Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1876-10-19
A TRIP TO

oeiieico vi MS OBSERVATIONS Leaving
here by Wilson'S stage line, last Thurs
day morning, we were landed in Aus.
tin the same evening, after a pleasant
journey of twelve hours, including a
stoppage Of about an hour at the Will
lows, for dinner. On our arrival in
town, We found bonfires blazing, bands
playing and anvils booming for a po-
litical meeting. which was held in the
open air under the discouraging in
f1uence of a ~drlzzling rain. We didn't
buy any of this, a warm bed being
more to II notion after the journey
just completed. and on which we
shortly laid u weary frame. The
next day was devoted to seeing the
sights and greeting our friends. There
are not many sights to be seen above
ground at Austin-no imposing public
buildings, no art galleries, museums,
theaters, Libraries, or public parks;
but there are to be seer the ~cleanest
streets. contest private residences and
a more general air of industry than in
any mountain town in Nevada. Sun
day was a beautiful day, and the
streets were filled with well-dressed
men, women and children; some out
for a walk and others on their way t o
or from the various places Of worship,
of which there are three, viz: Catholic,
Episcopal and. M ethodist. There is no
surplus population in Austin and but
very few unemployed men; conse-
quently nearly everybody is prosper
Gus and nearly all have a little money
put by tor wet weather, which has
just set in in that range of country.
The greater part Of Monday was
spent in an inspection of the mines Of
the Manhattan Company, situated or
Lander Hill, on the southern and
western slope of which a portion of
the town is built. At no time in the
history Of Austin have the mines of
Lander Hill yielded so largely or
looked so promising for the future as
at present. The old workings near
the surface and in the western portion
of the veins have been given I'VE to
the tribute miners, and the works of
the Manhattan Company moved to the
eastward, where greater depth has
been attained. resulting in a marked
and remarkable increase in the size,
richness and regularity Of the ore
chimneys. We do not propose 20 go
into a detailed description of the va
rious mines, but TO simply state two or
three instances going to show the
great improvement these mines have
undergone during the past six months.
The widest vein now being worked by
the Manhattan Company is the Pana-
mint, which shows up in a cross-cut
from the 600 A,ot level of the Bowman
incline to a thickness of four feet,
which ia an extraordinary thickness
for a Lanxsr Bill ledge. On this vein
there is a breast n1nety feet in length,
the ore from which during the past
month has yielded by mill process
from $3.50 to $40 per ton, without sort
ing-just as it is taken from the vein.
The same chimney has been tapped by
Il cross-cut from the 5l7-foot level OF
the Curtis shaft, where it shows up as
wide and even richer than in the
workings from the incline one hun
bred feet above, thus giving a stope on
this bonanza of an additional one hun
dred feet in depth and of breadth as
yet unknown.
The Paxton ledge is also worked
through the Bowman incline and will
likewise be tapped by workings from
the Curtis shaft. Where the ore chimney
is now being breasted on. it displays
an average width of two feet, carrying
throughout the rich ruby silver ores
peculiar to the district, and which
range i'll value far up into the thou
sands.
The greatest wonder of the Ma nhat-
tan mines, however, is the Independ-
ence ledge. On this vein there is a
chimney of rich ore extending from
= Jo DQ0 f,ot 1oval Nf fhn Ern-t Shnft-in
which the vein was first c~ut-down to
the 500 foot level, a depth of 300 feet,
on an angle of AZ degrees. The breadth
Of this breast is 20 feet at the 300 foot
level, gradually increasingtill it reach
es a width Of 140 feet at the 500-foot
level, with a thickness of vein ranging
from eighteen inches to three feet, all
ore. The ore from this chimney
yields an average by mill process
of from $3.50 to $500 per ton, and is
taken out and sem to the mill without
sorting.
The production of bullion by the
Manhattan Company is at present
only limited by the milling capacity,
which is now but twenty stamps; but
if the mines further improve in any
thing like the ratio Of improvement
experienced during the last month,
another twenty stamps will be re-
quired. The underground workings
are fairly swarming with men, the
principal work in which they are en-
gagged being the extraction of ore.
When the new connections are COM
pleted from the Curtis shaft and the
hosting of ore commenced through
that shaft, the company will be in a po-
sition to bring to the surface a sufficient
amount Of ore 10 keep the mill run
ing all winter, and still have large re-
serves left.
In view Of these important and re-
markable developments in her mines,
it is patent hat our sister town of Aus
tin, which has been plodding along in
an unassuming sort of way for the
past ten years, has a long seaso of
prosperity before her, and that she is
destined to be at no distant day one of
the most productive and prominent
mining camps in Nevada.
This article has strung itself out to
too great a length to permit of a de-
scription of the journey home, which
was without startling incident, except
the encountering of George Merrill
and Lambert Molinelli, on their way
to Cortez on an electioneering tour in