New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-09-16
THE, GREAT NEVADA FLUME.
A pER1Lous RIDE THROUGH 1T.

CD PERILOUS RIDE THROUGH IT, -
ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIMBER USED IN THE MINES
THE COUNTRY THROUGH WHICH THE FLUhE
PAssEs-PrFTEEN MILES IN THRrY-FIvE MIN
UrEs IN FLUME BOAT.
,rnom A STAFF CORRESPONDENT or TIE TRIDUsE.I
VIRGINIA CITY, Nevada, Aug. 22-A ID
mile ride in aume down the Sierra Nevada Mountains
I'm as minutes was not one OF the things contemplated In
my visit Virginia CITY, and 1t Is entirely within reason
10 say that even II should make this my permanent
place OF residence fortune Forbid shall never
make the trip again. The fume cost, with It's appur'e
pances, between 100000 and $300,0O0-f 1t had
cost million would be the In my estimation II
was built by company interested in the mines here prn-
cpay the owners Of the Consolidated Virginia. California
Hale & Norcross, Gould Il Curry, Best Belcher and
Utah mines The largest stockholders In these mines are
j. C. Flood, James G.. Fair, John Mackay, and W. s.
OBren who compose without doubt the wealthiest nrhi
In the United States. Taking the stock OF their COM
panies the price quoted in the board the amount they
own Is more than $lOO,OOOOOO, and each has large
private fortune I'm addition. The mines named use
1000 900 feet OF lumber per month underground, and
burn 10000 cords OF wood per year. Id here is
worth from Sl2 cor and at market prices Messrs
iood Co. would have to pay nearly 100000 year
for wood alone Virginia City is not built in forest
From the top Of Mount Davidson, which is half
q mile back Of the city, there is not tree
in sight, except few shade trees In the city
miles OF clear and distinctive vision. Going into the
mine the other day. and seeing the immense amount OF
timber used and knowing the incaculable amount or
wood burned In the several mines aud mills, asked r'
Mackay who accompanied me, where all the wood ana
timber came FROM 1T comes" said he, IRON our
lands in the sierras, forty fifty miles from here. We
own over IL 900 acres the vicinity Of Washoe Lake.
all OF which s heavily timbered"
"How do you get it here ." asked.
at comes" said he, Sin our own fume down the
mountains, fifteen miles, and from our dumping grounds
is brought by the Virginia and Truckee Railroad TO this
city, about sixteen miles, You ought to see the ume
before you 60 back 1t Is really wonderful thing
-. THE JOURNEY. -.
When therefore, two days afterward was invited to
accompany Mr. Flood and Mr. Fair to the head OF the
Ime, did not hesitate to accept their kind offer. We
started at o'clock in the morning. in two bugges the
two gentlemen named In ono buggy, and Mr.. Hereford
the President and Superintendent Of the Company
which Is known the Pacific Wood Lumber
and Flume Company, and myself In the other
The drive through Washoe Valley and along
tho mountains up and down for 10 miles, over road
which for picturesqueness Is without equal In my
memory, cannot be described Not q tree, nor brook
nor any green vegetation In sight. Hills and noun
taIns, we'll defined and separate in character, were III
every direction. Sage brush and jack rabbits were the
only living things In sight. That beautiful purple at
mosphere mist, which has dreamy, sleepy effect In
the landscape, overspead the mountains and extended
through the valleys. The road we traversed swung
round and round the mountains, now going nearly 10
the SUBMITS and now descending to their bases. Both
teams employed OF the best, and In less than an
and half had accomplished the first part OF our
ourney16 miles, Here breakfasted and went to the
end OF the fume, quarter OF mile distant Inc men
were running TIMBER 16 inches square and 10 feet long,
through It, The trestewOrk upon which the hume rested
was about 20 feet from the ground The velocity OF the
of he NH
for it requires only from 25 minutes to half an
hour for it to float the length OF the Hume,
ID miles. The fume ia shaped like the letter V, and
is made of twOinch panks nailed together in the shape
indicated Across the top is about gig feet In width
Tho ends arc very carefully fitted, that where the
blanks go together there may be no unevenness, for
tmbers going the rate OF from ID to 60 miles an hour
must have clear coast this trough the water runs
from Hunters Creek which Is situated about ~ miles
from the terminus the ume There are other feeders
along the line supply additional water II 1t is needed
Some idea OF the swiftness with which the timber runs
through tho ume may be had when it Is stated that in
the me there floats 100000 feet Of lumber every day
about 10 hours or 500 cords OF wood Near the term
nus an iron break placed the trough slanng toward
one sde that when the timber comes rushing down
fifty OF hundred pieces after the other each piece is
turned toward the side, and the men ut the break
with dexterous use Of the crow-bar, send
them bouncing to tho ground. I climbed to
the top of the trestlewOrk before the tmbers began
to come 1t like the rushing OF herd Of buffalo on
a party OF hunters and l preferred to view the fume
in active working from distance.
We changed teams upon resuming our Journey taking
fresh horses the mountain ascent HOrsemen In the
East who have the mountains Of Nevada, Col
orado and California have idea Of the amount Of
work horse can do and OF the difficult places through
which he will CO. and OF the load he will carry draw.
How pair Of horses pull buggy and two men up
grade that half way between the horizontal and
the perpendicular over stone, and fallen trees, and
through underbrush six feet high and very thick Is
question can hope to solve. At any rate we
reached the lower mill Of the Company about IS 20
miles as the road went This hours before
noon. The mill is situated in the lower belt Of timber
and there ore between 400 and 500 at work
This number includes those engaged 9 cutting trees
hauling logs and saving the lumber. How the
heavy machinery of the mills and the engines which work
them were brought from the city up the mountains and
placed in position Ia another mystery which have not
tried to investigate The amount OF lumber turned out by
the owners of these mills the upper and the lower the for
mer being about two aud half miles farther the noun
tain than the other Is marvellous In five minutes time
log from four feet in diameter reduced to lum
ber-planks scantling, boards and square timber per-
haps all from the same log for it Is cut In the most adj
yantageous manner. Sometimes log will give three
or four different kinds Of lumber The lower mill is kept
running night and day, and has capacity Of $4,000 feet
per day of small stuff and Of 10000 feet when working
on largo timber. The upper mill has less than half
the capacity being smaller, and being worked only IL
hours day rs~y--I-..sSS., l.,--A..- r.
~ TIP FttME.
The ume is wonderful piece Of engineering work 1t Is
built wholly upon restle work and srngers there not
cut In the whole distance. and the grade is heavy
that there little danger Of JAM The trestlewOrk is
very substantial and ~ undoubtedly strong enough to
support narrowgauge railway. 1t runs over foothills
through valleys around mountains and across canons
In place Ia 20 feet high The highest point Of the
ume the plain is ZOO feet and airline from
beginning TO end the distance Is eight miles the