The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1859-12-01

f'Sco III Solu, " CuJ uOWH lUS ana
feed of its grass at their own discretion,
leaving to the fortunate owner only the
privilege of paying the taxes, which, un
der the management of public affairs by
officers politically and personally hostile
to HIM, have been swelled to no less than
SlO,O0O per annum-hiS taxes, remember,
on an estate which every body used or
wasted as they saw fit, and which was
yielding him no income whatever For
the feeble efforts at quartz mining made
IN his behalf in his abscence-in the abb
sence, too, of all successful experience in
such mlnlng,-only served TO involve him
still more deeply in debt, which was furth-
er swelled by unfortunate agencies and
business connections, until an aggregate
OF his liabilities on account of this prop
erty can hardly have fallen short of half
million dollars.
Such were the circumstances under
which he determined, in 1857, to return
to his California estate, and here, sur
rounded by his family, devote all his time
and energies to its Improvement and rem
ovation. In the spirit of that determina-
tion he has since lived and laborcd. rising
with the lark, and striving to obtain
complete knowledge and mastery of the
entire business, taking more and more
labor and responsibility on his own should
ers as he felt himself able to bear it, un-
| til he is now manager, chief engineer,
| cashier, accountant and at the head of
every other department but that of law
for which he finds it necessary still to rely
on professional aid. And his mines are
at length becoming productive and prof.
| table. His first (steam) mill, near his
dwelling, runs eight stamps night and
| day, his second, (water) mill, three miles
distant, on the NJ creed, at the north end
OF his estate, runs twelve stamps, also con-
stantly; and the two are producing gold
at the rate Of at least 250, 900 per annum
at an absolute cost, | am confident, of not
more than S150,000. Of course he needs
| all the profits if not more, to extend and
perfect bis works, having already a much
larger water mill nearly ready to 90 into
operation besides that on the Merced, in
which he expects, | believe to run, fifty
six stamps, and he hopes to have one hun
| dred In all, running before the close of
| 1860. With that number, L believe, he
would be able, by giving his constant per-
sonal attention to the business, aided by
faithful and capable assistants, to realize
a net profit of at least $4,000 per week,
which would very soon clear him of debt,
and leave him unincumbered in the ow-
nership of perhaps the finest miningp prop
| erty in the world.
Still the Spanish proverb t'it takes a
mine to work a NINE is exemplifed in
his case as in others. A large additional
investment is needed to render his proper
ty as productive as it might be. For in
stance, he has just contracted for the
transportation Of 80 900 tons of vein-stone
from his great mine to his mill on the
| Merced (barely mile and a half down
hill) for $50 600. One half of this sum
would construct railroad from the heart
of the mine down to the floor of the mill,
and take down this amount of rock, leav-
ing the railroad and 10000 clear again
But he must have the rock at once, while
the railroad would require time and a
heavy outlay of ready cash. a Roths-
child would build the railroad forthwith,
and save 40, 900; but Col. f. not being yet
Rothschild, whatever he nay in time
become, must bide his time.
His great mine, though not the richest
is probably the most capacious in Califor-
MIA. Its thickness varies from eight TO
thirty-eight feet-I believe it is in one
place sixty-feet wide. 1t is in fact cliff
or pyramid of gold bearing quartz inclosed
| in mountain of slate-a mountain deeply
gashed and scanned in various directions
by the water courses which run down it
to the Merced. These ravines, this riv-
er, aided by proper engineering, obiviate
all the usually heavy, often ruinous ex-
pense of pumping; the mine, properly
opened, will not only clear itself of water,
but the veln-stone may be easily run out
on incline tram-roads, instead of being
hoisted to the surface through shafts by
an enormous outlay of power Then the
width of the vein obviates all necessity
for dead work, save in sinking shafts and
running up adits, the princinal work is
rather quarrying than mining; and there
can be no apprehension that the vein will
give out or grow poor, because it has al
ready been tested at its various out-crops
to depth of fifteen hundred feet, and
is richer at the bottom than near the top,
where it has mainly been worked to this
time. l have no doubt that there are
S1O,000,000 in this mine above water lev
el-that is, the level Of the Merced-
and, that, though the yield of gold thus
far has fallen rather below $40 per tun,