The Shasta courier., 1864-04-02
Letter from Whisky Creek.
In CAMP NEAR WHIsKYTowSN

Ne areii. sss-- s2s-
Ed. COURIER sacv'v my
promise, will giAsssoua brief history of
my mountain explorations during the past
week
Leaving camp near town, proceeded up
Whisky Greek, on the eastern side, keeping
well up on the range of mountains, with the
creek in sight on my left, until | reached the
head of Mad Ok Canon thence across to the
head of Mule Greek thence to Grizzly Gulch,
and down it to the Yreka and Weaverville
stage road where l took drink with Mad
am Brown. and again clambered to the sum-
nit of the mountain dividing Clear and
Whisky creeks, and down along the summit
to camp. l consumed three days in making
this tour, distance of not over twenty or
twenty-five miles. The result of the trip is
very satisfactory TO myself, in the full confr
nation of the opinion held that this district
is rich beyond all reasonable doubt-richer
than the most sangnine had hoped-rieher
than any of the far off highly pufed regions
we readof
| kao,c I found lodes rich, in eopper-I be-
lieAe there are others rich in silver and gold.
| an. not sufficiently versed in minsrology to
give satisfactory opinion, even to myself,
but am fully satisfied that the indications are
such as to warrant the explorations and
tests of the scientific. Cannot this connty
hold out sufi cient material aid to induce some
good minerologist to spend little time
among us and give us the benefit of his
knowledge? Such man could make HIM
self and every subscriber to the fund rich-
adding wealth to the county, State and whole
world.
In the placer diggings on my route found
quite a number of individuals known as
. honest miners" engaged in the pleasing
vocation of waiting for water. They seem
to bear it very well, too, considering the ar
duous nature of their pursuit. Few complain
of over fatigue. though there is some com
plant of scarcity of wood, and the distance
they have to carry water for culinary purpo-
ses. For the latter article many have to go
from fine to ten rods-and one man complains
bitterly that the distance has to be attained
BY perpendicular lines instead of horizontal.
He eongratulates himself, however, that if it
does rain it will probobly cave his cabin into
the gulch, where water will be handy, and
he hopes, too. that timber enough may ac-
company the slide to last him as long as his
present stock of grub. He thinks he will
move when that's gone.
The arastra on Saw Mill Flat has now
been running some three weeks. am deci-
dedly of opinion that it is not the most per-
feet piece of machinery for the purpose in
tended. though Nate tells me that during the
past week it has done much better than pre-
vionsly. having crushed nearly two half
tons of rock, in nearly all Of which gold was
perceptible to the iked eye. In working
this amout Of rock eleven pounds of quick
silver were put in, and he assures me they
succeeded in saving fully one pound of the
quicksilver. This, he says, is so great an
Improvement that he is satisfied the thing
will pay. l had almost forgotten to mention
here that some twenty dollars worth of gold
was saved with the pound of quicksilver
Nate is satisfied that he will have good pla-
Ger diggings whenever the arastra is moved,
He will certainly have a good quicksilver
prospect if he goes to the bed rock.
Yours. CHRISTOPHER.