The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1860-06-02

= s1HW BE3C0ERnY.
From Mf. b A. Franklin, reliable esntle
man, recently down from the Long Peak hinee
~ leAfa that two new ieads have recentlv ~,
discovered on St. vrain river, One al them -
found by Mr.. Scott, and the other by ! m,
whose nane re id not learn. A careful tess !
tne quarts yietaeds bar grains q rold--a it'll,
over thirteen ccnts-to the pound 81 rrrl =
A"ese ieacs are doubtless very rich. and we lc.vr
!, cheaply. ss sa'u
&c. discoveries continue to he made in and
sloand tue Gregory diggings that equal, ana ia
oas instances far excel the famous Gregory lead
\. auu'laon 20 the Secreto, described few weeks
SINCE, ana the New Foundland and Baker leads
; repossed last week, two others have been dis
covered since by Morton, Smith & 90. Thcv
arc called the kenosha and Canada leads. and
are Q! similar character and richness TO the
New Foundland lead They are both on the
North Nevada Mountain, but a short distances
apart and have been traced for more than 1
thousand feet. The New Foundland, We are told.
nas in no instance Welded less than eight cents
sne pan of dirt. and ranges from that sam up
to $3.50 to the pan.
From Mr.. Russell We learn that the Consolida-
ted ditch y progressing rapidly toward compile
non, and will positively bring water to the mines
in less than one month from this time. q
| From Mr.. Taylor, an inexperienced geolopist and
mlneralogisf, who has spent the last fan and
winter IN the mines. carefully prospecting and
testing their resources, We learn that silver ore.
| IN she form OF argcntiferoas galena, has been
aouno IN SUCH quantities as to encourage further
prospecting in its search. Mr. r. has tested aome
specimens that yielded as high as $50 of pure
SILVER 70 the ton OF ore, and in one or two in
stances has found nuggets of pure silver near the
surface. From his experience and observation
nc Is convinced that silver mines Of great rich
ness exist in the immediate vicinity OF Mountain
CITY lie says he expects yet to find silver mines
that will rival the celebrated Washoc mines of
Carson Valley. Mr.. Taylor has also tested Gin
naoar ore that yielded very large per centage
OF quicksilver. II is found in an immense vein.
which is said to have been traced twelve miles.
or almost to the Snowy Range. This report.
however, Mr.. i. discredts, as he says from the
nature OF the country 1t must necessarily PASS
over, cinnabar lead could OF be traced with
any certainty for great distance The ore il
light reddish grey rock in appearance, dotted
over with white specks, which are really the Gin
nabar. 1t is found scattered over the surface on
the hiil-sidcs, but We believe no effort has vet
been made to penetrate the yen lii the opin-
ion of those who have recently visited the Greg
ory mines, that a few weeks will zee an immense
yield OF gold. Shafts are sunk, hundreds of tons
OF rich quartz are already ont and in the gulches
bitches are dug, sluices are made, pay dirt strip
ped, and everywhere all things are in readiness
for successful and extensive operations. From
Clear Creek and Boulder, reports are equally IA
vorable, and few days will witness busy times
in the mines.
DR.. Earl has returned from the mines on the
hcadwaters Of the Arkansas. From him we learn
many important and interesting facts concerning
the diggings. The first paving diggings discover
edwerc found last fall. They are known as .Kel-
leys Bar Cherokee Diggings," I X L District
and two or three other localities. They are
principally confined to bars in the river bed and
in its immediate banks, and extend along its
course for an unknown distance, increasing in
richness as the stream assembled. Their yield
is an average of about eight dollars per day to
the man, working with the ordinary hand rocker:
though as high as twenty and twenty-five dollars
per day has been realized in some instances As
yet the bed rock has not been reached upon any
OF the bars, because of the water which it is found
impossible to keep out with the present mining
facilities, there being yet no pumps or other
means of raising water with rapidity. When
pumps are introduced, the river turned or fun
ed, SO that suces be used, and the dirt to
the bed rock handled with rapidity, the Weld of
gold will no doubt reach FIVE or ten times the
present amount to tho man. The gold obtained
in these washings is about the size, and not un-
like in appearance, except color, TO fax seed the
scales smoothly worn and of exceeding bright
ness. Pieces of twenty-five and fifty cents in
value not unfrequently found. DR.. Earl was
one of party that recently left Kellcy's bar to
prospect farther toward the head of the river
They followed up its course about thirty miles,
finding good prospects along the river and in the
gulches coming in from either side. Finally at
point where the river had dwindled down to a |
creek scarce rod wide, they found gulch--to
which the name of 'Caliiornia Gulch, has been
given-cOming in from the east, directly from |
the head of the snowy range: which, from the |
prospecting already done, is doubtless the rich |
est deposit Of placer gold found. The gulch !
ia about ten miles long, the upper four miles of
which is deeply buried in snow, and consequent
ly unknown. The lower six miles has been has |
tly prospeoted, and on the result is based our |
calculations and observations.
The pr. describes it as evidently originally an |
ordinary gnch, with its inequalities, expansions |
and contractions; that at the time of the erup |
ton of quartz and minerals, its whole bed seems
to have been filed with the dccomposed quartz |
containing gold--of the consistency OF soft |
mortar, of creamy color, and intermiScd with |
fragments Of hard quartz iron pyrites or sul. |
pilates. an,.. pieces Of volcanic scoia, and iron |
ore. This deposit is in fact precisely the sub |
stance that is taken from the rich lcads-Grego- |
~, Gunneli, and others-and known as the pay |
dirt" suitable for washing without pulverixing:
but instead of being confined to narrow crevice |
penetrating the earth vertically, it is here spread
out in great sheet, ten miles more in length, |
from fifty to two hui bred feet wide, and from |
three to seven feet in depth.
In prospecting, the yield varied near the sur
face from ten to forty cents per pan; increasing
as the bed rock is approached to over dollar
on its surface. To obtain an average, DIR. Earl |
washed thirty pans from the surface OF the pay |
dirt, from two holes forty feet apart across the
gulch, the result Of which he has shown U.S. The
amount is little over four dollars, or about if-
teen cents to the pan. The gold is Of medium |
sized particles, rough, and mostly dseolored by |!
the oxide of iron, though some pieces are very |
bright.
Tux w SI1 MIxrS "A cnrrnsnox,lant |