The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-06-18
CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA
TX MINES. H
The Bonanzas Played Out-The Golden
Shower Exhausted.
Mi. Alexander Delmar at Issue With tn &
Men of the Bullion Club.

SAN Francisco, May 31.-To the Editor of
the New York Sun: If you will turn to the
report Of the silver commission, page two,
you will observe that on account of my
technical qualification for examining mines
of the precious metals, was commissioned
officially to visit the mines of this coast and
report upon their probable yield of metal.
Accordingly, came here in November, 1876,
while the famous Consolidated Virginia and
California mines were "in bonanza" and
when it was almost death to hint that they
might soon "peter OUT The stock of each
mine then stood at about 55, which, as there
are $4,000 shares in each, came to
$50, 400, 900 for the whole bonanza. 1 exam
ined these mines carefully, and, in the face
OF certain specious appearances, and of a
general conviction to the contrary, came to
the conclusion that the Bonanza was on its
last legs, and the public was mistaken. If 1
had been stock-speculator could have
made fortune by bearing the stock;
bat l was not. had been clothed
with grave trust, and discharged 1t faith
fully and resolutely. went back to Wash
ington in January 1877, and at once made
my report. You will see 1t in the appendix
to the first volume of the Silver Report
page to 6S inclusive. 1t was sent to the
public printer February a. 1877. In June
of the same year returned to California to
examine some other mines aud finish my
History Of the Precious Metals" now in
process OF publication. 1t was not until two
months after my return here that my report
on the bonanza mines was given to the press.
Its publication was the signal for a general
outburst of indignation from the stock-job
beers and their organs. With one accord
they decided that l was false prophet, an d
had either not examined the mines care
fully enough, or did not understand the
subject. Meanwhile, however, the stock
had quietly fallen to half price, and this fact,
more than any confidence in the experiences
OF a mining engineer who had been de-
nounced by the Bonanza press" gave me a
few weak and trembling friends, who
thought that perhaps might be right after
all, provided, of course. that l was not de-
nounced any further.
Well, you know the rest. After they had
carefully scraped every "fringer," every
neglected crevice and Granny, for ore; after
they had mingled the ore below with worth
less quartz, so as to exc out an average
IulAtQIc dS lOuk oS DOSSluic, altcT tucy udu
vainly explored the upper levels for possible
frIngers and offshoots of the Bonanza, the
managers were obliged to let the daily prod
| uct OF the mines tell the truth. This prod
uct was nothing but milling gu artz, and
the fact which had perceived more than a
year before was now plain to every body: the
| Bonanza was played out In November last,
after the fzzle in Sierra Nevada, the stocks
| of the Big Bonanza fell to about S. a share,
which, for the two mines, amounted to
about 100000, fall OF elevsn-twelfths
from the value they bore at the time I ex-
ahmed them. AS for the product, it had
fallen to a wretched quartz, which scarcely
paid the cost of extraction and reduction
| The condition of the mines, from their great
size, extensive ramidcations, and hasty
working, was. and is, extremely dangerous.
They may cave in at any time, as did the
| Ophir mine in 1868.
Surprising that the Big Bonanza had fin
ished its history and would never be heard
| of again as a serious enterprise, I wrote an
account of it last year, entitled the "Real
| History of the Big Bonanza" in which facts,
| briefly alluded to in this letter, were set
forth In some length. Imagine my surprise,
in taking up a late copy of the Sun, to find
that the spectre of the Big Bonanza had been
| introduced upon New York Stock ex-
change, and that my old fellow-townsmen
were buying its shares at the rate OF 81, 000,-
| 900 or So 000, 900 for the two mines!
New Workers, let me say a word to you. ]
do not wish to hurt Dave Croly or his Bull
lion club. Croly is an old friend, and the
| Bullion club I know nothing about, except
that, as I understand it, is interested in pro
noting the sale of mining stocks in New
York. But let me ask you to pause mo.
mine, and give you, in a few words, the ben.
eft of nearly three years resi-
dence on this coast, and pretty extensive
knowledge of its mining enterprises. l dc
thus in the interest of legitimate mining
that it may have strong and not weak sup
port, and that it may not be retarded by the
success of mining bubbles. 1 do it, also, in
the interest of many persons of slender
means who may be engulfed in the desper
ate chances of the jobbery that surrounds
quartz mining.
1. On the whole-and for any one large
district, as California Australia, British Co
lumbia, etc, quartz mining by freemen
| never did and never can pay. This is due
to the fact that there were, and are enor
nous quantities OF the precious metals al.
ready in the world which were obtained by
conquest or slavery, and, therefore, cost
nothing. There are also enormous quaint
ties of gold obtained in placers at the rate oil
from 500 to $50 per day per surviving man
All new gold now obtained has to compete
against the cheaply-produced metal through
the level of prices which it has created; and
| for perhaps century or more to come, the
new gold can not maintain this competition
without loss.
2. Although quartz mining is on the
whole Improbable, people pursue it because
it possesses the fascination of lottery and
policy gambling The players know that on
the whole it Is losing game, yet they con.
tinue to pursue 1t because each one hopes to
be an exception, and to draw prize. So il
is with quartz mining. There are many
gold mining properties, but these are as one
to q hundred worthless ones. Without the
assistance Of the highest professional skill
and without the utmost good faith and
probity in every part of the management il
Is simple madness to invest in the stock oil
precious-metal mine. Better play
poker.
8. Do not be misied by the figures of past
production on this coast The halcyon days
OF 40 are long since over, and the placer
mines are exhausted for white men The
Comstock lode is honeycombed and used up
It is not impossible that another body Of