San Andreas independent., 1857-02-14


few days The hill is very rich and with the
present ground-slnicing process, yields from
eight to ten dollars per day. The gold is coarse
and very heavy-a piece was picked up off the
bed rock by our comrade worth two dollars
and half little below this claim is the
celebrated railroad claim, from which the hill
derives its name. The operation failed, because
commenced too high up on the lcdge-and also,
there being no water or ditch at the time of its
completion. The adjoining claim is owned by
Wood Knight, Jack Cooper, Thos Palmer, Lu-
ther Lee and Sam. Batchelder, and enters the
hill facing the San Antonio on the southern
slope from Fergusons claim. The company
are now preparing to ground-suice, by running
q tunnel in through the bedrock some two
hundred feet, when they will strike an old shaft
which was sunk some time since, and pros
pected rich from the top to the bottom-some
places as much as four bits to the pan. The
hole is over sixty feet deep, and no bottom
Several other shafts at different points on this
claim indicate similar prospects. We consider
this one of the surest mining operations in the
county. The tunnelis already blasted in about
fifty feet through the solid ledge, and villas
they work night and day-in about three weeks,
reach through the ledge, when they will reap
rich harvest for their present outlay.
On returning, we noticed the formation of the
hill and the natural circumstances, which
caama6 tn hot tba optir hill in rs
concave bed, must be extremely rich. Com
mencing at Cooper's Ranch, every gulch on
either side, has paid well, where they head near
the top, with depth, so as to wash down the
ledge or rim-rock. In every instance where
the gulch was caused by a breaking off of the
rim-rock, the diggings were extremely rich,
while the smaller gulches which did not extend
above the rim-rock, would not pay water
money This is also a feature of the hill i'm
mediately opposite Upper Calaveritas, and other
points on line with this ancient river bed,
which crosses the Calaveritas at an acute angle
near where the town is located and from thence
passing up through Old Gulch, ONeils Bar &c.
Returning towards Calaveritas, the first claim
in that section of the hill is tunnel claim,
owned by Judge Drant & Co We are informed
they struck pay-dirt last week, which was very
rich. Crossing small gulch, we came to the
hydraulic claim of Shannon & Co., known as
"Shorty's claim which is fairly opened and
yields well-as much as twelve to twenty-five
dollars per day to the hand The company
were cleaning up, and we saw twelve or fifteen
ounces of rich analgun,, and a few chispas of
a bit or two bits, were the largest pieces 4
few weeks since they had a bank slide into the
claim, which they hydrauiced out in a short
time, and cleaned up fifteen ounces of gold.-
We know Shorty to be a capital good fellow,
and has wife and family living close by, to
help him enjoy his good fortune. We do not
begrudge him the gold, but certainly envy the
happy man who has wife, children and friends
around him, so costly situated as some of the
miners around in those diggings. We do not
wish to be personal, but if every camp of the
size of Upper Calavertas was as well supplied
with good wives and dutiful husbands, a differ
ent state of affairs would soon pertain in Cali
fornia.
The next claim North, belongs 10 Pierce &
Co., in the very centre of the series, and is,
probably, the richest one in the hill. 1t is di-
vided into three shares, and WAS worked con-
siderably last season. They were forced, how
ever by the bedrock pitching in to sink a new
cut some eleven feet deeper than the old one,
to carry off the taiiings. The new cut is now
| nearly completed, when they will put on the
hydraulic power again. The last week they
washed in the old cut, the company took out
$500.
The last claim of the series is owned by
Messrs. Burnham & Co. They have washed up
to the line between their claim and Pierce 4
Co.'s; there arc four shares in the claim, and they
make from six to ten dollars per day to the
hand They also have a hydraulic hose, with
which they wash the dirt
Each of these claims have the following pc
culiarities and appearances: They are situated
on a hillside, near the top; the hill has an
angle of about thirty-two degrees. Deep cuts
were first run in through the rim rock until a
facing could be had for ground-sluicing which
was the first tintroducton-this continued until
a sufficient opening was made for safety in the
hydraulic process when that operation was in
troduced Each claim has now facing of
from thirty to sixty feet, with fair opening to
hydraulic with safety The ground pays from
the surface to the bedrock. The richest pay
dirt is always between layers of sand and other
river deposits that are plainly visible in the
bank. Nearly all the dirt is hard brittle ma
terial, cemented together like mastic, embed
ding round river pebbles and boulders of slate,
granite and quartz, also alluval deposits of
sand, slum and gravel, tinted various hues by
minute iron crystal and other epigene and hy-
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