The morning call., 1893-04-23

MIR. MeCarthy's lot yesterday, he will
save the expense of grading, If he will only
allow the curiosty-huI tiers to remove the
surface of his ground for him.
There was much speculation yesterday
concerning the filing OF claims on land
owned by parties other than the Govern
ment. Opinion in the matter is divided.
Some claim that mining claim can be staked
out anywhere, regardless of ownership, the
only redress of the owner being r. suit for
damages. But tie majority of opinions are
to The effect that private rights must be re-
spected, and that no claims can be fled on
property that Is used for purposes other
than mining.
Ii it should be found, however, that a
claim can be staEed out anywhere no mat
ter who the property belongs 10. there will
be war In the Western Addition along the
line OF the ledge. man would naturally
object to waking ND some morning and find
ing police IN bis front yard that some one
wanted to use il. with all its dips, purs
and angles, for the urpose OF getting some
quicksilver. Ii the ledge should run through
the park that Sunday paradise would re-
SOUND with The noise of picks, shoVels and
biasiinG-powder. This is not greatly 10 be
feared, however, and the househoders can
rest easy for few weeks, at least.
John Mccarthy, the owner Of the lot
where the cinnabar was found. is still in
doubt what to do with his new acquisition.
II have had offers 10 form q stock rOmpany
already" said he, 'bnt it is too early in the
Jay ~ uN bHdt. utU KNOW vet MuttnPT
L have fortune in my hands or not, but
am going to find out, and very SOON"
1t is his intention TO sink shaft about
five and six feet and do n good deal of de-
ve!0pmeDt work before deciding what to do
II his land turns out to be quicksilver
mine.
Ali indications now point TO the fact that
this lead is really a valuable discovery
The richness of the ore, its apparent guam
tity and the ease and facility Of getting it to
To Ill
think that Mccarthy has a bonanza.
b. i. Hook, r man W no mas made a bust
ness OF clnnabar mining for thirty years,
said yeSte rday:
= Il was for long time superintendent of
many OF the mines of Columbus Water
house, and have been in the business for
years. l have never seen any richer CHINA
bar than the samples that have been picked
up at random on McCarthY's lot II has the
rich vermilion color that shows the pres
enee Of much quicksilver, and, from whatI
have seen, | should think 1t would run over
70 or so per cent.
The ledge is of tbe serpentine ard sand
stone formation, which is another evidence
of its richness. nave traced the lead 800
feet from where it WIS found, to the park,
and am of the opinion that IL continues
through the park and almost to the ocean.
How far II viii extend the other way has
not yet been discovered, but il has not the
appearance Of a short ledge"
The fact that Mr.. Hook has followed the
lead TO the park, added to that of McHugh
the grading contractor, having found CHINA
bar on the lot to the northwest of the pres
ent find, cOnvinees old quicksilyer-miners
that there is more in the discovery than
mere mining scare. One who has worked at
New Almaden said
There Is no doubt in my mind of the rich
ness OF this lead. Why, New Almadep will
not be in IL with the Mccarthy mine. The
ore here is at least twice as rich as that, and
can he worked for half the money required
there, rs 10 Is so conveniently situated. l
have worked in quicksilver mines in the
north. where the stuff was carried 500 miles
by pack mules, and there was big money in
II then. But here, right in the heart of civ
ilization, there ought TO be a colossal fortune
If this lead does not peter out"
Thomas Price. the assayer, who first gave
Mccarthy an idea of the value of his find,
Is also quite enthusiastic over the mining
possibilities of the city.
mere have been many specimens of
einnabar brought me during the last five
years that have been found in the city, but
none oil The leads gave any evidence of
tasting Inc ore seemed to come from isO-
lated pockets. and no permanent lodges
have been located before this one.
Il nave not seen this new mine yet, but
every one that has has told me how rich it
is, and that the lead promises to be a very
extensive one. There is no doubt that the
hills OF the city are rich in minerals of all
kinds, aud The geological formation of the
peninsula on which San Francisco is situ-
ated Is peculiarly adapted to quicksilver
The unly thing that puzzles me is that rich
mines have not been discovered long before
this"
a. w. Won Schmidt, the civil engineer, did
the surveying of the New Aimaden mines
and has done a good deal of prospecting for
quicksilver. In regard to the mineral beng
found In the city before. he said:
Il have in my office some pieces of crys-
tallized ciHnabar that was found in 1861. l
was taking down hill at the corner of Mar
ket and buchanan streets, and before | had
taken off four feet struck the pure metal.
1tlay around In pools andl in almost every
piece OF rock that was broken the quicksil-
yer would show up in liquid form. There
were immense quantities OF IL, and the Gin
nabar ledge was still in sight when had
the hill graded down TO the proper level.
The ore OF the present find differs from
that at New Almaden in this way: Here
there seems to be one continuous ledge, Of
an equal richness, while at the Santa Clara
County mines 1t is in rockets, and deposits
are sometimes 200 TO $50 feet apart. There
is no doubt in my nina Of the richness of
this ore, and il 1t lasts 1t will reYOlutonize
property values In that part of the city,"
There are several quicksilver mines on
the coast that have offices here, but the
people in charge are rather chary of giving
an opinion as TO the value OF McCarthy's
mine.
II have my doubts as to the fact that a
permanent clDnahar ledge has been found"
said the secretary of one of the largest
companies, There have been so many
mining scares in the city and It's vicinity
that OLD residents are beginning to look
with suspicion on anything OF the kind. OF
course II IS possible, but hardly probable,
that such valuable mine should have lain
undiscovered all these years with the
amount Of grading that has been done in
l tlat Ylclnity and the number OF old time