, 1865-07-29
In OVERLAND JOURNEY.
From AuAttn to Virginia Cfty-Qufck
Tine-1 he h11ver City in the 11oun-
11nn1-The m14ia and Miner, Etc.

l and Mr. Winee, OF Austin, beat his time
, Bringing Us through the four hundred mile
= in two days and three hours. Mr. r.. I
Lawrence, agent Of the Company, Was wit
US from Austin, and he dlstanced all bis a!
soclat<s, for be brought us through the la:
:. TWO hund1ed miles IN twenty-tw
hours and quarter. Arriving here gv
= tnCss aheadsof tt1nc. At halEpast stx q
. the mp,nIor Of the 25th, the tlist reception
t and learned pundt suddenly eyaporatcd, 70
hls Honor, the Mayor OF Virginia, aud his al
- te,napic responsibilities In the city govern
ment, were doubtless sound asleep When "
arrived. We were abundantfy satisfied wit'
tic qnick time We had made. and pc:!all
, that We hare but one day more Of stage-coacj Il
e1pe,ienee-a ride over the Sierra Nsfni j
Mountains. This We expect to enjoy rer,
| much, as there is upon our route some OF th
re1y finest seeue1y upon tho continent
Much az We admire the s!age-cotch as p.ac
to sleep IN. we are content to betakc our
means of locomotion, merely by way Of ya1i
ttT. =
The country between here aud Austit
presents the same general characteristics a
that roticed In previous Letters. Sage brtlsl
is Its principal and apparently almost tht
eia.ns, and vegetables, excerpt where LITTLE
Gtieam floE come mountain furnishes tht
mtaps Of Irrigation, like 50 much of ths
| country We bave passed, it i5 hopelessly bar.
rem and Wort r'baess. Bat In this letter mnst
do justice. to tha "hunch grdss," which, in
spite Of the total want Of rain during The
| suDmer, and in fact for most Of: The year,
/ g1oEs tverTThe5e In little modest and scat.
tfTtd c]uUps am0u1 the sage btash: Tire
eeph1es EomeFhat lbc blue grass OF Ken
tEesy but 1t Is offs ofieer texture. Whether
| g1ecn Or, us row. d1f.d to nearly the color d
| 4hA m tVltfch n Z 10 ,,I. u
rious. 1T r!d,rE alot = CHE would scarcely
potiec 1t, hut cattle will Hive and grow fst
Is upon it. We tttqnently beard the rer7a1 K
that 1t WAS as good TO: stock ns oats. This
Esass slams to hare been plnuted and spectcl.
Is a6ap' d to live upon thtsr arid plains III
tn pass over them, for witts''ut 1t the yal1eys
G7d lower mountains tetwesp tae Sierra Ne
yada abd fhe Eastern TanGea'of the Rocky
Morr ans wonld be utterly imp.sable.
stme ninety miles east Of virginia n.
'rached the valley OF the Carson. This rirer
1uns rear]y eart from the Sierra. Nevada, and
vert. witlopsa ridge between the ynllsy Of
The Hhmbclaf, which river runs nearly wes5
f'em the Humboldt MISUNDERSTANDING :
valley Of SOME 500 or COO miles, wt1sre, t.,
the stage route. Between here aud Salt Lake,
the line Of the Paeiac railway viii unir1ubt-
edIy be jccated.
THE err OF TIE nors1Arvs.;
Virgins ia city Of tbs mountains; Isis
Situated Mt The head Of aix-Mlle Kenyon,
and Is some eix tht usand -four hun4eedfftt
above the ls7el Of The eca. This, ff'~e-.-
m. mb' r, is shout tko heieht OF the. .summ5t
| Of Mtunt Naelj1gtou. Fron The soof of
cur hote}. OF IN tact from almost auy part o.:
tie city, tie TieWs Of ;1l,uu1afns and :A1teya
to tie eastward are trsly magnificent. This
nc1n,rg while ay companions were quietly
anooz're, ih company with Rev Mr. Dam,
pastor cf the Methodist Church, went to
the top Of Mo1nt Davidson, which rises
nearly peIpeIdlcularly some eIeateen trn.
| dscd feet DIRECTLY west of, and appareatly
over the city. For cur early rising and the
paid. The atg1cs. OF tho broken Ertts-
it, rcks at the summit ere
sharp aud rfgn]ar, Showtngs that d1rfng the
elacfC-aqueous period In which the topl: and
OF AID wfrn down. into all imsxh ,able
sbspts, Mount Davidson lifted his ,hsad
proudly aboye the co,u umoticu thnt su1rua tud-
Cd him To the west the view Is bounted sy
The Sierra Nevada morntsins,; perhaps thi ety
to s.1tE miles distant. Denee pine fora sts
phose keft erfen forms = 5ea1sifn1 contrn. II
to the sparkling white of the. everlastin z
'euows that crown their saptmtss, N1rth aut
touth for hundred miieS ns II hurled fo tht.
mighty, il perfect wildc:ress of mountains,
v bile to the east, for nearly tho. sac,e dis
tsuce, winding frum side to sidsin the deep
valley aDd SPARKLING IN The no,nass. .sunocaus
Iiken ribbon OF silver. is tho CAreen npe5,and
though ns-lenRth hid behind some datk hluF
the lake II Which it sinks tlashss up In the
t1uoky atmosphere like j mirror ofgold, Tor
the no1ntrt hiding the dim hhadowy line Of .
The Reese River Mountains, more than two
tundrtd Yasles to The easIweid: California |
msf afford rs mere sublime scenes than this. |
but 1t can seascely have ONO nofe beautiful |
ard etcbaufapC.-
Looking down upon the landscape. before |
Of nearly eighteen hundIe,1 fret, almost d. |
s1ssetly below, s!ts vifctnla, Ely Of n sone
the man s:,-+1s connecting ne=n the head OF
abotber deep Iagine, IL Gold Ell, a lively
little city Of. t1re thousand, while further
down ts sll7er CltS, perhaps a third ns arGe
as Gold HiE.:. ftief OF recnse :ock. s:eaa
STOW what this basy multitude
tlal brick sores sni dsel1lpgs
with the tsoad, streets and sr1sndsd roads
winding around IN all directlos,s, show In the
Most striking manner wbat American energy
csn accomplish IN tho shoi opace Of s1x
years. N1.at Wa zee before Us almost sur
passes lelief, did NOT stubhu, n facts furce us
10 accept 1hS reality.
HIN. SILVER Is ExTB AcEp.
Op Aordsy forenoon VIC n s.tel the Gould
T. Curry nIli, shout two mile peloEs ihe cl,y,
large estAhliseIueat. In the 1lst place, the
rocx containing the silver is 1edue=d to q
proper s'ze .by d crushsr. Tllecas into which
Ire crushed rock falls co nyeys It to the
very tlne povden In this CT ,ndition It passes
into large :Eats, :fton1 the .op Of which the
l'ghte ma erial pa res of it'll the water. It
Is next Elaeed in large cisc' llA- cast Iron pans
at the bottom OF which Al sufficient quAn-
titles OF quick silver to an alEanate win the
r$ie1ex nf nntrk6t4TAF = Tr vFh}1A FIR
efal bo71sl In, this conditts u II Is constantly
stirred BY iron arms rev olr.ng; through the
pans In order thst tbs sill GER may be brought
| II contact with the qs s!cksllysr. The str
| tt.s.ansd II these Gle MAR PANS for ssSera!
%th he e jt1sE The ser !. snaiea%sted
IN 1a1ge iron osen TLs,s hy iateuse heat
c:Dd.nsed in plps kept. constantly cool,
| rhep It te ready TO perform again the same
/ important ot3re. T tie silver sill impure 1s
th=n refined By m citing IN .cruclbles where
the tnrDyltles are : skirnmsd Oh, and The mol
ton mass Is poured into ircn vessels nearly In
tM shape Of very 4arge tstcks. When c,ol, a
small chi p Is tat en from. ths top aud toe
bottom o1 the bT 4ck, carefu1 assay Of eac1
ik made, the value Ia gold. and silver, With
the date, naue +of the owner and by whom
brick is ready Tor shipment They are usually
wor tn from tourtt.en hundred to two thousand
| dollate, according To the. .relnttve amount Of
geld which they contain. We lea n that the
Shipments, and hence the product Of tt !
mi1ea In and abaat Virginia City are about
They, have BEEN more, and will be again as
sot as come nsW chats In several of the
l.ad.pg mines cen be brought into use. This
tact giVes the alue to the rapid growth vi
Virginia, Gold Hill. and Silver City. Our
II aders tronl the aDove description xilt be
able. trust. to form some id.a Of the man
nss by which their silver spoons and dollars.
IT. they hare any, are obtain. d from the s3}ld
quartz ok.
VISITING TIE MsE.
I ReturnipE from the Gould & Curry mill
/ tht largest and best one in the State, VI
vissted he NINE belonging 70 tne same CON
| h.lndrtd feet be,ow the city, and 0us cours,
ror 8 f'fth Of q nile led directly under tn.
city. Here We examined wi b much interes
| the silver and gold bearing rock-:o. shoael
silver is the p' inclpa1 mineral, gold Is fouus
Of rock removed BY this company, and th
II number of dttfta apd stairEaYb are tTul,
wonderful. The Comstock lsad, AZ 1t Is cali
q ed, Is qnar'z ledge some eighty feet wide
aA Of Whivh contains the ptec.ous metals II
very considerable proportions. Sometime
y it is nearly al "psy rock" and then onl,
= sections offrom flyc to s,1 feet are taken on
II and passed under The stamps. How far !
extends IN no'theast and s'u;h
y q ladder one hundred and forty feet IN per
. undtcrlar height, and there was shaf
"a three hundred feet deep directly below Il
when We started. This is an cIpeftmen
which ne could not be indured to repeat 10
q very considerable interest IN the Gould |
Il The staft Of the Savage nine, 10 VIrsini
y city, il o1er foHr hut drsd 1eet deep. Oae {