Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1861-04-12

and fil my hair with ashes and my eyes with
smoke. Therefore to keep from being burnt
out and smoked to death was obliged to put
out my fire and 60 to bed. i thought / had
seen the wind blow in iowa, but Il don't
begin with our Washoc gales, This morning
went some distance up the Canon, in COM
pany with Col. Taylor Of this place to meas.
urc some work done on a claim, and no soon
or had we started than a gale again burst
forth, ripping off canvass roofs and sending
hats flying. We were pushed this way and
that, now forced backward. and when,i by
leaning almost fat to the ground, we had
again begun to make headway, with sort
OF snap the wind would take us in the rear
and land US on all fours: Then the, air was
full Of stones and sticks and dirt which per-
sisted IN getting into our eyes, mouths, and
Some eight or ten steam whistles are ioin.
ing in a sort Of earthquake chorus to herald
the near approach of noon; therefore. as INV
chef dc cuisine left some days since under the
plea of having "other fish to fry." / am un.
der the humiliating necessity of officiating in
that capacity in person and must stop writing
to hurry up the cakes" Ny dinner might
be described in almost the precise words
which Capt Maryatt put into the mouth of
the darkey, "Moonshne," when his master
asks what there is for his dnner--fust place
dar's p!ckleum pork, den dar's YER fine piece
O. picklum poke" For "pickleum, poke"
substitute ,moked bacon" and you have
the principal item. I
have just been thinking should like to
escort party Of ladies and gentlemen. from
Cedar Falls, through our mines here. and in
California. Through our mines here. but
little is to be seen above.ground, the works
being deep in the foundations of the hills
yet there are many objects of interest aside
from those having connection with mining
or the mines to interest the stranger. and
more especially persons from the level and
fertile plains Of Iowa. The rugged. barren
hills, sparsely clothed with scrubby nut. pines
and the Jagged, towering mountains would
nrst claim their attention, then the almost
endless variety Of rocks and singular and
beautiful minerals Of every kind from tho
precious ore to the common but useful ores
OF iron, which are found here in great purity.
Then there arc beautiful specimens Of petri-
fled wood not only small fragments, but I
can show you whole trees. Some Of these
are three feet in diameter and hundred feet
in length; though broken in pieces, yet
some Of these pieces are thirty to Atty feet in
length. These trees are SO perfectly petrificd
that even the bark and resin is still perfect
and the veins and growths are distinctly
marked h. -.
Every kind of business has its. peculiar
sound or hum--thus in an agricultural dis.
trict, we have the lowing, of cattle the blcat.
ing OF sheep and the sound of. haryesters
and thrcshcrs; in a manufacturing village
the hum Of lathcs, the singing of saws and
the noise of axes and planes, while in a
mining town we hear the ring of tho sledge
upon the drill, the whirling of wndlasses, the
rattle OF the cars as they are run out on the
long wooden tracks and their contents dumped
and the thunder of the huge stamps, (cach
weighing 600 to 500 pounds) in the re ducing
mills and the frequent boom Of the earth
jarring blast - et;. =
did intend to say something in this con-
nectlon OF the California mines-that is tho
placer or hydraulic mines, but lack space,
and, besides, a snow storm has blown up and
the snow is sitting down upon my paper, 80
will just look through the Sacramento
Uneom for an item or two Of late news with
which will close this letter: tls4
The Steamer California, left San Francisco
Feb. lst, with $1,084, ,6T3, in treasurc.----
Steamer Golden Age, arrived at San Fran
cisco Feb I'd brought 245 passengers. 245
bags mail matter, $69,971,2s in; treasure,
and bull, COW, 2 horses, 2 mules, 81
sheep. A silver lode has been discovered 3
miles below Grass Valley said to ASSAY S5..
900 per ton. On the north fork of Feather
river three men by the name OF Young, Blake
and La Bossney, have discovered. quartz
vein from which one Of the parties panned
out 81 900 by noon of the dayon which he
found it-sincc, though, they have extracted
near $4,000 worth OF gold. This is called
the Bloomer lead; should it hold AZ rich ~
it has proved thus far it will be the richest
ever discovered in California. The lucky
finders were industrious but hitherto poor
men, who have been unfortunate in river
mining" f.s4 ..ftie.g
Good ores Of quick silver have been. dis.
covered in Napa in the vicinity Of Mount ST.
Helena. In some leads the metal is contained
in cinnabar, the true ore, In a gray rock
some veins are considered to. be immensely
valuable. Yours truly, y -
DAw DE- QrILLE.
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