The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-20 00:00:00

311NING NEWS.

THE MADOC (CANADA) GOLD DISTRICT.—A
great scandal has fallen upon the gold operators in
the Madoc District. It had been reported that the
" Empire" mine ha 3 produced from a quantity of
ore at the rate of $2l 40 per ton, and a certificate of
the fact was given. Upon this representation the
proprietors succeeded in inducing other parties to
take an interest in the mine ; but it has since trans-
pired that the ore was " salted ;" or, in other words,
gold was obtained elsewhere and mixed in the ore.
People will be careful in future how they receive
statements from the gold mines in the Quinte Dis-
trict. A rich mine, yielding $2O 83 to the ton, is
reported to have been found at El Dorado, in the
same district, but the " salting" idea will haunt
every one after this, and it will be difficult to get
credit to any statements put forth, no matter how
they may be fortified by the certificates of the
assayers. The scandal has done for the gold
business.--Neu' Yor•1, Times.

The IVall-street Joarnal publishes the following
letter from an occasional correspondent, dated
Austin, Nevada, March 11, 1858 :—" In this region
we are making steady progre,s in legitimate min-
ing. Speculation, which by the rascality of name-
less adventurers was nearly ruinous to the good
name of our mines, has in a great measure disap-
peared. We are willing that the reputation of our
silver-bearing lodes should depend on their yield of
billion, and all we ask of those who invest capital
here is that they will act with the ordinary pru-
dence of every-day business life. If they will re-
frain from building costly mills, until they are sure
they have got reliable mines sufficiently opened to
supply the ore necessary to keep the stamps in
steady work, they will be more likely to succeed
than if, as has usually been the case, they erect a
mill and then curse the country because the ore
they wanted did not come to their hand. Our re-
putation is about to be injured by the failure of a
company in Smoky Valley, who, like others, thought
a mill was all that was needed to secure divi-
dends. If the company ever get a dividend it will
be somewhat strange indeed, unless the system of
management is so far altered that the mine and not
the mill will be made the foundation of future hopes
—which even then may be distant—as to realiza-
tion. We certainly have good mines in South-
eastern Nevada, and three years hence we shall
astonish the world by our yield of bullion. The
mines of the Twin River and Manhattan Com-
panies with their yield of a hundred thousand
dollars per month in bullion are proving on a small
scale what our best mines can do if they are rightly
opened. Send us out instead of practical men a
couple of dry goods clerks, or never-do-well pets of
the families of some of the harvest shareholders,
and even these mines will run their owners in debt
before a year. We have many equally good mines
in the country, not only at Silver Bend, but in
other districts, such as Columbus, with its famous
Northern Belle lode, and Neville, with its wondrous
Fisherman mine. Recent development in the Morey
district prove that the mines there are very valu-
able. The Magnolia lode, in that district, at the
depth of 85 feet, shows two feet of solid metallic
ore. An assay of the drillings obtained from a two-
foot hole gave an assay at Hot Creek of $1,020 per
ton. I have seen a piece of the ore just brought
from the mine, and it is certainly magnificent. Work
has been started on the Lapwing lode on Lander
Hill, one of the oldest and best locations in the rich
part of the belt. The object is to trace into a con-
flicting claim of more recent location, for which a
patent has been applied by the New York Com-
pany. I have just heard to- day of a transaction
which is much to the credit of Mr. D. G. Ogden,
who was here a few months ago, and saw more
of our mines than any, other gentleman who has
visited us from the East. A series of wild-cat
claims, in Twin River District were about to be
foisted on his company by some potent influence
within the organization. He inspected the ledges,
and became satisfied that his friends would be
swindled unless he put a check on the transaction.
I doubt not he has given much offence to those
who hoped to make money out of the business,
by so promptly exposing the rascality, but in
taking the course he did, he was befriending this
section of country as well as his own friends.
We all suffer if Eastern capitalists are unfortu-
nate enough to invest in worthless mines. I know
the property alluded to, and can easily prove that
the best ore obtainable from croppings will not
assay sts per ton, and the principal part of each
vein will not show more than a trace of silver.

PROSPECTOR.

A PEEP AT LANDER lllLL.—Through the SCOW
on February 23d we took a walk over a section of
Lander Hill. We passed the vertical shaft of the
Foiyabe Company, which is situate in the vicinity
of the Isabella and Trojan. The dimensions of the
shaft are four feet by eight feet in the clear. It is
about twenty-five feet deep, and its bottom is sink-
ing steadily every day. This part of Lander Hill,
which has been long neglected, will be the scene of
activity the coming_ summer. While passing to
the works of the Liuie and Fuller we noticed
a couple of spots that appeared to invite an open-
ing, and were informed that they had been
devoted to deep shafts. Juit now our miners seem
bent on getting at the bottom of things. The
works of the Lane and Fuller form one of a cluster
known as the " Beehive ;" for there are half a
dozen active mines—three of them bullion-producing
—within a stone's throw. It seemed but the other
day that the ground was broken for the shaft of
the Lane and Fuller, and yet we were informed
that it was one hundred and fifty feet deep. The
dimensions of the shaft are four by ten feet. The
hole is in good ground, for the workmen make three
and sometimes as high as five feet a day. One
vein of quartz had been cut in the shaft. They are
preparing to put a " cage" in the middle compart-
ment, by which means greater speed and safety
will be insured. -While our foot was in, we stepped
into the house of the Florida, whence we found
steam and muscle busily employed in the work of
extracting ore. It is usual to speak of the Florida
as " little," yet there were many pieces of ore
lying before us on the dump which showed plainly
enough that it had some pretensions to " feet.'
One great chunk was brought up in the car, which
it nearly filled, that indicated the stratum of good
ore to be from sixteen to eighteen inches thick.
There were about fifty tons of ore on the floor, the
first class of which it is estimated will yield per ton
—what we do not like to say. But we will take
care to get the figures from the mill man one of
these days. A workman told us that the ore was
taken from the 400 feet level, where the vein in
places was two feet wide and unbroken. The mine
never looked as well as at present. The working
shaft of the Nlanhattan Company, known as the
Oregon shaft, which is situated east of the ravine
and but a short distance from the " Beehive," is
sinking rapidly, as its swelling dump easily shows.
Lander Hill is nearly old enough to do for itself,
and we shall expect it to render a substantial ac-
count of its treasure.
MINING AT SILVER BEND.—Besides the opera-
tions on the Highbridge, Transylvania, El Dora-
do, and Arizona, the chief and most fully developed
mines in the district of Silver Bend, we learn that
several other locations give good promise of turn-
ing out to be valuable mines. About four miles
north-west from the town of Belmont is situated
the Highland Chief, showing a ledge six feet wide,
which produces ore of a high grade. A short dis-
tance west of the Arizona is the Belcher, upon
which the owners are sinking an incline, and which
yields excellent ore. Two miles south of the High-
bridge is the Webster, estimated to be thirty feet
wide. The owners have just completed an open
cut, in which they uncovered the ledge at the
depth of twenty feet. This claim is believed to be
a continuation of the Highbridge vein. A number
of other claims are receiving attention, and in the
spring they will be worked with vigour and
probable success. On the assured mines of the dis-
trict, such as the Highbridge, Transylvania, El
Dorado, and Silver Champion, active operations are
in progress. The Reporter says :—" Now that the
lawsuit with Kalmes is settled, we suppose the
Silver Bend Company will commence work upon
an extensive scale. The Combination Company's
steam hoisting works will be completed in two or
three weeks, when a larger force can be employed
in their mines than at present." The indications
are that the advancing season will be one of un-
common activity at Silver Bend, and that its pro-
duct of bullion will be large and increasing before
the expiration of the year. Two such veins as the
Transylvania and El Dorado are sufficient to
render the district of the first importance.—Reese
Ricer Reveille.
A mortgage for $200,000 on the Florida mine,
the property of the New York and Austin Silver
Mining Company, has just been put on record in
Lander County. It is properly executed by the
trustees of the corporation, and covers not only
the mine, but " all the buildings, engines, shaft-
ing, machinery, tools, utensils, ores, materials,
and all other property" they own in connection
with it, as well as the office of the Superinten-
dent, and the lot it is built on in upper Austin.
The debt is payable in five years and bears 7 per
cent. interest per annum, due semi-annually. If
the interest remains unpaid for 30 days after the
specified time the whole debt becomes payable
once, and by advertising the propertyfoF.n News at
ale in
two newspapers for 21 days it may be sold
York for the benefit of the mortgagees without
further trouble. The State lien law, I preosrukmoet;
will
secure the wages of the miners who work
the
mine, provided they are employed by the authorised
ageat,...Torritortal gneerprisC,