Wilmington daily gazette., 1872-04-09
For the Delaware Gazette,
Letter From California.

final relationship that does not exist among the
neope of States more fully represented; it is Il
Spontaneous spirit of masonry without tokens or
j. ns. but it springs from the heart and there is
, cordial warmth about it very refreshing to the
r,cipicnt. Years ago ! met man, a cross
Grained, ill-conditiuncd fellow, who seemed /"
have sacrificed every generous instinct in The
strife for wealth. lie had accumulated money
Inv close bargaining and niggardly habits, aud
was generally reported to hc drv",d nj that me-
ccssary attribute usually termed Il soul. My
business brought me into frequent contact with
him and found him suspicious and cNactirg
that wa. forced to share in the universal csii-
m,le until one evening was called into his
office where a few miners sat chatting around
,he stove: some subject had brought tp their
places of nativity, and they were c"nning, ,
think there were two from Missouri. one from
Maine, one from Georgia, and y"n Well, said /
l. I'm from Delaware noticed the old irl- /
lows face light up, and the ncNt instant lac /
handed from his chair and gra~prl my hand,
"Whv," said he, I'm from Smyrn;l, and have |
known Won n year, why didn't you tell me- |
Iiulc "A | cslecmcl him, my heart warmed to
ward my countrymau aud we sat anI talked far
into the niyh; about ancient and modern vii
minc,on. lie had been At school there years
lnnc ago and could relate the pranks Of the
fathers whose sons werr my school fellows; he
had been whipped by John u. Porter and his
brothcr; the Doctor had played ,hinny viii, the
elder Brnghurst, and | think received his first
hints IN the arts of "hookey' from Eli Hills.
| would not be Of the Latter statement, but
r,collect that my mlni was not that night. .disl-
b,sed Of the belief that he was the paragon he
always appeared when he sat with il peculiarly
benign exp cssion listening 10 n| poor shirkers
Stumbling through IN examination. told him
how Miss O1sood used To cane me at No. /, that
Webster had gone to Railroa'ling when the boys
at No. grew too much for him. and was sue
cecled bv I.amprcv who had once been Il black
smith and brought them to suhection, and he
bv Dr. Johns, ,he mildgst and best OF men. He
had been shedding on the same hills that | had;
learned to swim in the same mIirace on the
Hrandywine had skated at the old Barley Mill
and played Skinny" and sting tall on num-
Der one plaza OF course we were soon the best
of friends, and from that night found him as
afible and generous man is | have ever met,
lis influence and assistance We're always at my
service, and many times in the few succeeding
years was pleased to remember that was
Deawarean. But wish TO tell yon something
of our peculiar system of mining here, which
may be o. interest. Gold quarts mining and
the slow operations of Nevada have taken pr,
ledence 50 absolutely during the lost few years
that the placer interests have in a measure been
shadowed; but there has been steady progress,
and the method of to-day i. great an imp oye-
ment on the crude system af - and 30 rs the
Continental railroad is upon the ox-trains of an
early date. In this place We working nlo
the slope of an immense isolated mountain and
almost the entire work Is accomplished by water
brought distance of from twenty to forty miles;
YOU can form some idea of the immense amount
required and the magnitude of this portion of
the work when l tell you the Spring Valley
company always bring in an amount ! greater
than the whole supply Of New York city, yet
the supply does not equal the demand; and du
ring the coming summer two other companies
will probably bring in enough additional tc
furnish the city of London Table mountain
Is one thousand feet above the level OF til,
plain upon the SOUTH and about an equal al
utude above Feather River on the north it il
entirely separate from the Sierra Foot Hill,
of which it forms part and the water j,
brought from the heart OF the mountains il
large bitches or canals and from the head!,nds
opposite is carried down into the gorge whicl
forms the channel of Feather River. and ~
again in a continuous iron pipc which form,
an inverted syphon.
The pipe of the Spring Valley Company /,
q feet in diameter and three miles in length
the receiving arm has Il perpendicular height o
800 feet and the discharging abont $50, whicl
Is said to be the greatest height TO which waite
has ever yet been raised in like quantity. Tn.
iron OF the pipe is graduated according 10 pres
sure, being of number Is ordinary iron nj ih,
receiver and discharger and increasing i,
weight as it descends till it becomes iive-cigh,
OF an inch in thickness where il crosses the river
Though OF English wrought iron and bolr'
with red hot rivcts like boiler. Ii is yet barrel
sufficient To endure the strain OF this immc,is
pressure of water, and on the occasion Of teStin.
II for the first time, simply closing a faucet, :
Jared the whole column that the pipe was tori
;.sunder like mere paper; tho jagged edges r,
sembling torn pasteboard. After the pipe dis
charges its water upon the mountain it is le
into reservoirs and thence in bitches, keenn
as great an altitude as possible, till Il foiut
reached, directly above the claims, here il
again introduced into iron pipes and carrie
down to the bottom of the opening when il
introduced into hydraulic chiefs, ranged like SCI
tineis along the bank; these are nothing NOR
IN principal than the ordinary brancll-pip ,
the lire engine, though much larger and strong
er, and no constructed rs To turn in any dire,
tion required; on these they Use nozzlcs live N,
seven inches in diameter, and with the forme
under the pressure used here can throw streal
OF water five hundred feet just think OF i
from Sixth street nearly down To fourth, and
powerful is it that at the distance Of across Il
street it would tear down the hest built house
The city of Wilmington; or standing in Il
Town Hall yard, you could tear the bell frol
The belfry. This destructive stream il direcis
against bank Of gold bearing earth, perha
hundred feet in height, and by wearing ava
the lower stratus leaves the mass above wiho
sup2Or:, when of course it topples and falls wi
deep continued roar, like the breaking Of Il
surf into this mass the streams plow aud Il
spray aud the rocks fly high in the AR, while