Weekly Trinity journal., 1857-03-21
NO. g..

u day for Calfornia-aye, the beginning Of new
era of prosperity for all.
will conine my remarks to three different
classes of rocks, upon the surface of which We
find gold. Under the first denomination class
the granite. GRANTEES which constitutes the most
part of primitive grounds, are generally rocks
with smooth surfaces. As for me, | have always
found them very poor with one exception. have
heard il stated that the surface of these rocks
have been found very frequently to yield proita-
bly, in the central pluoers, and it is no uncommon
thing to find gold in the gravel beds lying on
the granite. The next class may be styled the
dmphi6oiuS, an excessively hard rock and blue
and green colored. Its nature is not calculated
to retain gold, although sometimes the crevices
or pockets that lay on them, often contain guam
titles of gold. come now to the third and last
class. The PhyiludeS rocks leaves more or less
gold apparent by their consttutive principle
These rocks are apt to retain gold, and exhibit,
sometimes, richness truly Incredible. The
cleaning of this kind of rock requires much care.
have sometimes found gold as deep as one foot
and hal f in the cruckngs, and have made good
wages where one or two companies had previous
ly worked There is also another kind OF rock
which miners call the rotten rocks, and which ap
pear to belong to the Phytiadcs family. The tdis
which forms the constitutve principle is found in
large proportion, and the tdie is very apt to de-
compose itself under the atmosphercal influence.
There arc many subdivisions in the great variety
!
except differing in color do not intend to
speak about quartz, which constitutes the miues
of California and which is entirely different from
what we call placcrs. | will at some future ttmo
| give my opuon in reference to quartz, AS madc
up from observation in 1852 in the quartz mines
of Mexico. | will speak more OF the practical
part of my subject of the review although as
! have sant gold is found in almost all alluvious
parts Of our mountains. There are places where
/ gold is found in large quantties-n word, there
Is the vein, Now by what characteristics shall
we know this vciny must confess that although
| have had an experience of almost six years in
the mines, | never met with the talisman which
should make gold discCrnable at the first sight.
use the word talisman, because this word con-
veys TO my mind and brings back to my recol-
lection u mystiication in which the miners of
Murphy's were yctmzcd in 1850. A gentleman
well dressed and expressing himself in dstin-
guished manner, maintained that by means of
a magic wand which he passed with mysterious
gesture on the soil, he could ascertain the places
where the auriierous. deposits were lodged. Ths
consequence was that the most credulous lost
their money, which is generally tho finale Of such
circumstances. The gold vein is either in the
rock or in the gravel We say that the vein is
| in the rock when we find the largest nart of gold
adhcrlng TO its surface. The second case ta2es
| place when the precious metal is found scattered
In the gravel In which case it is generally fine
| The vein is found more particularly in beds
! formed by water courses in the raylnes. 1t Is
found generally in the middle. 1t may happen
also that it does not exist at all, or that after
| you have been following il for certain time ID
stops suddenly In these two cases we must
practice HcedRg to the right and left Of the ra-
vine, because IL is probable, above all, when the
lateral faces of hills which form the ravine arc
not too steep that the old or true bed the aurif-
erous bed. has been heaped up by old slides in
the mountains. The vein is also found in some
beds, but generally less apparent, which is now
the kind of gravel containing gold In Weaver
Vile it is the gravel which Is the hardest and tho
most compact which pays the best. 1t is exactly
the reverse in Trinity river. 1t is the gravel
that is easily loosened with the pick. In Ridge
Vile we find gold in Il clayey ground. mixed up
/ with stones In Yrcka the vein is found in u
kind of carbonized ground and finally, one mile
aud half above Jacksonville, | found in 1850,
two specimens lin vegetable ground,) weighing
$3.50. How can we then establish rules after all
this? A man must after this, Notwithstanding
his experience, avow his ignorance, aud acknowl-
edge that science lies coniounded in mystery.