Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-06-18

found the casts of the following fossil
shells Amonites, avicula, halobia, mo.
notis, myophonia alta (!), and "pecten
deformis." They belong to the triassic
strata. The carboniferous limestones on
the right contain some remains of corral
FOSSILS, but IN poor state of preservation.
The granite rocks-which the copper
strata follows for miles north and
south-marks the line of the ancient
carbonlferous and jurassic seas. The
shells were deposited along the shore, with
the solutions OF copper, which mingled with
It's bases formed the strata as we fine it
today. In the great canon, which leads
from the head of Indian valley to the foot
OF Genesee valley, and on the spurs of the
high hills to the north OF Mormon station,
and east of Taylorville, find an immense
deposit of triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous
shells. Here also are sandstones OF every
hue and shade. Felspathic shistose rocks
OF great variety and beauty. The red
sandstones of the triassic, full OF casts of
shells, and white sandstones of the ere.
taceous, crowded with the shells of fossil
oysters and the pens of the cephalopod.
| The corrugated shell of the rinconella, the
| coinllke shell of the orbiculata, with worm
borings fill the rocks, and form an in.
tensely interesting field for the researches
of the paleontologist.
Green mountain springs from Indian
valley on the west, carrying up on its
| flank and along its summit the great gold
bearing suartz lodes of Plumas county.
Here l find in the aggregate l52 stamps,
reducing IN "a hours 225 tons of quartz.
All OF the mines are paying ones. The
Green Mountain has 90 stamps, Indian
valley 80 stamps, Southern Eureka 10
stamps, Cherokee 10 stamps, New York 10
stamps All OF the above mines are owned
by Eastern capitalists. The Plumas Ma.
tional lies six or seven miles further back
In the mountains, in the slate formation.
has 80 stamps and complete chlorination
works. The Gold Stripe and Savercool, on
the same belt, lie further north.
OF the placer or gravel drift mines there
is prominent the Loring & Leavet, one and
one. half miles from the town of Quincy.
To-day saw at the office of Wells, Fargo
& Co. $3.50 in coarse gold dust, the result
of five days work drifting with seven men.
On one day few weeks ago l,O23 was
obtained one piece being Sl6S. Other
shafts are being sunk on the line OF the
same lode, and Mr.. Mills, agent for an
Eastern company, is sinking near the town
of Quincy, at the mouth of Spanish creek.
Should the lode be struck at the latter
point it will open up an immense field of
undeveloped ground.
Twenty miles from Quincy l visited the
once famous locality of Rich Bar. The
County Clerk of Plumas and his son were
my companions. Buck is one of the
old former residents of Rich Bar. As the
shades of evening settled down on the old
weather. beaten buildings of by.gone
period the ancient human fossils of a de.
cade of years collected beneath the spread
ing branches of the Towering locust and
maple and related weird stories of dim
age of which poetry and romance scarce
know" Opposite stands the house in
which A. L. Bancroft, the successful mer-
chant of Market street, first saw the light
All over the State OF California may yet
be found the argonauts of Rich Bar.
The river murmurs on its way to the sea
the full moon casts a wide and tender
dead city on the hill, beneath the moons
soft rays. looks down upon the dead city
by the river. Rich Bar, although poeti-
cally dead, yet lives, and there are some
good mines yet remaining. At this point l
saw the remains of a gigantic agate-a
larger mass geology speaks not of. The
miners, in search of wealth, destroyed
a fortune of no mean proportions,
when with fire they ruined this wondrous
giant jewel. It's size was u by feet,
and it was four feet thick, and of beauti-
ful pearly and reticulated nature. Ten
cords of wood were used IN its destruction.
Here perished, through ignorance, the
largest agate or chalcedonic jewel ever dis.
covered. a thousand dollars would have
sawed this stone in slabs, that would have
been transported, and a table or mantels
worth one hundred thousand dollars,
or the marble furniture for an entire build
ing could have been constructed from
them. The stone was perfect and as trans
lucent as the chalcedonic jewels of Pesca-
dero pebble beach. GEORGE MADEIRA.