The Nevada journal., 1857-01-02
NORTH SAN JuAN.-The miners and

ditch men at San Juan are still at log
gerheads. The ditch men are stubborn,
and won't reduce the price of water,
and the miners are equally SO, and will
not agreeto pay over twenty-five cents
an inch. This is certainly an unfortun-
ate state of affairs. The ditch company
is losing about $4,000 worth of water
a week-all running to waste-and the
miners, too, are losing an immense
amount of money, for there are great
many claims that are open, and will pay
rich as soon as water can be obtained to
work them. And the miners and ditch
men are not the only ones that are suf-
fering from this disagreement; the COM
munity at large, in all branches of busi-
ness, is afected-in fact, everything is
almost stagnated.
1t is hard matter to decide where
the greatest fault lies. or which party
should make concessions, but it does ap-
pear that some compromise should be
made, and that Immediately, for the
way matters now stand. it is ruinous to
both parties. The miners seem deter
mined to stick to their demands, and say
they are firmly resolved to use no more
water until the price is reduced. From
what we can learn of the circumstances,
the miners seem to have the best of the
argument on their side. They claim
that the prices heretofore asked by the
ditch companies are exhorbitant in the
extreme, and although the water owners
have agreed to reduce it ten cents on the
inch, making it thirty cents, they still
hold that they are not able to pay that
price, to DO justice to themselves. Many
claims are not open yet, and those that
are open, they say, do not yield enough
to justify them in paying more than
twenty-five cents. This price is all the
water companies at Camptonville, Birch
vile, and other places, charge, and the
miners at San Juan think they should
be supplied ON the same terms.
1t is to be hoped that the parties will
soon come to some understanding, and
"go on their way rejoicing" in the road
to wealth. Many of the experienced
seem to think, from estimates made,
that the water company would make a
handsome profit at twenty-five cents an
inch. They are certainly losing an i'm
mense amount of money now from the
course they are pursuing, and there is
every probability that they will have to
come down to the miners terms in the
end. The water has now been running
to waste several weeks, which would
yield, as we are told, about $4,000 per
week and should it continue so much
longer, the company will soon lose more
money than they would have made at
their own price.
We understand that one company
consisting of Messrs. Howe, Harrington,
Stidger, Il Co.-are making great head
way in opening their claims. Their
ground happened to be situated where
the water was running to waste, and
they were granted the privilege of using
it at small cost, which is quite god-send
to them. They are running a deep cut
into the centre of the hill, which will
drain number of claims besides their
own. Several companies are interested
in running this cut, and as they have
great abundance. of water, they are
making rapid progress with the work.
A few days since they came across
stumps and trees buried sixty feet under
ground. From this, they seem to think
they are running into an old channel,
and if SO, they will doubtless soon strike
rich deposits-at least, we hope they
will.