Weekly Trinity journal., 1878-01-26

posed, nothing whatever was done in the
way prospecting for them. In the year
1871 and ~, some miners were working
on one ofthe streams above Trinity Cen
ter found so much c'nnabar in their sluice
boxes, that it was no easy matter to sep
arate the gold. The farther up this
stream they worked the greater became
the amount of cinnabar collected each
day. 1t was not long before this discov-
cry was turned to advantage and resulted
in the discovery of the cinnabsr mines of
Altoona, the deposits OF einnabar in
which are probably as rich as any of the
mines on this coast. They were found
about eight or nine miles distant from
the wagon road leading from Trinity Gem
ter to Yreka, and for the first TWO or three
years were necessarily imperfectly work.
ed. The tools, provisions for the work.
men and everything else necessary, was
packed to the ground on mules, which
on the return trip, brought out sacks Of
cinnabar ore to point near the wagon
road where a couple of small retorts we're
erected. A: the price which quicksilver
then commanded in the market, even
this way of working paid, the ore being
plentiful and easily obtained. In 1878
the original proprietors sold their mine to
a company ofcspitslists and preparations
were at once made to develop the resource
es of that region. A large gang of hands
was put to work and wagon road made
to the mines. The company took in some
large retorts, and for while produced
quicksilver extensively. The decline in
the price of that article has to some ex
tent stopped devel lpment and put an end
to many ofthe prospecting schemes which
had commenced. But sufficient work has
been done to demonstrate that the CHINA
bar region of this county is both extensive
and rich.
Latterly some attention is being paid
to quartz mining, an industry new to this
county. 1t is only within the last two or
'hiOO J0"iS sH"Vt WYNN oHo cAScptlOHJt
any of the numerous quartz lodges which
are known to exist have been tested TO
any extent whatever. 1t stands to reason
that where there have been such rich and
extensive placer mines, there must also
be quartz veins from which the gold de-
posits originally came. The result o! the
trials thus far made, have been favorable,
and it is more than probable that quartz
mining will be successfully followed in
many places.
Weaverville, the county seat, is one of
the prettiest mountain towns in the State.
Its business buildings are nearly all brick,
and were built at an early day, and at a
cost far exceeding their present value
The town is built upon little fiat near
the centre of Weaver Ba.in,"a a circu-
lar valley of three or four miles diameter.
The town is built close to the locality
where the mines were first discovered,
and is located on good mining ground it.
self, many of the lots having been work
ed to the bed rock before the houses were
put on them. The bed rock in the " Ba-
sin " is sand stone or cement-the true
bed rock lies at a great depth below the
workings One shaft was put down by
subscription in 1856 to find the true bed
rock, which only reached at a depth of
more than 600 feet. The diggings passed
through several layers of false" bed
rock in the descent, with earth, sand and
gravel between, and though each stratum
was found to contain gold, not one Of
them was rich enough to warrant work.
ing. Several attempts have been made
to reach bed rock in other parts of the
Basin, but Intellectually only demonstrate
ing that if mines were found they would
be at such depth that drainage would be
impossible except by machinery. With
out doubt the Basin has been at some
time in the past the bed ofs lake or arm o
the sea.
The remainder of the towns Of III,
county are like Weaverville, m:nins
towns, with the exception of Hay Fork
which is the center of a small agricultu
raj district, though mining, is to some
extent carried on, along that stream and
its tributary creeks. The other places ol
note are : junction City, Lewiston, Trim
ity Center, Douglas City, Minersville
Canon Creek, Indian Creek, Cinnabar
Cox's Bar, North Fork and Martinville
ranging in population in the order we
have named them. All the settlement s
in the county except Cinnabar and Ket.
tenchow are within radius of thirty
miles Of the county seat, though the
windings of the mountain trails and roads
are such that it requires longer distances
10 be traversed TO reach some OF them. -
The southern part of the county, next TO
Tehama and Mendocino is comparatively
unsettled, but considerable attention Is
now being drawn to its growing resourc-
es.
For rugged, picturesque mountain
scenery, some parts of Trinity county
cannot be surpassed, some of the peaks
in the Range reaching an elevation OF
seven to nine thousand feet above the
level of the sea. Above certain altitude
the slate rock gives place to granite, which
gives the towering SUBMITS gray ap-
pearance. In some places limestone
ranges change the appearance of the land
scape. On little creek, tributary to
Hay Fork, there is a natural bridge OF
limestone The arch varies in height
from fifteen to forty feet above the bed Of
the stream, and the passage way through
is from thirty TO seventy feet wide.-
Above the arch the solid limestone bridge
rises to height of a hundred feet or