The record-union., 1892-01-30

American Republic.
There seems to be a method in old
Noses madness. In 1856. when he was
young buck, Chilanean called at his
wickiup at Forest Hill and stole his fa-
yorite squaw. Nose thinks his time for
revenge has come, and to show his 10y
atty spent 81 so in Colfax for flag.
About half a mile this side of Iowa
Hill we came upon narrow strip of
ground about a quarter of a mile long.
Bothh sides had been mined out, and
from the stage you could look down on
either the right or left for hundred feet
or more. The jingling of bells informed
us that a big freight team was coming.
The stage-driver pulled out as near to the
edge of the precipice as he could to allow
the team to pass. / looked down the
yawning chasm, and as Wilcox did not
seem to be excited l was not alarmed.
My Chinese friend, however, clambered
out ON the other side, and said he wanted
to walk short distance to warm his feet.
| noticed, however, that he did not go
twenty yards, and as soon as the stage
was pulled back in the track he clambered
in again.
Another quarter of mile brought us
TO Iowa Hill. The stage pulled up at
llsFargo's office and we got out. j.
w. Chinn, one of the oldest agents on
the coast, came out and took charge of the
express box and Uncle Sans mail, while
Wilcox drove his stage across the street
and put it up.
l went up TO the Arcade to call upon
the proprietor, S. NJ. Sprague, but found
that he was in San Francisco. However,
Johnny Peters, his able representative,
was there, and through him 1 was intro
duced to the Mayor and given the freedom
of the city.
One of the first l met whom / knew
was j. q. Ackerman, whom / had known
on the Georgetown divide years ago; also
Professor G. NJ. Cromwell, whom l had
taught school beside away back in the
seventies.
AS early as 1S49 good mines were dis
covered and worked in the vicinity of
Iowa Hill. Tons of gold have been taken
out there since. Within one-half mile of
the center of the town over so, ,000, 900 has
been mined, and those who apparently
are competent TO judge, say that less than
one-half Of the mineral wealth has been
developed and that the mines of that sec
ton will last for forty years.
}. +. Brown, the principal merchant of
the town, went there in the tifties. He
has made competency and says the best
times of Iowa Hill in the past will be dis
counted in the future. He claims that
the hydraulic process, considering the
rocky character of the gravel deposit,
cannot injure the river, and that the drift
miues are in their infancy.
Mr.. Brown is perhaps the best posted
man in mining in Placer County. He
has made it a study for forty years, and
when valley farmers tell him that dump
ing gravel into Indian Canyon is
detriment to valley lands, he simply
laughs and says: Gentlemen, you don't
know what you are talking about. Come
up to Iowa Hill, make an inspection for
yourself and If you are not satisfied will
pay all expenses"
Mr.. Brown is pleased with the result of
the Miners Convention, as are Morton,
Sprague, Jones, Bissett, Borth, Peters,
Hawkshaw, Chinn and Myers. They all
claim that the trouble complained of by
the valley farmers was never contributed
to in the least by the Iowa Hill mines,
and could not be if they so desired.
They only have from twenty to sixty
days water for hydraulicking each win
ter, and their heavy deposit of blue
gravel, which is nothing more nor less
than cobble stones, never goes farther
than half mile from the mine, and
all remains in Indian Canyon. which is
several miles from the North Fork of the
American River, which, of itself, at that
point, is an insignificant stream at all sea-
sons of the year.
If they had been so disposed, which
they are not, the hydraulickers have not
had days water this winter, and as the
season is so'advanced there is no prospect
that they could have even if they so de-
sired.
They are brave men. Hospitable,
whole-souled, royal gentlemen, who claim
they have been WrOnged by the valley
farmers, because the latter have been mis-
informed and have been led to conclu-
sion unwarranted by facts. They are
willing to bide their time. and feel conf
dent that in the end the entire situation
Will be thoroughly understood, and that
they will be allowed to prosecute their
work without detriment to any other in
terest in the State.
Yesterday with Superintendent Nor
ton visited the Washington mine, about
a quarter of mile above the town. They
have the surface of about twenty acres
washed off, leaving a gravel deposit of
from six inches TO five feet. 1t is COM
pact mass of the heaviest gravel and
cement. Nineteen-twentieths of their
whole mine is rock. This is the mine
that the Supervisors were asked to visit,
which they did and reported so favora-
bly, upon.
Mr. Morton pointed out large bowlder
where Supervisor Bates sat down and
took a rest while others of the party
went on tour of inspection. "Just
three feet from that stone,' said he, "two
days atterward, one of our men picked
up nugget that weighed 81, l40.
''It was III a chunk of gravel. The
man picked it up to toss it aside when it's
immense weight attracted him. He
washed it off, carried it to town, and the
owners of the mine set up the cham
pagne."
This morning / visited the Morning
Star mine.N 1t is gravel deposit that has
been worked by the drift process for
more than thirty-tive years. 1t is about
one-quarter of mile south of town. and
to reach it you have to go down hill so
steep that you must cling to every bush
to keep from going with a rush to the
bottom-at least on such days as to-day,
when the snow is melting and rubbers
are about as speedy as snowshoes.
The Coleman Brothers, who have made
millions out of the Idaho at Grass Valley,
made their start at Iowa Hill. They
tramped in there over the trail, blankets
on their back, made lucky strike, found
an old river channel, took out pile of
money, went to Grass Valley, made
lucky strike in the Idaho, and have been
favored with fortune ever since. To-day
they are classed with and belong to the
set known as California millionaires.
Before leaving Iowa Hill, they bought
into and to-day own controlling interest
in the Morning Star. ]. II. Neff, the
Prison director, is also large owner
and the Superintendent.
j. o. Jones, one OF the best gravel min
ers on the Pacific Coast, is Superintend-
ent in charge. They have driven their
tunnels IN the hills for over 5000 feet,
have seven different slopes at work, en-
ploy over forty men, and are paying
handsome monthly dividends.
1t pays over $40 a carload. All of the
gravel is run through a ten-stamp mill
While at the mine this morning Mr..
Jones showed me a candle-box full of
gravel, which was estimated to contain
over fifty ounces, worth $500. Some of
the pieces looked as if there was more
gold than cement. The gold is in
small particles, about the size of grain