Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-04-28
H EUREKA CON.
INTERESTING SCENES IN TIE
MIME, CAVES, ETC.

The Tributers' ssPitches.-The Gen.
eral Outlook on the Various
LeVels-An Accurate Description
OF the "LittIe Bonanza Ore
Chamber-A Big Mine with a Fine
Future.
Wednesday morning a SENTINEL repor-
ter was allowed by Superintendent T. J..
Read to visit the Eureka Consolidated
mine. Under the escort of Foreman Joe
Bice he got considerable athletic exercise.
Anybody else who follows this lively sub
terranean flyer is liable to the same gym
nastic treat. There are other and p~leasan-
ter ways Of gathering information than by
rummaging about in the bowels of the
earth. Besides there are places in which
the quid nunc feels quito as safe as at the
mouth of gaping wines and on the last
rung of a ladder, from which he doesn't
know whether he had better let himself
drop or hold On till he falls. A reporter is
never altogether safe. Hence he can af-
ford to risk his bones in strange and I'M
usual places underground by his own act.
The philosophy of his situation should
make him resigned anywhere, for, posi-
bly,, while ~shuddering in q natural cave,
he may be avoiding the direful wrath of
some offended orator whose words at an
enti-Chinese meeting were not s~atisfac-
torily given to the thirsting public. But
putting aside these trivial considerations,
it is exhilarating it is a recreation %for,one
who has travelled almost always above
ground, to go down into a big mine, can
die in hand, and travel about taking
notes, if locomotion is easy and the air
good. There is no difficulty or discom-
fort in reaching any point in the Eureka
Con-, and the air is as pure in every drift
as on d mountain top. The mine affords
also some interesting places of observation
to the ordinary visitor who is not versed
in mineralogy or metallurgy.
After an hours tramp ascending and
descending you come upon a half dozen
stalwart miners squatting on the ground
in front Of a square meal of appetizing
victuals; you sec the steam rising from
their coffee-pots and smell the aroma of
the soothing berry; you hear the ripping
of a stream Of chemically pure water near
by. The surroundings, the sound of
the water, the fresh, bracing air, and the
smell of the wholesome food make you
hungry. You feel like squatting down
with the brawny toilers and taking your
bread and meat there, for a time or two
anyway, rather than sit formally at a we'll
ordered table.
There are several natural caves in the
Eureka Con. mine, a sight of which alone
repays q visitor for the exertion necessary
to see them. There is one particularly, on
the 4th level, that is interesting. 1t is
dome shaped, about so feet high, and about
40 in diameter. Its walls are covered in
several places with a coating of lime on
which beautiful calcite crystals are formed.
These crystals are perfectly white, are very
delicate and feathery, and assume all sorts
of fantastic shapes. They are moist, and
not easily preserved in shape until the
water which they contain is all evaporated,
but several specimens of them nave by the
exercise of great care been kept intact Just
as they were found in the natural state.
This is one of the p~leasantest features of
the caves in the mine, OF which there are
many large and small; but the cave forma-
ton is not merely ornamental. 1t is Of
material significance as almost invariably
indicating the presence underneath Of a
body Of ore.
1t is Of the mine as an ore producer that
we propose to speak. The mine looks bet
ter now than at any time for several years.
In a general way it may be stated that
there is a plenty of ore in sight to continue
two furnaces running, while there is a
good prospect of finding new deposits.
The prospect is favorable in several places
for developing extensive and valuable ore
bodies. The indications of q find are good
on the Sd level. A drift is being run
through q formation OF iron and lime
which is always favorable for finding ore.
There are similar indications on the 9th
level. About six weeks ago the cave above
mentioned was run into. An upraise from
the Sth level has been started to explore
the ground below this cave. AS stated,
these caves have invariably been found to
have ore beneath them, unless they occur
so near the footwall as to leave no room
for an ore body. This is a fact which may
be no doubt accounted for by some scien-
tifc theory, but the fact established is val
liable without the theory.
The tributers, of whom there are $50 in
the mine, at work from the groupings
down to the 18th level, have good
''pitches," particularly so in the LIST, 4th,
9th, 10th and 18th levels. Two men work.
ing on the 4th level have cleaned up each
between 50, 900 and So, 900 within the last
eight months. The work of the tributers
is very important to the company, as
through them a vast deal of prospecting is
done; it affords good average wages for
the tributers themselves; it is profitable to
the company which gets q fair percentage
of the ore produced and which has also the
reduction OF all the tribute ore at its fur
naces.
Besides the tributers there are about
ninety men directly employed by the COM
pany in the mine at the new (the Locan)
and the old shafts. At the furnaces sixty
men are employed.
THE NEW FIND.
A great deal has been said and many
speculations have been entertained
with regard to the 'little bonanza" that
was recently struck in the Eureka Con.
1t will be interesting to know as definitely
as ANYTHING can be known in mining, what
is the extent Of this development. About
the first of March ore was found some 40
feet above the 9th level. A drift was run
from the northwest through this ore body,
which continued in ore of high grade
higher than usual. showing in places from
$50 to S120. A large percentage OF this is
% per cent, anu carrying Aloui
20 to 80 per cent lead. The face of this
drift, at the termination of the IS feet, is
still in rich ore. The ore chamber, at
shows this rich ore for a width of
IS to 45 and a hight of from Is to 20
feet. The ore is widening out and getting
deeper as the workings advance. While it
is impossible from present developments
to tell the exact size and extent Of this ore
chamber, the present openings are as favor
able as any ore body ever opened in the
mine. The ore to supply the furnaces,
with the exception Of that extracted by the
tributers, has been taken out of this cham
Der. Above the sets of timbers, about ten
days ago, q cave was struck which has
since been opened to- the sth level.
The bottom of this cave shows fine ore,
and the indications are that the bottom of
the cave will be the top Of the ore body,
- fNr