The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-09-01
Lost Through the Primitive
$780, Methods of Placer
Workers.
MAIN LEDGE HAS NEVER
BEEN TAPPED.
Certain Evidence That the Mother
Lode Extends Into That
Region.

FRESNO, CAL, Aug. 31.-WhiIe Fresno
is one of the smallest gold producing
counties in the State, it is one of the
richest in mineral wealth, and all that is
required to make the country rank with
the best is little more enterprise in de-
ve!oping the vast and innumerable
mineral-iaden lodges that lie scattered all
over the eastern part of the county. Last
year the entire output of gold was only
SIS, 235, but it should have been ten times
that amount. A large amount of this has
been taken from the placer digg.ngs of the
foothills and gulches tributary to the
Kings River, and but little attention has
been paid TO the immense quartz Lodges
that seam the mountains all over the
eastern part of the county.
These placers have been worked in the
most primitive manner, and in conse-
quence it Is safe TO say that at least one
half OF the finer and better gold has been
lost. This kind OF mining is the most ex-
travagant, not only in the loss CT the pre-
clous metal, but in loss of time. To illus
trate the truth of this the case of Russell
might be cited. Russell has owned a rich
placer on Laurel Creek, near where Louis
RabIdore made his rich strike short time
ago, and he claimed that he had barely
made living out of the gravel. On being
question ed Russell acknowledged that he
had worked the gravel deposit for the past
nine or ten years and usually cleaned up
from $1,000 10 $500 every year His work
ing season lasted from three to SIX weeks,
while the water lasted. The rest of the
time the placer was idle. An inspection
OF the grounds showed that by a little ex-
ira labor the mine could have been worked
nearly all of the year. Ali that was re-
qui-ed was a small outlay of money and
laror TO have brought the water through q
ditch from one OF the several creeks near
by and the ground could have been cleaned
up III less than three years, and a. profit.
However, the element OF time seems to
cut no figure with the miners in that part
of the country. They are satisfied if in a
few weeks they can obtain enough gold to
buy beans. bacon, coffee and -four to last
during the remainder of the year. So far
they have paid but little or no attention
to the quartz properties, although there
is evidence OF some of the finest lodges in
the State 10 be found all through the
mountains. The mother lode OF this
county has not been discovered, or at
least not recognized as yet.
To the practical miner the presence of
so many rich placers thro ugaout the
mountains is good proof that somewhere
near by there must be gold bearing led ges
from which the float gold must have
come. The entire section around the
Bear. Laurel and Dinkey creeks is scanned
with rich quartz srringers and small
lodges, but the main ledge has not been
uncovered, and, from what can be learned,
no one has had the enterprise to look for
il in systematic manner. A few of these
veins have been and are being worked in
a slovenly manner. and, in most in
stances, without judgment. In the re-
mote past there has been a big slip or
slide in the mountains there, and il is on
these false veins that most OF the work
has been done.
EThe working of the ores has been as
crude as that of the mines. While there
is much free gold in the rock the richness
lies in the sulphureIs, a clear indicat ton
that the big mother lode of California is
carried into this county and is not lost in
Mariposa and MADEIRA counties, as many
suppose. These rich sulphurets are nearly
all wasted, as the rock is usually worked
out by the old-time arastra process. Even
this system is not carried on always with
good judgment. This is shown by the
story that is told OF the experience of q