New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-01-13
CcoIosicai-Quartz Veins and Minins'
Ffom The Elts Cali'oTns
Nun, CITY. Dec. Z, l59l.


Fn,rops AIR, CAIIFoRsIA-
read m The California Courier OF the 20 DecemoeI
An article on the discoveries OF ne" oeIs
of cold at Bear Valley. aarip,si CouhY'th "u.Sa
the attention OF the public IS very justly 0tileu " ~
relatlsn existing between those deP0s's anu 'oe uo
,o,iz vein hicn traverses the whole of Bear Val.
lev from Mount Ophlr 70 the MERGED loe peIuSiI
OF that article nss induced me 10 iequtst oI wv
small space m our Journal loI u -. - 81
une form some general acts Ine IeSu'' VI 'J oN
observations OF the euarZ formations
The newspapers daiiy announce the eiscoVeIJ OF
rev VEINS IN different quarters compares arc os'
taoljsbeo 10 work them and machinery is III opera
ton IN every county AZ San Francisco ana S'o,k'
ton foundrles are already lighting ,heu nfes LOT Tue
construction of new machinery am every ono saAos
posseeson Of his claim. ard discusses toe yea ot
MS vein But amid the pFeoccupdu'h o. vlNaye
interests II is Impossible 20 seize any fdct ems-
mating from observation which may serve as fuie
Of comparison or basis ~ genera dppiesiaslon
waste supply tins deficiency, and es'aoSh sohe eeu
eraI law respecting the stratihcalon ana CHARACTER
OF these metallic veins, or threads ina nave ud'
ersed Cali 'orla foot, over mountan ana sh'ouSu
v.liev from the elbow Of the Sdn Joaquin 10 the
stanisisus You have eIdeayorsd 10 excite the m
ierest 0. the public in the mineral wealth OF 'he
country ana respond 70 your appeal Win 'ne NOPE
Of throwing some gt On the SUBJECT or al leass W
,n.te with Won IN inviting the Intelligent minds OF
tis State 10 attempt each within the sphere OF ms
wnlocalty, some research which may Dc uSeIui
for all . hro a.,
every stem from which there can scarcely De d"uo'
that The gold Of the placcrs has emanateo, quartz
teing the only rock there oun1 IN cOniiecon WV, WIN
II hut what Is not yet sui ciently known or az ieal
has not vet been published. Is that through the en-
tire zone OF the pacers, which have yet peeh wor9eu
thereexsts but one thread or VEN properly so caneu
having regular ana continued s.tauhc at'"h
mother vein, which runs along the sierra Ne'dua'
and appears even to extend into oregon. ,-.;..
TINS run has It's peculiar stratnc4Ilon, Oliec'eh,
inclination and character ana on II are OF
the principal Southern mining companleSIa iacI OF
1xtich few q them aware. Inc oLneI Veins
throughout the country are only seconaaIy-i msdh
seroucary in "a geological point OF Fie"-ln theH
r,h and regularity OF srati6cation but not as re
ards their richness IN ore for 1t often happens ina
tne branch veins apparently the most inooes'' are
IN CERTAIN localities, richer than the nam one
The Bear Valley vein, spoken o. IA IHe courier o
the % Dec is precisely TINS prlnclp al VEN IL mrs
SHOWS itself lower down toward Manposa CITY, on
The nropeyty Of Col Ffemont-at least 1t was there
maj fTst discovered uaces OF 1t. Thence 1t con-
rues parallel to the Sierra Nevada nom Sout-eas'
to north west Five miles from the Mdriposa IsiVer
At forms the summit OF Noun! oPhlr, oeLo" "nlc WHICH
are the large and excellent works OF the Merceu
Mining Company. From Mount Opnlr IL runs
through Bear Valley and there throws on several
shoots, the prncipai OF which are me JosepnIhe
Mime Pine Tree Mine, Bunl Co., and Smitn q
Co.. and passed the MERGED at point cahed hld-
ley's Ferry. After leaving this river the VEN
divides INTO three branches, which dlVerge respec-
lively to the east west, southeast, and northwest
chose to pursue my examination along tue TWO
latter, which appeared TO me most important On
the west branch, which for several mues ioIio"s
the course of the MERGED, is situated the oauots
Mine a claim owned by Messrs. Johnson 81 90. the
Adellne Mining Co s claim, which 10 WORKED Dy W.
Lacharmo. a French engineer and the cIs,m Oh
Captain urnay & 90. Ga the branch 81 ~. W.
are the claims OF Messrs. White Co aud OF toter
q CO. After these both branches cross maxSeTS
Creek, beyond which is the claim Of Count Wass,
and unite az AIN on Quartz Mountain which appears
10 be the result OF this Junction. From Qnaf'z
MountaIn the vein takes course toward the Tue
luune River, crossing II and passing above sonora
To Campo SecO, where II is In greater volume, ana
exhibits more extension than at any olher poihs on
From Melones followed the lead about 10 miles
further, TO the ghbCrhood OF the S:anlslals eav,
iDg il there TO return to Stockton but OBSERVED
that IT continued toward the west.
am now established at Nevada City, where con-
tnue my study OF this subject, and | have since
heard from several persons that there IS vein lew
miles further north which comes from the neighbor-
hood of Sonora am almost convinced, from geo.
logical deductions and my own examinations that
tins vein is the which is mentioned above and
that 1t extends into Oregon
This vein, as far as nave followed Tvs course, is
OF different breadths, In Bear Valley II varies from
30 TO so feet and at delones is over 100 feet
have already remarked that It has particular
direction and Inclination, and distinct stranucd-
ton. It's direction, III effect is parallel to the crest
Of the Sierra Nevada, from 5. T. TO n. w. without
much variation; its inclination Is from AZ 10 40.
As REGARDS its qualification, II is always accompa-
MED and 1t Is the only vein In California whchs 30,
ty "A distinctive rock, blush green porphyry CON-
pact and slightly lrrdiated being variety ofporphy-
Itlc ophltes, The slnuOstles OF winch can be really
traced by the. color ON the nelghOoriDg MIS- par
ucularly at Bear Valley and at AaxwetFs Greek
from the most elevated point of the AGeIne Compa-
nys claim, where this porphyry Is In great a0uhu-
ance and runs parallel TO the VEN
IL often occurs thatithe vein is met by other sec
Ondary veins and the points OF Junction are pirucu-
larry rich III ore Sometimes the porphyry Is fOun1
on the east or west Of the VEN, sometimes emorac-
ing 1t either side, as at Quartz Mountain, near
MaxwelPs Greek but these arrangements are not
such 10 prevent an attentive observer from tracing
lou of Ih.slf
guish this quartz formation from all the others.
shall not dwell long on the characteristics oil nus
porphyrltic VEN. As this is not sclenlHc Teatse,
shall content myself with oTlef series Iacts the
result OF observation and intended for practical pur-
poses
like the principal vein, special position In contact
In the nelghborhood of contact with pOrp1yIy anu
tSlcose slate rice lRdstncty and In variable dlrec
lions above all the rocks, whether schlst, granite
gneiss, porphyry, or quartz. Toward MarlpoSS, tne
veins which traverse the slate are veins OF gold,
while those in the granite have not yet produced
anything In the direction OF Sonora all the veins
are IN the slate but toward Grass Valley and Nevada
they are on the contrary IN the granite ana many oil
them, containing gold, are worked.
In the porphyrluc vein the gold is generally ac-
companied by IRON, copper or lead pyrties ana is
found sometimes In rich pockets, sometimes In very
fine bands the continuity of which announce
pocket These bands are ordinarily of blush
color, from the presence Of schist the separations
In which (oceasloned by its interpretation AMID the
QuaItzl appear TO have afforded passage for the
metal
Sometimes the gold is found disseminated through
the white quartz, and the vein then yields much
more regularly. have seen such pockets al Mount
Ophir, Adehne Nine and at Pacheco's claim at Me-
tones. At AdelIne Nine there is, moreover, large
| and continued band of ore which has already been
| dug more than so feet deep IL is the same on a
cialn at Meones, which is worked by French com
pany. The vein worked by Golfer, at Maxwell
Creek, ia remarkable for the regular diffusion of the
| gold in all parts of 1t.
In the secondary veins the gold is found more
| uniformly spread through the mass OF white quartz
and mingled with larger quantity of iron pyrltes.
| yeiy often the small VEN is the richest.
Ia the direction OF Marlposa the crystals Of pyrite
are smaller and IN less quantity toward Sonora the
number IS greater as we'll as their slze-they are
| often as large common dice. At Nevada their
oimen,ons are still greater and their proportion to