New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-08-30
OUR HIDDEN WEALTH.
THE WHITE PINE SILVER MINES v.

TREASURE CITY, White Pine County, Nevada
Aug. 1O-Tho Eberhardt Is not the only rich mine il
White Pine District. but up to this time 1t ha
yielded more bullion than any half dozen Others
and as it has millions still in sight, it may be con
sidered the represy ntatve mine of the district Int
Hidden Treasur. Aurora South. Aurora Consoll
dated. Chloride Consolidated, Poganip and Otheilo
Virginia, and Others show immense bodies OF ore
and in time nia,-,oine of them-cOrae to rival The
Eberhardt the idden Treasure ought TO do 1t soon
but at present the EbeFhardt is the marvel OF the
world and "as . 10 as the Eberhardt" is an expires
sion common Over Tho whole Pacific Coast as the
strongest compliment the language admits of. The
owners of the Elylhardt, or a majority OF them
worked in the Monte CrisO Mill on the western side
of White Pin Mountain, on wages LIT
than a yea ago. The mine, as 1t more
stands. consists of two clalms-the
keystone and Eberhardt Consolidated. They
were originally located as portions of vein crop
ping out along the eastern edge of the mountain at
the southern end of the peak, and running north
and south. but II was subsequently discovered that
the ledge cast and west directly into the hill;
and the Count, before which suit involving the
title to portion of the ground was being tried,
allowed the owners to swing the claim around and
run along the vain is customary in mining cOun-
tries The first locaters or a portion of them, sold
out for .png before its value was ascertaDed.
The Eberhardt an incorporated stock company
with nominal capital $12 OOOOOO but the stock has
never been placed on the market, and is all owned
by the fOllowiu- named gentlemen: MesSrs. Drake
ApPlegarth, Sproule, Banas, Crawford, Willard and
Turner The first five own two millions each of the
stock; Dr. Willard and his adopted sOn-still minor
holding one million each. All were poor men IS
months ago. Thirteen months ago-July1, 1s6S-the
keyStOne-nOt then incorporated with the Eberhardt
commenced crushing rock at the Centenary Mill at
Newark. about 10 miles from here, and the first bar
of bullion shipped early in that month.
Since that time tho mine-the two claims
cOnsolidated-has yielded in bullion
over 81 ,250OOO and the hand the rich speci-
mems reserved or given away ETC., and that I'M
covered ready to take out and ship to the mills will
swell the total yield to about s1,SOO,OOO in COIN
During the greater part of this thirteen months the
Company owned a single little ten-stamp mill and
could not keep more than half dozen men at work
taking out ore for want of place to store it, For
months not a tun of rock was taken ont as the mill
OvcrstOckcd and the OrehOuse filled to bursting.
Eighty men will soon be set at work, and the mines
for the next twelve months will yield at least a
million perhaps two millions dollars. Not dollar
has been levied by way of assessment on the stock
and the dividends have made all the owners rich
already They have nearly all invested largely in
real estate in San Francisco and farms in the adjacent
history is unprecedented For the benefit of the lady
readers of The TRIBUNE will here mention IN strict
confidence that Capt Frank Drake is the best look
ing man in White Pine District and unmarried, and
Johnny Turner is still under 90 and fancy, Free
DOWN THE DEFIANCE sHAFT-PABULoUs WEALTH.
Entering the shed, found, by great good luck,
Capt. Drake, and the Superintendent, John Bickne
inside, and they cOurteOusly showed me through the
NINE Stepping into bucket hanging from nude !
windlaSs over what is called the Defiance Shaft"
we were lowered forty feet into the darkness and
found ourselves standing in great irregular cham.
ber from 10 TO 30 feet in width 1S3 feet in length
and 10 to 20 feet in hight. From this dark cavern
has been taken nearly all the wealth yet yielded by
the mne-say 81 10000 at least. Everything around
was dry and dull colored. AS we crept up to the
sides of the cavern and held our candles toward the
walls, we saw great masses of what looked like very
dry blue clay, which crumbed at the touch. Capt.
Drake drove a pickax into this, and as it rolled
down among the debris under our feet, picked up a
handful of it. 1t was as heavy as plumbago He |
took a half dollar and pounding it against the |
mass with hammer showed the impression of the |
Goddess of Liberty on the wall as you might pro-
duce it on a bar of lead by the means. This is
the pure chloride Of silver worth $40 or $l2 80 per
pound in coin-say $4,000 or SIS, 900 per tun There
were tuns on tuns of it piled up before our
eyes, and not a tun of it belonged to
me. There is million dollars worth OF II
ore exposed in the chamber according to VI
general estimate and end has been reached as yet
Much of the ore is hard black rock, unlike the rich
chloride. but is found, close examination, to be 1
filled with layers of horn silver" which you can |
white like lead with your knife. 1t is estimated
that $lO0OOO worth of ore has been carried away Il
from this chamber as specimens by visitors within
a year. So great has been the drain in this manner
that the owners were finally compelled TO forbid Wis
itors entering the works except by special permits
sion from the Superintendent, and even that only II
partially stopped the leak. At each end of the cham
ber the nerth and the south, are the walls of the
vein. They of white spar running east and west
lS3 feet apart and standing nearly perpendicular.
Sides and roof and floor of this chamber are silver;
the gray dust which covered our boots, as we came
nut was silver as pure as 'the coin OF the realm II
We assembled once more to the regions of daylight, II
and proceeded to the Keystone Shaft the northern
side Of the mine. Il
THE KEYSTONE sHAFT-THE BLUE-BELL SHAFT. Il
Down this shaft we descended 81 feet. and then II
walked through chamber or "leYel7 along by the Il
side of An almost perpendicular wall of white spar,
as smooth as the plastered wall of dwelling house,
for 24O feet. This north wall bound the companies
grounds in that direction and is the limit of the
on that side The chamber of 240 feet on this level
is all in ore Of higher or lower grade, the average
beinp over 500 per tun for the entire distance How
,uncb further west the ore continues is unknown
but it may he presumed that the general belief thak
II continues long distance from the fact that the
western extension of the Eberhardt is heidi believe
il has recently been sold-at one million dollars.
The ore here is not as fine rule as that in the
Defiance Shaft upper level, but it would be cSnsid-
cred very rich in any other district than White Pine.
From this level, second shaft 50 feet desp runs
down along the north wall all the, way IN fair
ore making 40 feet in depth reached