The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-24 00:00:00

MINING INTELLIGENCE.

The furnace invented by Mr. Stetefeldt for roast-
ing ore was tried on January 11 at Murphy Mill, in
Ophir Canyon, Nevada, when two tons of gulp were
passed through in two hours and 20 minutes, assay-
ing 82 per cent. The furnace is considered such a
success, as no doubt, to supplant all others now in
use, and work a revolution in reducing silver ores,
as it greatly economises both labour and time. It
consists of a chimney about 25 feet in height, sur-
mounted with screens, into which the pulp, mixed
with salt, is passed. The flame from the furnace
enters at two sides, near the bottom, and the sieves
at the top being kept in motion, a slight shower of
pulp is discharged through the flame, chloridation,
being effected before reaching the bottom, where
the ore passes through_ an orifice. One furnace
of this description can do all the roasting work re-
quired by a battery of 20 stamps.
L. H. Banks, of Nevada, has discovered a com-
bination hitherto unknown in metallurgy, which re-
duces metals to fusion, with low heat, at a rate of not
more than $5O a ton, melting without oxydizing or
volatilizing the metals. He took two pounds of as
pure galena ore as he could obtain from the Prize
Lode, pulverized it, and mixed in a shallow iron
vessel with chemicals, and, applying a dull red heat,
smelted it. The result was six ounces of metal, of
which one ounce was demonstrated to be bullion
by assay. At the price of silver, only the yield was
at the rate of $1,233, besides 1661b5. of lead per ton.
THE COIISTOCK LODE.—H. T. P. Comstock, the
discoverer of the celebrated Comstock lode, now
living at Butte City, Montana, writes a most in-
teresting letter to the Missouri Republican, giving
an accurate and detailed account of his discovery of
that celebrated property, and how he got swindled
out of it. He says the Washoe men are interested
in misrepresenting him, as they fear his claims with
regard to the water, the town site of Virginia City,
and other interests they have swindled him out of.
He thus describes the discovery :—" The first dis-
covery of the Comstock lode was made in this way :
In the middle of January, 1859, I saw some queer-
looking dirt in a gopher hole. I ran my hand in and
took out a handful of the dirt, and saw silver and
gold in it. Big John Bishop and old Virginia
were with me, when I found it; they were
sitting upon the side of the hill—Gold [fill—a
couple of hundred yards from me. I took up five
claims. . . . We started to rocking with my
water ; had only a small quantity to rock with—
we made from five to ten and twelve pounds a day,
and the dust.was from $9 to $l2 an ounce—went at
that at Brewster's Bank, Placerville, California,
where I did my business."

lle describes how he located the Savage, and
showed the ground to the old man Savage, as also
the Gould and Curry and the Norecross ; also how
he owned the principal part of Gold Hill, and how
he leased 950 feet of it to Walsh and Woodruff.
He sold the claim finally for ten thousand dollars,
and au eleventh of all that came out of it during
his natural life, and also oue hundred dollars a
mouth.

" That was the contract ; and two men, Elder
Bennett and Munny Pouroy, witnessed it ; but my
health was bad, and before I had the contract of
sale recorded, Woodruff and Walsh sold it out.
Having taken no lien on the property, I never got
a dollar from that thy to this, except what was
first received. lam a regular-born mountaineer,
and did not then know the intrigues of civilised
rascality. lam not ashamed to acknowledge that."
lle states that 160 acres of Virginia City are
built on his old recorded ranch, and evidently
thinks he will be a big trouble yet, to some parties
in that territory,. Ile says that Montana is a very
rich country, and that the Cable claim is next to
the Comstock. Altogether Comstock's life has been
a very chequered one, and if all he says be true
he is the victim of one of the greatest swindles of
the age.

The contract between Messrs Gye and Maple-
io Skid t 9 4RT9 fAlitnl tiggugh,