The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1860-04-21

0RxaoAY-M0UNrAlx Crrr-THE SURppUup


lvrsn ~ Reeky Assatain Newa]
4 P1KE'S RBAK.
iGREooaY-MoUSrAM Clrr-THR SrRnounnsnu
AfNEs. And PnoeeKcrs.
Since our last Issue We have spcnt . couple a
days in looking arOand through the luosntai
! mines. There are four or ave thousand men .
. work IN the vicinity, either mining or l,scparin
to begin ns soon 40 the weather i more favo,
Q able. 81 = '"' 80 :"
. For two or three weeks mast. the weather In
been squally and cool, 20 that but little could b
done in the way Of washing but the time is be
ing improved in digging ditchea, building dams
4 ana preparing sluices. Mining in the leads goe
on without much impeachment from inclemeu
. weather, except that no washing IL DONE TIL,
rock and dirt Is taken out and piled mp in read
iness for warm weather.
. Three quartz mills are running and doing GOOD
service. Two of them have recently change<
hands; one Of them lately set up and Just start
} ed running, by Mesers. yandeycnter 4 Co., VA,
sold on Saturday last for tl5 ,0O0 very respect
able advance on first cost $l 800, at the foundry
IN Chicago. The mill /, seven horse power en-
gine with seven stamps. 1t is beautiful niece
OF workmanship, and works to perfection. The
purchasers were Alexander & CO., who have
claims on the Gunnell Lead from which they
have already taken out and piled on the surface
several hundred cords Of pay dirt and rock, that
will yield from six to eight hundred dollars per
cord. They will, no doubt, realise more than
the extra cost of their mill before they could
transport one from the States
| The Prosser mill, which has for some time
been out Of repair and working badly, was last
week taken in hand by Mr. Frazier-the Chicago
machnist of whom we have before spoken--who
has again made it as good or better than new
Preparations are making for the erection of
number of mills that now ON the way, or
soon to leave the Missouri river In several
places we noticed the timber on the ground and
framed, and foundations prepared for the speedy
erection of the mill buildings. Most of the new
mills will he very large; ranging from thirty to
eighty horse power.
The Gunnell Lead is opened in a number of
places, to depth of sixty to ninety feet. Shafts
have been sunk along it for some thousands Of
feet and are progressing steadily downward.
When it was first opened-early in the winter
the miners fearing severe cold and deep snow,
erected cabins over the shafts, that its course
is marked by line of log huts in each of which
is xindlass, and on one side ridge Of refuse
rock and dirt, and on the other similar or
larger pile or ridge Of pay dirt
| We descended one shaft on this lead to a
| depth Of sixty-fvc feet. The opening is from
five to eight feet wide, and nearly perpendicular,
inclining little to the $. Il. The crevice at that
| depth is abont fourteen inches wide; the paw
dirt, quartz and partially decomposed iron py-
rites, resembling somewhat refuse coal and cin-
ders, and of bluish black color.
! The Gunnel Is, no doubt, the richest lead yet
opened to any considerable depth. It's outside
appearance is not better than that of hundreds
of Others. In some places shafts have been
sunk twenty-five and thirty feet before finding
the color. In the deepest shafts the creyice
frequently closes up aid is found again after
blasting through some feet of solid rock. After
passing such ''chokes" it is invariably found rich
er than above.
The Secreto Lead, about which there was so
mitch excitement few days since is being
opened along its entire known length No dirt
| has vet been washed, or quartz crushed from it,
except by way of prospecting Thequartz pros
poets are rich near the surface. No shafts have
yet been sunk to a greater depth than fifteen
feet. The handsomest specimens we have ever
seen were taken from the discovery hole" on the
lead. They are "quartz and gold, !" "wire gold"
and ''sheet gold," The latter like dentists plate.
One specimen of the latter, of the aize of small
peach, very nearly resembles rose; being
formed of leaves, fast to stem and folding over
each other. Hidden in the folds Of the leaves are
little quartz crystals, similar in size and shape
to grains Of ripa. What the real value of this
Secreto lead may he has yet TO be proven. 1t
was found, so We learned, by "Goidometar" or
'magic ball" Whether the ''magio balF' man
will thereby make capital, or confidence in NEGRO
NANCY be infused into the minds of miners or
not, we are unable to say, but are of opn on that
the trick or chance, and the humbug ometcr will
be valued as they deserve.
Many other leads Of great value are being
opened, and immense quantities Ct quartz and
pay dirt taken out. We have not space TO pas.
ticularize, hut will name the Clay Co., Mammoth,
Fisk, AUX, Foot 1 Simmons, Bobtail, German,
New Casio, Loaycnworth, bateE, Miller, Gregory,
Maryland, aud Kansas leads, all Of which, and
many others that we visited, are turning out we'll
We also visited a number of tunnels that are
being driven in the mountains to search for leads
that have no external indication. in one, be-
longing to ]. s. Norton Il Co, two leads have
been found in a short distance, both of which
prospect rich In another tunnel, iii the same
mountain, one lead was passed aDl it was thought
the Kansas lead would be soon reached, at q
depth Of fifty feet from the surface, and over 4
hundred feet from the mouth OF the tunnel
We found the miners at work by the light of
candlcs-pickng. drilling, and blasting--in an
atmosphere thick and heavy with the smoke and
fume of gunpowder.
Guleh mining is being generally resumed,
though, in many places, the ice and frost is a
great impediment. On Spring Guch and Rus
sells, the most work is being done. The result
is from two 10 FIVE dollars per day to the man,
though some claims in Russclrs are yielding as
high eight dollars per day. In the Georgia
company's claims-they have always yielded ths
best--the average to the man is between eight
and ten dollars, and on few days that have
been unusually mild and favorable an ounce HIS
been obtained.
1t must be remembered that, generally speak
ing the present days work in the gulch mines
is in reality only few hours, say from ten A,
NJ. to four p. NJ, or from four to six hours, when
the sun is highest, and ice mets.
New bitches are being dug to turn the water in
the gulches. dams built, and general preparations
made for vigorous action; that few weeks
must see large yield of gold, unless the wealth
er should become very severe.
We incline 30 the belief that the spring is very
forward. There is but little more snow now, on
the LIST Of April, than there was last year on the
goth of May. On The high hills this side there
has been at no time this winter half the depth
of snow that covered them in the middle Of May
last With lead mining and quartz crushing
with steam mills, the winter can never interfere.
In the deep mines cold weather is even prcfera.
BILE for work.
|. One cannot pass through any part of the mines
without being constantly reminded Of the pre-
scnce of invisible miners. The constant BOOM
ing of blasts sound like minute guns, whilst the
steady stroke Of pick and drill, deep down among
the rocks, fills up heinterval.
Not the least pleasing evidence of progress, is
the puff Of the engine, and the steady rattle and
stamp of machinery; aud the shril scream of
the steam whistle as it, sounds the midnight watch.
Where year ago was unbroken solitude, the
gulches and hollows are now streets, dividing the
buildings Of populous city, From an eminence
the beholder looks over miles and miles Of hill
sides and hollows dotted and checkercd with
piles Of yellow, and red, and white rock and dirt;
their long lines marking the course OF leads and
gulchcs.
Whose fancy can picture the scene another
twelve months hence.
| A SHORT SERMox-A clergyman writing about
the '.fast young men" Of the present day, says
'It is seldom that asyonng man goes to college
but with the deliberate purpose of living vicious
ly; but he is weak. lie is taken into the COM
pany Of set Of men senior to himself, with whom
| il is qualification to him to associate; he finds
among them habits of thought and expression
and act which in his soul he loathes; but he is
weak; how can he resist the evil nay how can
1 - - a. g.