Daily national Democrat., 1859-11-04
The Cold Fields near Mono Lake.

Isaac A. Stevens, of Tuolumne county,
gives an account in the Columbia News, of a
trip which he recently took to Mono Lake
He informs us that the diggings are in a
granite range. Mich of the ground consists
of deeomposed granite. The dggings were
discovered by u hunter from the Walker
River Mines, in July last. The diggings are
from three to nine or ten feet deep, and be
tween the top and pay dirt there is a stratum
ofyellow cement, The dirt pays high up on
the side hills. "There are only two sluice
streams of water" he says "in the ditch that
supplies the diggngs, and that is used over
about dozen times. The ditch is three
miles and quarter long, and is taken from
the east branch of Walkers river which
leaves that stream dry. That river, as it is
called, is fed 10y a fresh water lake, at which
it heads. 1t is thought that the lake can be
tapped so as to obtain more water. The
ditch is to be enlarged as soon as the water
freezes up.
The miners are making about twenty dol
|
ed the falls on the gulch, and above the falls
they are making MS high as fifty dollars per
day to the hand sometimes much more-ac-
cording to the most reliable information that
1 could obtain, The gold is fine, and what is
called shot gold. 1t is rare thing to find q
piece that weighs two bits. The largest piece
that heard of weighed one dollar and half
How extensive the dggings are no man can
tell, for the country has not been much pros
pected owing to the scarcity of water and the
lack of other conveniences to sink holes thro
quicksand, where the depth is such as to re
quire earbing or windlass in order to get
to the ledge. In some places the ground is
much deeper than where it is being worked.
| observed one guleh, north of the one that
is being worked where holes had been sunk
to the depth of 10 or 20 feet, without strik.
ing the ledge. 1t is two or three miles long,
and is said to prospect well, but no water can
be got to it until new ditch is made. There
has been a new ditch surveyed, higher up
than the present. which is to be dug next
summer. That ditch will be about twelve
miles long, including two miles of fluming.-
The creek which the water is to be taken
from has so or go sluice streams in it at the
present time and emptes into Mono Lake,
near the lower end. The fume is to be three
feet broad. and 1 believe about two feet
high"
Mono Lake is a beautiful sheet of water.
situated in a large plain, and is seventy five
miles in circumference. 1t contains two
islands, one of which is six miles long and
three miles broad. Mr. Stevens says that,
according to the maps he has seen. the coun-
ties of Calaveras, Mariposa and Fresno come
together on one of the Islands, leaving the
diggngs in the county of Calaveras. Accor
ding to another map the Diggiugs are in
Utah Territory. The water of Mono Lake
is alkaline and contains no fish, But the
lake is covered, we are told by one of our
Yuba county explorers in that region, with
millions upon millions of ducks, many Of
them of a species, he thinks, scarcely known
to onithologists. Some of them are beauti.
full beyond all description. Hunters go out
in canoes and kill thousands.
We fancy we should like to take trip
next summer to Mono Lake.