The Georgetown news., 1855-11-29
Cement Hill.


GUS hills extending for some distance on the
divide between Canon Greek and the Mid
die Fork of the American River, can be
readily distinguished what is termed Ce-
ment Hill From its summit, which is up
wards of $500 feet above the level of the
Pacific ocean, may be surveyed with the
naked eye, in a south and westerly direc-
ton, almost the entire surface of the Sacra-
mento river, from point below Marysville
to its confluence with Suisun Bay, and al
so the coast range Of mountains and the
vast extent of country Intervening In
north and easterly direction may be viewed
the middle branch of the American river,
and its tributaries, nearl y all Of which are
highly productive of gold. Further on and
rearing heavenWard, in all their majestic
grandeur, may be seen the snow-capped
peaks of the Sierra Nevada.
The above hill is principally composed
on the surface and for some distance ap-
preaching the bedrock, of cement, stratas
of which, in many places, are of a very COM
pact nature, intermixed with hard granite
bOulders. Next comes a strata of sediment
some sixty feet in depth, interspersed with
large quantities of timber peculiar to this
country, some of which is quite sound and
apparently in perfect state of preserva-
tion. When exposed to the atmosphere,
however, it has tendency to slack and Of
ten crumbles to atoms. Sulphate of iron,
so denominated by scientific gentlemen, of
variegated colors, is quite common, and on
ly found in oak timber, and that too which
is in state approaching decomposition-
Pine burs in perfect state of preservation
are often dug out. The imprints of leaves,
IN both the cementatory and sedimentary
formations, are also frequently discovered.
which in places are in such quantities as
to demonstrate the deposition at some
past period, of an amount of no small mag
nitude. Many other geological curiosities
are found by those who have penetrated
this hill for the purpose of developing its
mineral wealth.
In the spring of 1851, the first tunnel
that was driven into this hill, was run bv
the Nevada Company, which, being too
high, proved unsuccessful This same com
pany have, however, since that time pene-
trated the hill near its base, and struck
good diggings The different mining COM
panies that have been carrying on their op-
erations heretofore in that locality, have
run in all 7,400 feet Of tunnel, at an aver
age cost of nearly S26 per foot, or expend-
ed Sll8,O0O, and that too for running in
the bedrock alone. Out of ten tunnels that
have reached the basin of the hill, five have
proven good. They have been highly re-
munerative and will not probably all be
worked out for years to come The sue
cessful companies and the different periods
at which they reached pay dirt, are as fol-
lows: Blackhawk Company, in the fall of
1858; the Swiftsure Co., winter of '53-'54,
Nevada Co., fore part of summer of "a;
Eureka Co., latter part of same summer,
and the Roanoke Co., some two months ago.
The pay dirt which they obtain, is in some
places composed of stratas of river pebble
from an inch to two feet in thickness; and
in other places the gold is found intermix-
ed with the cement and detached quantities
of bedrock, dislocated no doubt by the i'm
mense pressure of earth to which it has
been subjected.
Cement Hill has proven to be the most
difficult to penetrate of all the different hills
in this section of country. 1t is almost
entirely surrounded by rim of bedrock,
spots of which are nearly powder-proof.-
A great number of the tunnels that have
been driven into it, have cost at times for
running $50 per foot.