The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1874-07-08
of the Chronicle have Q or

MES have particular banks, either here
or in New York, to which they sell all
thev have. But there are many small
companies and many companies of white
and Chinese miners who sell their dust
to the s]tOrekeeper with whom they deal,
or to small country banks aud brokers,
who make a bu mess of it, and who
sell it to the big banks. Nearly all the
banks have agents for purchasing in
this way. The bank of California
claims to receive two-thirds of tho bull
lion coming to the market. A compare
lively small proportion of dust and
nuggets now received, as most of the
country banks convert their receipts into
bars. Gold was formerly sent along
in its original state by nearly all these
banks, but it is seldom done now, as
there is an assay office in nearly all the
mining towns, where it is melted into
bars. The average silver bars weigh
from 2,400 to 1900 ounces, and the
gold bars are worth from $50 to s., GOO.
A few months ago the Anglo-C Californian
bank received II Of the latter value.
The bars range in f~iueness from 800 to
900. the average being about $50. y
great proportion of the fine bars come
from Victoria, British Columbia. Sll-
yer comes in bars of all sizes. The
bank of California has had one bar of
1901 ounces, or 124 pounds, sent to 1t.
The gold and silver from the bank are
| sent to the refinery to be refined. Fer
merlv n good deal of silver used to nc
Cumulate at the banks, but now it IS
Skinned Quickly by the railroad. What
remains over night in the banks IS, be
ing in the shape of bars, placed on
trucks end run into the vault, till 1t is
sent away the next day. The silver is
shipped principally to China, Japan and
England. 1t is interesting to detail
how they are shipped.
At the country banks it is received III
all conceivable shapes-in plain bars,
packed in buckskin bags, in tin boxes,
and even in old tin cans. Silver coin
for export is always put in square,
dovotalled boxes. Silver bullion m
in plain bars. When sent from the
bank it is put into a large bag. from
which it is taken when brought to the
railroad cars and placed on the floor Of
the car. In this way it is brought to
a. ~ NT~"t of tho cold md silver
is coined hero and shipped away by the
firm of Wells, Fargo & Co., which has
agents at every principal point on the
railroads, whose duty it is to receive
and check it. On this ear are a number
Of men armed with small arsenal shot
guns and navy royolvers. They accom-
pany the treasure. When shipped east
it is put up in little boxes of pine wood
with screwed lids, each containing
about $40, 900. Wells, Fargo & Co.
employ 1850 men. The Offices extend
from here to the Missouri river, and
they have regular agents in Liverpool,
Hamburg, Bremen, etc. 1t takes fifteen
men to run q treasure car through from
here to Ogden, and there are from two
to six and eight on all save some of the
smaller lines, while on days when there
is any considerable amount of treasure
they have All armed guard. In sending
to Mexico q treasure-rOOm is engaged
on the steamer, in which the treasure is
packed in boxes or bags. They are put
IN a square safe, which will hold $780,
600. Silver is almost always shipped
in bars. For the carriage of gold from
a L Jllh" III INlOllldl1hg hGdL UllC DOIlAA-
airy of British Columbia, to this city
the charge is l As per cent. for carry
ing silver it is g. per cent. on the value.
For shorter distances there is, of course,
a reduced scale of charges. No Y whal
becomes Of all the gold and silver?
Ill the first place, 81. 034, 537, 245 has
0eeh sent away from San Francisco
through regular mercantile ~cbannaIR
during the last quarter of a century.
Nearly all this went by sea, though the
amount exported in that way has been
growing smaller, being now only a small
proportion Of what it was a few years
ago, before the overland railroad was
completed. OF the balance, about $40
600, 900 worth exists in the shape of
coin, iewelry, etc, OF the Pacific coast
$3.50, 600. 600 has gone east by express,
post-oftice and drafts, while the balance
has been shipped from Utah, Nevada,
Montana, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico,
Arizona, Wyoming, Oregon, Washing
ton and British Columbia on the rail,
road since its completion, or by other
means of conveyance previously, and
carried away by private hand. OF the
whole amount, more than 81, 100, 900, 900
worth have reached England, chiefly by
way of New York. Of hat exported
by sea, more than half has gone direct
to New York, about 5000, 000, 900 direct
to England. nearly 1920, 900, 600 to
China and Japan, and the balance to
various other countries.
One noticeable change, occurring OF
late years, is in The character of our
bullion product. Formerly it was all
gold OF nearly so. In 1859 we began to
obtain silver, when the yield of the mr.
gentiferous lodes of Nevada aston
ished the world more than did the
placers of California, and ever since.
year by year, the quantity of silver has
been increasing, while that of gold has
nearly all the time steadily decreased.
Last year the yield of silver on the Pa
cifc coast slightly exceeded that of
gold. We have furnished the world
with gold; we shall furn sh it with sill
yer. That the silver is needed may be
we'll unde stood, when it is known that
India alone requires Eve hundred mil
lion dollars worth Of silver to supply
her wants in this respect. As to the
future prospects, the silver yield of Ne
vada, Utah and Colorado is continually
increasing, aud the gold yield of the
coast will increase as soon as the vast
unworked and almost unknown re-
sources of this state are developed. l.,
in fact, may be considered that the re-
sources, auriferous and argentiferous,
Of this coast have rs yet only been
and that the development has
ret to come. The Rocky mountains,
he backbone of the continent, the
Sierra Nevada, aud the connecting
anges, have, as yet, but been partially
respected and mny be considered the !
nexhaustible storehouse of the pre- :!
ious metals. l
Incraasa of Enronaan Armias-