Weekly Trinity journal., 1875-10-16
THE CINNABAR REGION.

{ mas bcci uoNHlAS STduually upon the
people OF Trinity, that the cinnabarinte
est is destined to add very greatly to the
resources of the county. 1t is only now
that the value and capacity of the quick
silver mines is being demonstrated, the
difficulty of inducing capital to take part
in its development having only recently
been overcome. The principal mine, the
Altoona, has now passed from the hands of
the original locators and under the super
intendency of Mr.. II. Greenman, will soon
rank as one Of the most productive mines
in the world. The other mines in which
work is being prosecuted are not yet de-
veloped to the same extent as the AL
toona, but little doubt exists in the minds
Of those familiar with this kind of mining
but the work now being pushed forward
will result in discoveries of "stringers" of
equal value with those of the leading
mine.
The road from Trinity Center to the
the cinnabar region, leads up the left
hand bank of Trinity river, following the
stage road to Ireka until we pass the fine
ranch Of Mr.. Davis. A short distance
above Davis upper field the road turns
to the right, crosses Trinity river and fol-
lows up the right bank to the mouth CT
Ram Creek, thence up that stream to the
''retorts." Here we found the business
in full bast-they are kept burning night
and day and with three rctorts turn out
five TASKS of quicksilver of 764 lbs each
per day. The ore is packed from the
the mine, 10 miles distant, and the fur
naces have never been permitted to cool
since the fires were started early in May.
From the retorts the road takes up spur
Of the mountain and winds its way over
high ridges to Cinnabar.
All communication with Cmnabar has
heretofore been made over the mule trail,
but that is now thing of the past. At
the present writing II splendid wagon road
is completed to within m lie of the mines
and with the force at work it will, in n
week at farthest, be completed to the
company's office. The company has
about $50 men employed on the road,
Mr.. Greenman being desirous Of getting
the new furnaces, eight in number, and
weighing about $500 lbs each, into posi-
ton at the mine before the bad weather
sets in. The furnaces are now at Read
ing, and will be shipped up at once.
Much Of the road is in good ground, the
bedrock digging as easily as earth
though places were found where blasting
had to be resorted to. There are no bed.
of washed gravel along the line Of The
road, nor does there appear to be any
such deposits anywhere in that section
The road is ten miles in length, and wa
constructed at cost of about $1,000
mile. But the cost will prove but tri1ni
compared with the saving Of expense an(
the great convenience Of travel. Gene
rally the road has fair grade though th
places steep, but it is the intention of Mr.
Greenman to change the line of road TO
more gradual descent when the weathe
has become settled for another year.
Foley's place, a substantial house o
hewn logs is the first building which i
met, and it bears a marvellous res EN-
blance to the trading posts of twenty, fiv,
. years ago, though much better finished
From here the tunnel of the "Trinity'
company can be seen good prospect!
have lately been obtained there, and the
mine is looked upon as of value. Above
is the Boyd " claim, also owned by tho
Trinity company, on which operations
have just commenced. Up the hill fur.
ther, the claim Of Rumlelt 81 Loring is
being tunneled, with good Indications
1t is now but step over the hill, and the
works OF the Altoona are in view. This
company have 10 Chinese and 20 white
men employed. Mr.. j. T.. Winans beiue
foreman OF the works and George Allison
doing the blacksmith work of the compa
ny. Part of the force were working il
the mine another part were preparing
the foundation for the expected furnaces
The cinnabar is separated from the de
composed rock by means of rockers
: eight or ten Chinamen being employed
for that purpose. The ore is then packed
in sacks about 100 pounds in each an(
sent to the retorts. Beyond the Altoona
works we came to the Dolliffe claim, vel
situated and Of great prospective value
The farthest claim now being actively
, worked is the " Boston " mine, wher
.splendid ore has been found, making tha
mine one Of the "big things" Of th,
country. Mr.. Butler, the owner, wa
away, but we passed a half hour very
agreeably with Mrs. Butler, n lady O
culture and refinement. Beyond the
"Bos ton mine are the locations of Will
& Co., and Dickinson & Co., not being
worked at present, but on the range o.
, the cinnabar deposits, and bearing indi-
cations of future value. Between Dol
liffe's location and the Altoona we founc
the location Of b. G.. Wattles who witt
, his wife lives at the claim. Being en-.
gagged in talking politics we failed to in,
quire the result Of Wattles' prospecting
but from the location Of the ground, be.
tween rich paying mines, it can hardly
fail to prove good.
A great deal Of timber is used in the
mines, but the country is equal to the de-
mand. The mountains at and around
Cinnabar are covered with thick growth
of heavy timber, fir, cedar and pine being
the predominating varieties, very little
oak or other hard wood being found. The
great trouble with the timber is that it is