San Andreas independent., 1858-07-31
JULY 81, 1853.
The Old River Channel.

have been going on Of late, in this vicini-
fy, In the way of prospecting the old
channel. This is found to be laborious
and expensive business, owing to the great
depth of the channel, and the great guam
tity of water to contend with in sinking
shafts, and the depth of the channel and
the nature of the country in most places
precluding the possibility of running
tunnels
On Gold Hill Flat, through which the
channel passes, strenuous efforts have been
made of late, to reach the bed rock, but
so far without success. Murray & Co.
have sunk two shafts to the depth of about
fifty feet, and have been working near
three months, the greater portion of the
time night and day, and in both eases
were compelled to abandon the shafts on
account of striking large boulders through
which it was impossible to blast, owing to
the quantity Of water pouring upon them
from the sides of the shaft about midway
down. They have now commenced a
third shaft, upon which they are erecting
horse power, by means of which they hope
to get down. The West End Company,
located on the same fat, have been at
work two months sinking a shaft. The
flrstforty-five feet was through sand gravel,
cobble-stones and boulders, through which
the water poured in continuous streams,
requiring constant bailing, with horse
power, day and night, to keep the water
down. AT the above depth they struck
hard lava, through which they dug dis
tance of forty feet-making from one to
two feet per day. AT this depth, eighty
five feet the lava changed from hard
to soft, brittle nature, and full of seams
through which the water boiled in such
quantities, that with three horses, chang
ing alternately, they were able barely to
keep the water out, but could send up no
dirt, and finding their labor availed moth
ing, were compelled to suspend operations
for short time. The company have,
however, commenced again with fresh
horses, and are resolved on going down,
if horses and horse power can keep the
water out.
Both companies that own claims on
this fat are sanguine that the channel is
very rich-and such is the almost univer-
sal opinion among practical miners. II
the fat can be prospected by shaft, to
place the fact of gold being there in suf
fcient quantities to pay the working
it can be drained by running tunnels
through the ledge distance of one thou
sand or twelve hundred feet
We shall now proceed, seriatim, tc
notice some of the claims east of the fiat
located on the channel Messrs. Comfort
& Co. have been at work drifting out pay
dirt, but have now suspended operations
to sink new shafts Messrs. Smith &
Co., continue work, in sinking new pros
pecting shafts, with a fair showing of
success-haying found good pay on the
high ledge.
Several claims in the old San Andreas
gulch are now preparing to open the deep
channel, with horsepower machinery
AT the old Dunning claim, Moiet & Co.
have been for three months stripping the
sand and lava off the pay dirt; a few weeks
more work, and the pay dirt will be ready
to lift. The Company will have about
two hundred feet of the channel for ope-
rations this year They are working
around the old shaft where serenity fee
ounces to the pan was taken out several
years ago. In the next claim, McFall &
Co.'S, and the adjoining one of Marlette
e. Co., the parties are drifting and rails
ing pay-dirt. In the Marlette claim,
drifting has been difficult on account of
foul air at the bottom of the shaft Two
intersections have been made with old
shafts, which circulates current of air
in the drifts, and to a great extent re-
moved the difficulty; still, much care is
required to insure safety. Proceeding
east, is the Tunnel Claim of B. J. Latz
4 Go. The tunnel is run seven hundred
and fifteen feet, in to tho channel, and
they are now sinking shaft at the end
of it, to afford air and other facilities for
working the lead. The depth of the
shaft is one hundred and thirty-fve feet
seventy-five feet is already down. This
makes the third shaft they have sunk
through hard cement, lava and rock. But
as the prospect obtained on striking
the ledge was sufficient to encourage the
enterprise, they work with cheerful coun-