The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-01-02

Dan DeQuille,. in the Salt Lake Tri-
bune, writes entertainingly of Nevada
matters as follows:
Virginia City, New, Dec. "a, 1895.
Our fine weather ended December
18th in blizzard and snowstorm. In
one day and night there was fall of
about eight inches of snow, and this
depth has been added to since by daily
snow squalls, until it is nearly doubled.
All city traffic is now on runnered We
hicles. At this writing the weather is
still stormy, but the temperature is
only a little below freezing at this
point, though below zero in CEN
trail parts of the State. On the summit
of the Sierras there must now be about
five feet of snow, as there was up
there a fall of three feet in the first
storm, 1t is fine weather for the ice
palace and toboggan slide of the people
Of Truckee. An additional attraction to
visitors from the California towns will
be found in the sleighing; also exhibit
tons of feats in snow-shoeing may be
given by the mountain experts. The
winter attractions which are being got
ten up by the Truckeeites will make
their town the liveliest place in the
mountains for many weeks; and just at
time when otherwise the town would
be duh and the same as dead. The to-
boggan slide is to be of the regular
Canada style. At the end of the slide
will be a run of several hundred yards
over comparatively level ground.
CoMSTOCK COASTING.
We might easily have an immense
toboggan slide in this city, but we do
not feel the want of any such artificial
contrivance The slope of Mount Da-
wilson gives us a great natural slide on
every east and west street, and sleds
of all sizes and shapes take the place
of toboggans. Ever since the first
storm these natural slides have been
thronged by the children and young
people of the town. Once in a while
one of the old boys mounts a sled with
view to showing that he is still in
the ring After he has been helped to
his feet at the end of the slide, has
rubbed his shins for time. had his hat
handed him and the snow brushed off
his back he is ready to acknowledge
that he has forgotten the tricks of his
younger days, and is no longer a spring
chicken.
PROSPECTING OPERATIONS.
The snow has put an end to pros
pecting for new lodges, but prospecting
work still continues on veins already
found and located. This is in the neigh
borhood of towns and settlements. Out
in the wilds nothing is now being done.
Most of those who were prospecting in
regions remote from lines of transpor-
tation laid by" their claims and came
in to the settlements before the storm
Very little work will be done anywhere
in the wilderness sections of Nevada
until next spring, though good discov-
cries have been made at Disaster Peak
and other places far out among the
mountains and deserts.
-
new camps where mines have been
opened, houses built and winter sup
plies laid in, work goes on the same as
in summer. At Silver Star the owners
of claims are getting rich, and all les
sees are making money. Not only is
the mill at the camp kept in constant
operation, but also much ore is being
shipped to mills out along the line of
the Carson x Colorado railroad Silver
Star is a camp in which everybody has
money. 1t is a rich little town. 1t is
| Cripple Creek or Mercur on a small
scale, Thus far the belt shows a sys-
| tenn of seven parallel veins On all
| these paying mines have been opened.
| Thus far the work done has been for
kthe development of these veins. all of
which show surface groupings. 1t is
| probable that good prospecting work
| done outside Of these veins would very
| greatly expand the productive area of
the camp. The veins that are being
| worked are all on the north side of a
| big mountain in porphyry formation.
| This porphyry extends to the summit
OF the mountain and a little beyond
where, on the south side, is a lime
| stone contact. Thus far nothing has
| been done at the point of contact be-
| tween the porphyry and limestone for
| the reason that nothing shows on the
| surface. There has been little erosion
| on the top of the mountain to wear il
| down and bring to light any vein that
may have been formed between the two
| kinds of rock. There may lie hidden at
the contact larger and richer vein
| than any of those found on the north
| side OF the mountain. 1t is a fine re-
| glon In which to prospect and discover
les VIII probably be made there next
spring that Will greatly enlarge the
area of the dist let
A MYSTERY OF THE GREAT BASIN
REGION.
AT the Buckeye placer mines In Doug
las county they are showing up what
seems To be a Veritable mystery in the
way of an auriferous deposit. This
placer ground was at first supposed to
be quite shallow, though covering many
hundreds of acres of surface In the
superficial mining done on the placer
from time TO time in years past many
large nuggets, few pounds in weight.
were found near the surface Ii was
thought that in places the ground
might be from ten to twenty feet deep.
No one thought 1t was anywhere much
deeper When the San Francisco
parties-Lane, Hayward and the Ho-
bart estate-bought up the ground they
began putting down prospecting shafts
and soon discovered that the aurifer-
| Gus material extended to a great depth.
II is not washed and rounded gravel.
| like that of the California placers. but
| consists of angular fragments of ali
| sizes mixed in with dirt which has the
| appearance of being decomposed quart
| and other vein matter. all of which Is
rich In gold. AS the prospecting shafts
went deeper and deeper 1t began TO be
| thought the deposit was an immense
| blowout az gold-bearing quart
| which had decomposed 1t was be.
| lieved that from this central mass OF
quartz veins of the same character ra.
| dated in all directions, and decompos.
ing formed great area of paying pla.
Ger. Now, however. it is beginning Il
be seen that the deposit is not a quart;
blowout. but some other kind Of for
Misunderstanding like lake or al
| immense water hole.
They have now sunk in the forma
| ton in one place to a depth of abou
| three hundred feet, and no sign of bot
tom has yet been seen. In one place
at the shaft of the Black Horse mine
last Friday, at a depth of 1855 feet, wa
found a piece OF petrified wood. appar
entity section OF pine nut tree. Thi