, 1875-07-01
Oregon Correspondence.
BnowNrowN, Josephine Co., Q.
ED. DISPATCH:

DHOW NION ~, JOoSl'AAAS wv ~
ED. DISPATCH:
AsI promised Tom, Dick, Jake
and Harry, to write and tell
them about the mines Of South
ern Oregon, l take this method
of keeping my promise. First
comes the mines of cinnibar,
located in Sans Valley about 20
miles north of Jacksonville, l say
mines, but as yet no vein or de-
posit has been found. The
ground is covered with float
rock, some of which is very rich
in cinnibar. Work is only being
done by one company, Coolidge
4 Co. In the location of these
gentlemen, native mercury oozes
from the rock in very small
quantity, which shows the for
mer presence Of condensing
heat, probably a hot spring.
The country is pretty well loca-
ted, but by men who know com
paratively nothing about pros
pecting. There is plenty ofroom
for good prospectors. A large
number of gold bearing quartz
lodges have been located around
and near Jacksonville. mostly
for speculative purposes by a
set of men who will not work if
they can help it. In passing by
stage from Jacksonville to ker-
byville an old miner is struck
with the appearance of the
gravel on most of the hillsides
and river bars, no signs of pros
pecting appears and the old res
idents know Of none, and yet
this is situated in the midst of a
rich placer country. All the
placer Of little depth has been
worked over and over again by
white men and is now being
worked for the fourth and fifth
time by Cinnamon, while this
ground or gravel beds are of a
depth perhaps of a hundred feet
or more and is regarded by old
miners as a big prospecting
country, but all pass it by, as
they say it takes too much money
to open that kind of diggings. In
this county (Josephine) is the
famous York Lode, the Oregon
" Bonanza" have not yet visited
this ledge but Judging from as
says made from it have conclu-
ded that | don't want any of it..
A few months ago nothing else
was talked of but Galice creek
and York ledge, while now one
scarcely hears it spoken of. The
owners of the York were numer-
Gus, to-day it is hard to find one.
There are however in the neigh
borhood of the mother lode a
large number of smaller veins,
that will pay to work, also a
large number of valuable gravel
deposits, that have been pur-
chased by a company Of English
capitalists from Judge Reed of
Portland This place, Brown
town, OF Althouse Creek is de-
lapidated almost deserted town.
though formerly one Of the rich
est spots discovered in Oregon.
There are still working on the
creek about 25 white miners and
from 80 to 40 cinnamon. Quartz
lodes are found in every direc-
ton, some of which appear to be
rich in gold. Formerly these
have been overlooked in the
eager search for placer diggings,
but now there is quite a quartz
excitement and the hills are COW
cred with prospectors. A for
mer citizen Of Seattle, (whose
residence is still there) is super
intendent Of a Portland company
who are erecting quartz mill
for the purpose Of testing the
several lodes located by him.
Silver float has been foundsa few
miles above here that assay
nearly $4,000 per ton in silver
besides being rich in gold. Mr..
Jay G. Kelly, of Seattle, and two
of the miners here on the creek
have located 60 acres in the
gulch from which the float was
found, and are at present strip
ping the ground in search Of the
fountain head, and frequently
pieces of the rich ore (polyba-
site) is met with,
This portion of Oregon is the
former home of Judge Jacobs
your Delegate-elect to Congress
and a more popular man | have
never heard spoken of. Imme
diately upon my return almost
every one I met asked about
him. 1t think the citizens OF
Washington Territory have rea-
son to be proud of a man whom
all speak of SO well.
am homesick and sigh fol
the bracing, life-giving atmos,
phere of Seattle, the "Queen Of
the Sound" 1t makes my mouth
twitch to think of the salmon,
CLANS, oysters, halibut and other
dainties that the Seattleites are
enjoying while | am here on the
Siskiyou Mountains, living on
rusty bacon and hard tack. To
finish l will say, this is a good
IN ,,rocnoct in huf t,Or. a