Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-20
TOWERS RICHLY LINED WITH GOLD.
Wealth In the Old Chimneys Whore tho
Bonanza Ores Were Refined.

Wealth in the Old Chimneys Where tho
Bonanza Ores Were Refined.
For nearly quarter of a century two
tall towers have stood at the foot of
Hyde street, near Leavenworth, almost
on the edge of the beach. One rises to a
height of 10 feet and the other reaches
more than fifty feet in the air. They
are both very broad and thick, and they
have brick enough in them to construct
several buildings.
They are relics of the flush old days
of the Comstock mining era, when
Flood. O'Brien, Fair and others banded
together and erected the famous Selby
Smelling and Refining works. There,
from the bonanza days of 1860 to as late
as 1885, the great chimneys belched
forth fire and smoke. They never STOP
ped. Wreaths of flame and volumes of
SCOT circled in the air over the domes at
night time, while hundreds of men
toiled in and about the works, cutting
and shoveling ore and Stag, molding
bars of bullion and refining it to pure
silver, gold, lead and copper.
In 1885 the Selby company concluded
to move its works. It was known that
the old underground flue that connected
the furnaces with the chimneys, as we'll
as considerable of the ground all about,
was permeated with gold and silver set
things and solid metal. On the advice
of skilled European expert the COM
pany dug up the ruins as we'll as large
amount of sold to the depth of five or six
feet and transferred it by tons to the
new works at Port Costa. There the
stuff was run through the works, and it
is said realized not less than $5OO,OOO
Selby g. Co. did not dream that in the
towers which were left standing and in
the million tons of Stag and mineral
permeated soil much wealth remained.
The ground was sold and nothing was
thought about it for long time.
Some time ago w. B. Cluff, the well
known merchant and politician of this
city, acquired the ground on which the
old works and the present Stag pile and
chimneys remain. 1t consists of five
fifty-vara lots, or "a acres. Meantime
he had several experts make examina-
ton of the brick towers and the sur
roundings. They reported that the
metal and black dust of the towers was
a veritable mine of wealth, and that the
gri,ny matter that filled the interstices
and in one form or another permeated
the brick reeked with valuable minerals.
Also that the gray Stag which had been
carted away from the blazing furnaces
in primitive days contained large guam
titles of gold and silver and should be
worked over. Promptly thereupon Mr..
Cluff secured the silver and gold lined
towers and the debris. He is said to
have paid $40, ,000 for the chimneys alone.
His object is to work them up and get
the money out of them.
81 do not think will have any trouble
in getting the gold, silver and other
mineral out" he said yesterday. ."It
was on the advice of an English expert
that Selby & Co. took lot of the debris
to Port Costa, and | am informed they
got over $500,000 out of that. Several
skilled mining men have come to me
lately and offered to buy me out or work
the chimneys, Stag and soil ON per-
centage. have not closed with any
body and do not think shall. There is
an immense amount of Stag there. In
some places it is 200 feet deep. 1t all
contains gold, silver and lead, with some
copper. have had the ground assayed
around there, too, and it all shows up
well. In some places it is very rich"
Mr.. Cuffs intention is to tear down
the great towers, which have so long
been landmarks in the history of the
city, and which can be seen for miles out
at sea and in other directions, and wrest
from them their gold and silver lining.
San Francisco Examiner.