San Andreas independent., 1858-03-06
LETTER FROM CAVE CITY.
CAVE Cry, March Sd, 1853.


CAVE Cry, March 3D. 1853.
Mr. Editor Having afew leisure moments
to write, and not seeing, lately, any CORES
pondence from this place, and believing that
there is not a Camp in the State that offers
better or more Inducements to industrious
miners than this far-famed Cave City,-famed
now most for her Mammoth Cave,-as she will
be ere long for her boundless golden resources,
in quartz and placer mining Well, as have
began, will try and give you some few par
ticulars as regards the richness and extent of
our mines.
Quartz mining, you may say, has just be-
gan; the claim situated on the San Antonio
river, prospects very rich, and being something
of quartz-miner myself, think there is not
better "lode' in this county; it is called the
Lardo Yein," or lode,-the one that has been
in litigation so long. / hear that they have
formed themselves into Joint Stock Compa-
ny, with capital stock of forty thousand dol
lars, (S4o,ooO,) consisting of four hundred
shares, under the direction of Messrs. Wm l..
Dudley, Cooking, and John Dunlap, as Trus
tees, and further hear that they have or are
about putting up machinery on the lode.
There is another quartz mill going up on
Burdcks Flat, which will run ten stamps
This vein or lode is some four feet wide, and
has been worked the past year by Spaniards
with arastras, which paid them over six oun-
ces to the ton of rock. Judging from this,
| Al,
pect here, for am sure it is continuation
of the West Point lode. The placer diggings
are paying remarkably well. On CASTOR Hill,
the boys are making some five or six dollars
day to the hand clear of water-money. One
claim, just at the foot of the Scotch Boys
claim is averaging over two ounces per day to
the hand. 1t is called Parson Il Ross claim.
AS we came down CASTOR Hill, we struck
Casey Charleys" claim-the same one that
has been worked for the last three years, which
has paid on an average of eight dollars per
day to the hand since it was opened. | was
talking to one of the company the other day,
and he told me their dividend was over fifty
dollars week to the hand now, with two or
three years work done. We now come into
the Hoffman Gulch, which is paying from five
to seven dollars a day, with now and then
chispa of one which they took out last week,
being something larger than the others it was
weighed separate, which contained over twenty
dollars clear gold. On Burdick's Flat, all the
boys are doing well. On Cave Hill, Messrs
Campbell Il Co. are making first rate wages.
Week before last, out of two and half days
water, they washed out eighteen and one
fourth ounces, and last week, out of three days
washing, took out over twenty eight ounces.
Farr, Burdick K Co.'S claim, adjoining theirs
which they have just began to work-one of
the partners told me he saw good prospects in
the ground-sluice This is, | think, contin-
uation of the CASTOR Hill lode
| In Dutch Gulch Willis & Co., and Hender-
son Co., doing first rate. On Table
Mountain, two Austrian Companies, with the
energetic Henry Shelton at their head, have
put up two of the best hydraulics in the coun-
| ty, with almost one hundred feet fall. The
company informed me, that with some four
weeks run of water, they had paid their debts
and declared a small dividend. Further on in
the mountains, we came to the Smith boys
tunnel, which is beautiful piece of work
and while talking, they informed me that they
would not sell out for two thousand dollars,
with the prospects now in view, although they
could not work in it at present, from the fact
that while driving their tunnel it ran past
some holes that had been partly put down for
prospecting purposes, and the last rains had
filled them upwith water which oozes through
on them while drifting, and they had conclu-
ded to give it up until spring, as they have a
surface claim that pays them from four to six
dollars to the hand. | then took run to
Bill Clary's Ranch; which, by the way is one
of the best in the county-his crop looks first
rate. lie is now engaged in putting in bed
rock flume on what is now called Chinese
Guch (on Table Mountain), which has paid
good wages for several years. l then went to
Mr.. Henderson's Ranch. near Cave City, on
which he has some twenty-five acres under
all looking beautiful.
suppose you would like to know of the
Cotillon Parties, we have here, every Monday
night. / will venture to say that we are bless
ed with more beautiful married ladies and
pretty girls than any other mining Camp in
the mountains, and if any one does not think
so, let him come up here some Monday eve-
ming, and when the music is struck up and the
old gentleman calls out " first four forward,
and back" he will see an array of youth and
beauty, on the light fantastic toe, not even ex-
celled by city bellies. Leave your "sanctum,"
throw off your bachelor notions, and come to
our weekly matinee hops,' while time is on
the wing. Au revoir. PROSPECTOR.
Gov. WELLER AND THE STATE PRIsoN.-Some
| ridiculous rumOrS were af1oat last NIGHT tn the