The hydraulic press., 1859-10-22
WESTERN UTAH MINES.

A recent visit to the scene of the rich min
eral discoveries, beyond the eastern slope of
/ the Sierra Nevada, enables us to lay before
the public some interesting and reliable par
ticulars concerning that region, which at
present attracts a great degree of attention..
Without going into lengthy description of
the whole outward trip, full of instructive
incident as it was, we will merely premise,
that after three and a half days wearisome
horseback riding, over the Sierra Nevada,
down in its eastern descent, southwark along
the famous Truckee, and through the cir
! cumscribed, mountain bound pfaries known
as Steamboat, Smiths and Washoe Valleys,
our party arrived at Carson City-stuated
in the center of Eagle Valley, seventeen
miles northward of Genoa, and its ambitious
rival A further description of the place
and its surroundings will be given hereafter
| Riding northward to the head of Eagle VAL
| ley, nearly following the course of Carson
| river, which we saw once, our way led over
| a succession of low, rolling, gravelly hills,
here and there very sandy, but generally
strewn with sandstone holders, and clad
| cedars. The path of the weary emigrant is
marked along this region by numbers of
dead cattle, which come Extensively betwixt
the wind and ones nobility. Turning to the
westward after few miles, we left the emil
grant road, and took up what is called Am
erican canon-a long, deep gulch, winding
among rolling gravel hills of red color,
| like the foot hills of California, only on a
| larger scale, less rounded, rising sometimes
to the dignity of rocky peaks, and clad with
sage bushes, dry bunch grass, scrubby ce-
dar and unfrequenNy a meager dwarf pine.
| These foot hills are all aHriferous, and weuld
pay good wages if water could be had te
wash them. American Canon leads into
American Flat. This is owl-shaped ba-
sin, formed by the united Slopes of surround
| ing hills, quilted by raviRes and containing
a deep diluvial stratum, which is gold-bear-
| ing. We were told that it is all claimed,
and prospects from one cent to twenty-five
cents to the pan. There is no water, except
| what is furnished for short season by the
ravines. Passing out of this basin, we en-
tered another long gulch, called Gold Cam
on, winding amid hills similar to those de-
| scribed above, and terminating at the base
of one well known as Gold HILL Here there
is mining town exactly like the canvass,
/ brush, stone and rough board hamlets of
early days in this State, the various tene-
ments amounting to about two dozen in all.
| One, a canvass edfice, was labeled " Res
taurant," and seemed to be the only public
| house, except whiskey tent opposite. 4
few men were washing dirt with rockers at
the side Of muddy poels Of water, each dip=
ping it up as it flowed from his neighbor.
The dirt washed was decomposed quartz,
obtained from the sioping base of a high
cliff of crumbling red quartz. Enough gold
is freed, in the form of impalpable powder,
80 that they can collect, as we were told,
from $40 to 10 ozs. per day to the rocker.
Several other parties were crushing the same
material in arastras, and saving more. The
method of working struck us as being very
wasteful and inefficient. Numbers of men
were prospecting for other leads, or testing,
or opening some already found. The quartz
| in this region crops out in bold masses, tre-
quently constituting the peak or comb Of a
large hill, and individual veins of it may be
traced by the eye for miles. We could not
learn that the solid rock had ever been
tested.
Leaving Gold Hill and going nerthward,
we soon came to Virginia city, unreasonably
known in California as the Washoe diggngs.
This is place of some thirty houses; seye-
raj cf which are constructed of a rough
block ssone, which here lies elen.ifully scat
tered on the surface. There are, BESIDES
many emigrant tents. The general scene
presented was that CT busy, populots, say
age ard dirty mining town. The famous
Comstock, or Virginia lead, everywhere
known for its rich gold and silver ore, is on
slope of the hill facing to the eastward,
running about northeast and south west,
and the entire wall of quartz is nine feet
thick What the base rock is we could not
perceive, but presume it was sandstone, as
that is the prevalent rock thereaEouts. 1t
is probable that this entire wall of quartz is
metaliferous bet whether it will all pay is
not definitely known, though one gentleman
assured Us it would. The vein of rich sill
yer bearing rock, which is leaden-hued, or
blueish, and very dense, is in the center of
the wall, and is about six inches thick. 1t
contains silver and copper united in the form
of lustrous yellow sulphuret, with occa-
sional crystals of sui phuret of lead and even
iron. Pieces of pure metallic silver are
rarely found we saw only two, the largest
of which was not bigger than hazlenut.
Quite the richest ore is thin vein of soft
blackish rock, that can be readily crumbled
in the fingers and shows no lustrous crystals.
The Virginia lead was first struck by a
drinking character, whoge soubriGttet gave
it name. He hit upon its decomposed sur
face while following up small ravine in the
course of ordinary gold washing, and parted
with his interest in it for mere song. The
lead has been traced and claimed fCr a long
distance, but there are only three companies
who are taking out money from it. On the
north end Hughes, Malgenada & Co. are
working The top, using three arastras, each
of which yields daily about Sl0o in gold.
The tailings are carefully saved, as it is be-
lieved they will yield enough silver to pay
all the expense of working. This company
are preparing an adobe furnace for smelling
the silver ore themselves, and expect shortly
to send to San Francisco the first bar of
Washoe silver. Some of the rock in this