 and the other by one of 80 horse-power. They have two principal shafts sunk upon the ledge. The 'north shaft is down 346 feet, on an angle of 30°, and the south shaft is down 500 feet on the same angle. Four hundred feet down the vein runs from 10 to 30 feet thick. They regularly employ 100 men, and crush daily (24 hours) 80 tons of rock, which has averaged $16 per ton.

The following is condensed from the correspondence of L. P. McCarty to the Mining and Scientific Press of San Francisco:

The Summit mine, (south extension of the Amador,) near Sutter Creek, is owned in San Francisco. This claim is 1,400 feet in length, and has fine hoisting-works, run by an engine of 45 horse-power. Two shafts are sunk within 110 feet of each other. One is down 300 and the other 500 feet, on an incline of 45°. This mine was first struck in 1869, and from a chimney down 165 feet some $30,000 were taken out. At that time the ore run from $16 to $32 per ton. Work is now suspended on this mine.

The Maxwell mine, situated close by the above-mentioned, is owned by an incorporated company in San Francisco. This claim runs north and south, and is 2,000 feet long. The hoisting-works are run by an engine of 20 horse-power, over a shaft down 750 feet, on an incline of 75°. At that point a cross-cut of 70 feet reveals a ledge 9 feet thick. They get out from 45 to 50 tons per day, and are working 25 men. The rock is crushed at the Badger and Rose mills, the two 16-stamp mills which they rent of the Amador Company, and are situated one mile distant. This rock is low-grade ore, averaging from $5 to $6 per ton, but is easily mined and crushed.

The original Amador mine is situated in the vicinity of Amador City, and is owned by J. A. Faull & Co., (a joint-stock association.) They claim 1,200 feet of ledge; have a fine set of hoisting-works, run by a steam-engine of 25 horse-power. A shaft is sunk 360 feet; at that point a ledge 33 feet thick is found. Twenty-one men are regularly employed, getting out from 10 to 15 tons of rock daily. They are now erecting

a splendid 40-stamp mill, which will be completed in a short time. They have also opened a new shaft from the 200-foot level, which is intended for the main rockshaft. Their mine is doing finely, with an abundance of excellent quartz in sight. The Medeon mine, situated midway between Sutter Creek and Amador City, is owned and superintended by L. R. Poundstone. Hoisting-works are erected upon the same, and run by horse-power. This mine was worked as early as 1857, and paid, as far as worked at that time, about $30 per ton. Since that time it has been idle until now. Six men are at present employed sinking a new shaft, which is now down 75 feet. At this point they have found a ledge four feet thick, and still increasing, the prospects of which are quite favorable.

The Little Amador mine is being rapidly developed. The main shaft is down nearly 400 feet, and still progressing. The ledge is well defined to the lowest depth reached, and the rock taken out in sinking is rich. The mill connected with the mine will be completed and ready for crushing early in 1872.

The Maxon mine is located a short distance south of Amador City. The shaft has been sunk to a depth of 200 feet, with a drift of 80 feet, showing a good ledge of rock. Some of the rock crushed pays very satisfactorily. They have several hundred tons now on the dump.

The Zeile mine (formerly known as the Coney) is situated one-half mile south of Jackson, and is owned by San Francisco capitalists. This company own 800 feet of a ledge, and have developed it to a depth of 515 feet. Their hoisting-works are run by a 20 horse-power engine; the shaft is down on an angle of about 50°; their ledge is about 11 feet thick.

The town of Volcano, situated about twelve miles east of Jackson, contains 800 inhabitants. It is situated on what is known as the great limestone range. Its mines have been worked continuously since 1849.

The Amador County Canal and Volcano ditch, both of which are owned by San Francisco capitalists, supply the district with water. They take their supply of water from the North Fork of the Mokelumne River. This canal was originally a flume, thirty-one miles in length, with a carrying capacity of 900 inches, and cost $450,000. It is now being replaced by a substantial ditch. The latter (the Volcano ditch) cost in the neighborhood of $200,000, and has a carrying capacity of 700 inches, the income of which satisfies its owners.

The Markley mine is four or five miles from Volcano. About two years ago operations were commenced, and a depth of 280 feet has been reached. At the surface the main chimney is 2 feet thick and 60 feet long; at the 200-foot level, 4 feet thick and 280 feet long. From rock taken out of the 200-foot level they obtained $14,000, after which, in four weeks, they "stoped out" rock from which they obtained $8,000. Last fall they sank 80 feet, and put up steam hoisting-works of 15 horse-power. The company recently started up their twelve stamps, 350 pounds each, with which they pounded out $1,500 per week, and ran ten hours per day. This mine has recently been sold to an English company for $35,000.

Volcano and vicinity contains several other quartz mines of great promise, in various stages of development.

The assessor's returns report 70,360 tons of quartz crushed for the year 1870, by 27 mills. These returns are probably more correct than those of any other county in the State, as the county is small and the principal mines situated near the county-seat. The returns for 1871 will probably show a material decrease for that year, on account of the strike and the drought, but the year 1872 will undoubtedly be one of unparalleled prosperity. Three or four new first-class mills, of forty stamps each, will be ready for crushing early in 1872. This county possesses, according to the Pacific Coast Directory, 35 mills, with an aggregate of 579 stamps. Of this number, 384 stamps have been in operation during 1871, when water was available-a larger proportion than is shown by any other county in the southern mines.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY.

The promises held out last year by the new mines of this county have been realized to a considerable degree. Not alone have the mines then discovered and worked continued to yield encouraging amounts of the precious metals, holding out well at greater depth, both as to width of veins and contents of gold in the ore, but a large number of new ones have been discovered, some of which have turned out very satisfactorily.

Julian district.-The control of the California claim was bought in the early part of the summer by Messrs. Snyder, Morris & Co., of San Francisco. They straightened and timbered the shaft, and in sinking it deeper the vein was found to vary from two to four feet in width. The ore taken out during this work is reported to have yielded $57 per ton in the mill. The company continued sinking during the rest of the year, intending to put the shaft down 400 feet. I do not know whether they reached this depth. In December, they were reported to be ready to commence drifting and stoping.

The Owens mine, the original discovery on the same lode with the California, had a shaft 130 feet deep in August, in which the vein was four feet wide and showed some face gold. The ore is raised by a whim, the first one built in the district. The shaft was sunk to 180 feet by October, and the mine is said to have paid very well. In October the air in the shaft became bad, and it was necessary to run a drift to connect the mine with adjoining works, in order to improve the ventilation. The vein exposed at that time in the lower part of the shaft was larger than above and contained excellent ore.

The Helvetia, which by many is considered the best mine in the district, had its shaft down 140 feet in August and raised good ore steadily, though the quantity was comparatively small, as from most mines in the district. The mines of the Lone Star Company and the Big Blue ledge are also considered very good property. The Stonewall had a shaft 100 feet deep, and at a depth of 60 feet a level 180 feet long to the north, and one 100 feet long to the south, in October. Stoping had not been commenced. The ore found was all decomposed, and there was no water in the mine. The mill of the company could only run five hours per day for want of water.

Banner district.-A number of mines appear to have been worked in this district. A correspondent of the Scientific Press, writing July 20, says in regard to them:

The Kentuck Company, under the superintendence of M. A. Lewis, controlled by McDonald & Whitney, of San Francisco, who have recently bought the mine, started up the work of sinking, this week, with full force, and on yesterday they struck some more of the rich ore for which that claim has been celebrated, being literally filled with gold. The Madden Company, on same ledge, have their usual amount of rich ore, and the ledge is improving every foot they sink. The last ore worked paid over $40 per ton. The Antelope Company, on the same ledge, are still running their new five-stamp mill on their own ore, paying $70 per ton. The Redman mine, under the supervision of J. N. Tiernan, is looking well. In sinking the shaft the ledge pitched to the west into the hill, where it was about four feet wide. Last week a new and small ledge made its appearance in the shaft, showing free gold and silver sulphurets. It has increased until it now covers the bottom of the shaft, with slate intermixed. The prospects are very flattering, indeed, for a large and rich ledge, when the two ledges come together. The additional machinery brought here and added to McMechan's mill, (the Wilson Steam Stamp mill,) will probably be started up for regular work today. It consists of a 16 horse-power engine, a Varney pan, (latest improved,) a large wooden concentrator, and copper shaking table, of Tiernan's own invention. If they do not do first-class work, there is no use in having good machinery. Tiernan has shown himself a man of energy, and competent to carry on such work. The Bayley Company, on the south end of the Redman ledge, are taking out ore to work by the new process in McMechan's mill. They have a large ledge and rich ore. The King ledge, Golden Chariot Mine and Company, are still sinking in rich ore on their big ledge, which, at the depth of 50 feet, is four to five feet wide. The Little Joker, which was three or four inches wide on top, of soft, decomposed, chalky-looking ore, rich from top to bottom, is now 48 feet deep and two feet wide, with some ore that, report says, is worth from $2 to $5 per pound. There are many other mines that I would like to mention, but it will require too much of your valuable space. I will close by simply saying, of all the mining districts on the coast, I have not heard of one that shows as many paying ledges and rich prospects, or as much work done and paid for out of the mines themselves, or from a like quantity of ore worked-that can show as good returns, with as good a climate, timber, water, and everything to make the

locality desirable for health or a home, as Julian and Banner districts, San Diego County, California.

The high opinion of this correspondent in regard to the districts named seems to be well founded, if the returns of the mills from ore of some of these mines can be accepted as a criterion. Twelve tons from the Golden Chariot, for instance, yielded $181 per ton; 40 tons of ore from McMechan's and the Redman mines yielded $60 per ton; and 15 tons of ore from the Antelope, and 25 from the Madden Company's mine gave $50 per ton; while a lot of ore from the Kentuck is reported to have yielded $76 per ton. On the whole, however, the mines in Banner, as well as in Julian district, are too little developed yet to give a regu lar yield. Curiously enough a number of new mills have been erected in addition to the older ones, only, however, to be forced to lie idle a great part of the time for the want of ore. For this reason the want of water, which has been experienced throughout the greater part of the year, has in reality not injured the mining industry as much as might be supposed. My inquiries in regard to the total yield of the county have so far not been answered, but it must have been many times larger than last year. As some San Francisco capital has during the year been invested in the San Diego County mines, it is probable that another year will witness a better development of the mines, and a more regular yield.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY.

The mines in the Clark district, which were mentioned in my last report as new discoveries of some importance, have been further explored and partly developed during the year. A considerable amount of high grade ore has been forwarded in small lots to Los Angeles, whence it was shipped to San Francisco. All this ore was of high-grade, but as the richest must, of course, be selected to pay for the enormous land transportation, this gives no criterion as to the general value of the ores or the mines. A number of new locations are mentioned in my advices from that region, but the whole district appears to be yet so much in its infancy that I reserve a detailed description of it for a future occasion.

Of the gold-mining enterprise at Belleville, in this county, I have no advices this year.

INYO COUNTY.

The base-metal mines of Cerro Gordo and vicinity have, according to all accounts, maintained_their_yield, giving ample employment to the various smelting-works. There has, however, nothing new of importance been developed during the year, and my description of the mines and furnaces in my last report exhausts the subject. My letters to prominent men in Cerro Gordo, asking for information in regard to the correct shipments of base bullion and bullion, have, I am sorry to say, not been answered satisfactorily, and I am therefore not able to give them. From other information I am inclined to believe that they have not been materially increased. The amalgamating ores have received more attention than the year before, and an English company, the Eclipse, has erected a new mill. A series of mines called the Silver Sprout has attracted some attention. An article in the Inyo County Independent, which appeared in October, says, in regard to these mines: The series comprises some thirty different ledges, together forming a complete labyrinth or net-work of quartz-veins, such as is seldom met with-perhaps nowhere else in the State. Some twenty shafts and tunnels have been opened on this property,

within an area of 500 by 2,000 feet, and from the developments already made, the evidence is very conclusive that the property must be a very valuable and extensive one. The two principal ledges, called the "Lamb" and "Silver Sprout," are about 300 feet apart, parallel to each other and to the crest of the mountain. They cut through and across three ridges which extend down the side of the mountain. This gives the best possible position for prospecting at varying heights. Both of these ledges have been opened at various places, from 50 to 300 feet apart, covering, in all, some 1,500 feet. Several of the minor ledges have been prospected, each presenting the same general characteristics of the main, or Silver Sprout.

In order to determine the future course in regard to the management of the mine, Mr. Wingard, the manager, has selected for shipment and reduction in San Francisco about 3,000 pounds of fair, average ore, a portion from the several different openings of the mine. The location, considered in relation to the facilities for getting out and reducing the ore, may be considered as good as could be desired. The altitude is very great, probably not less than 10,000 feet above the sea. It is about three miles distant from, but fully 3,000 feet higher than the famous Kearsage mine, and on the same mountain. It is, however, an entirely different series of mines, though there is a great similarity in the nature and appearance of the ores of the two mines. Both carry a small percentage of base metals, but scarcely enough to be considered "rebellious." The mine is situated upon the southern face of the mountain in such a manner that the snows or storms cannot materially affect the transportation of the ore by tramway, which is the only cheap method practicable.

The mill now owned by the company is down the cañon nearly five miles. The proper place for the mill, and to which it will soon be removed, is immediately below the mine, and about one mile distant. Here there is an abundance of timber and water, a wide valley free from all dangers of snow-slides, and where, by means of a tramway, ore can at all seasons of the year be shipped directly from the mine to the batteries. The whole cost of mining, transportation, and reduction of the ore from the mine, with the proper and practicable facilities, need not exceed $10 per ton. The Silver Sprout is unquestionably a very valuable mine, and with proper management cannot fail to remunerate its owners and at the same time prove of great benefit to this section generally.

The ore is of the class named copper ores in my last report, carries much silver, copper, and a little gold, and a very small percentage of galena. The principal shaft on the mine was 56 feet deep in November, and the ledge was 7 feet wide at the bottom, 5 feet of which was ore.

ALPINE COUNTY.

My efforts to obtain direct communications in regard to the mining industry of this county have been unsuccessful. But the delay in the Public Printing Office in printing my present report enables me to introduce here an excellent letter of Mr. J. Winchester, of the Globe Company, which appeared in the New York Tribune in the early part of 1872, and which treats very exhaustively on the mining resources of this county:

Alpine County was set off from Amador, and lies upon the summit and both slopes of the Sierra Nevada range. Geographically the larger portion of the county belongs to Nevada. Through the central portion, on the east of the main divide, runs the east or main branch of Carson River. ́Silver Mountain, the county-seat, is about 8,000 feet above the sea. Silver Mountain Peak, a few miles further south, is over 11,000 feet in height. The mineral belt running through Alpine is geologically traceable from, and is believed to be a continuation of, that upon which the Comstock lode is situated, the courses of the veins being identical, and exactly in range from north to south. When the excitement following the discovery of the Comstock was at its height, Alpine County, then a part of Ainador, was overrun with "prospectors," and in 1867 a large installment of the prevailing mining furore was transplanted to what was then known as the "Silver Mountain mines," that town being the center of attraction. In 1862-63, two daily lines of stages, with frequent "extras," were required to accommodate the rush into Alpine County, and Silver Mountain became a mining camp of from 1,500 to 2,000 people. In 1863-64, the speculative bubble burst, and a gradual decadence set in, which reduced the population in 1868 to less than 200. The gradual change of the mining center from Silver Mountain, on the edge of the granite formation, to Monitor, in the midst of the trap and porphyry belt, continued to depopulate the former town, till at this time the number hardly exceeds 30 persons of all ages, while Monitor has

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