The record-union., 1897-02-25
Splendid Results Being Secured at
Browns Valley.
An Electric Plant That Will Furnish
rlarysvilIe With All the Light
and Power Needed.

The Stockton train to San Francisco
whirls one through one of the most
fertile and productive portions OF Cal
ifornia. Via Davisville to the Bay is
country unexcelled in natural condi-
lions. The Oregon road runs through
sections capable of varied industries,
such as farming, horticulture, mining,
numbering and stock-raising. The
branch road from Woodland to Marys-
Vile and OroVille taps a marVelously
rich territory, while the main trunk
line of the Central Pacific and the Pa
cerville division penetrate rich min
ing lumber and fruit-raising sections.
A city SO Fortunately situated-fa-
vored by both water and railway trans
portation, must grow in wealth and
population as the years go on. Sacra-
mento is the natural distributing
point for all this territory. It's sltua-
tion in a transportation point of view,
its low rents and natural facilities,
will always make it a commercial CEN
ter, and the residents of the country to
the north, east, west and south all
agree that it possesses advantages for
wholesale trade, superior TO the me-
tropohs, and they have for many years
aVailed themselves of its advantages.
Lake, Colusa, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada,
Placer, FL Dorado, Yolo. Yuba, SUIT
ter, Butte. Tehama, AmadOr and Cal
averas are natural tributaries to the
trade of the Capital City, as well as
portions of the State of Nevada and
Oregon These sections are continual
ly growing and are capable of almost
unlimited development.
fbpy form a 1nnOct pODire
of themselves. No section Of the world
has more varied productions and pos
sibilities. Every kind of cereals, fruit,
lumber, minerals, marble, sandstone,
granite, mineral springs. etc, can be
found within the borders of the terri
tory described. and their development
is in its infancy. Such surroundings
must make the commercial center an
important point. Mining is one of the
principal industries of these tribu-
tary sections.
In order to place before the readers
of the Record Union reliable infor
NATION concerning that industry, this
correspondent has been detailed 10
visit different mining sections.
The first stand made was at what
Is known as an abandoned camp, or
Browns Valley, in Yuba County-is the
point from which 1 write.
1t is about twelve miles from Marys-
VILE, in the low foothills. The camp
has a history Thirty years ago it
was in full blast, and it is estimated
that over $4,000, 900 were shipped from
the camp all taken out of its aurifer-
Gus veins The Lodges are large. 1t is
thought and pretty conclusively dem
onstrated that 1t is a continuation of
the mother lode of the southern mines.
From one cause or another the sew
eral mines were shut down about the
date mentioned. The principal reason
assigned is that great volumes OF
water were encountered, necessitating
the erection of new and heavy pump
ing machinery. and this, added to the
fact OF the excitement on the Com
stock and differences among owners
caused a suspension OF work and the
mines have laid idle for nearly thirty
years. A year or more ago parties,
after inspecting the ground and learn
ing the history of early mining there
when methods were very crude-con-
cluded to begin the work of redevelop-
ment.
Notably among the new adventur-
crs is a company composed Of San
Francisco capitalists, consisting OF
Charles Webb Howard. ". E. Brown
of the Crocker- Woolworth Bank and
I. w. Page.
They bonded several claims, or old
mines, and commenced work about a
year ago, on what was formerly known
as the Donnebrog. but now christened
the Webb. They also incorporated two Of
their other claims. but have confined de-
velopment to the Webb and Pennsyl-
vania. The former has now as COM
plete mining plant as can be found
anywhere Of it's size.
They erected first a ten stamp mill
with stamps weighing one thousand
pounds each, and ten stamps more were
recently put in. There are six Hendy~
Norbaum concentrators; machine
shop with lathe and other fixtures COM
pIete; a blacksmith shop with fine out
fit for all kinds Of work. a dry house for
the men; a melt house with every CON
venience for retorting; a canvas plant
for saving pulp after it gets past other
saving apparatus; large lodging house
and boarding house; a fine office; a
powder house; a gasoline pumping en-
eine and plant for supplying water for
cooking and drinking purposes; hre
house with a force pump sufficient to
throw a stream a hundred feet high, and
other minor outbuilGings. all at an eX-
pense of about one hundred and sixty
thousand dollars.
The old workings were down 4s0 feet
when the Webb Company commenced
work.
They have sunk to the seven hundred
foot level-drifting each way from the
shaft. and have been stoping rock from
the three hundred to the seven hun
dred foot levels The ledge on the diff
ferent pay chutes averages from two 10
eleven feet in width or an average Of
about four feet in thickness.
II requires from twenty to thirty min
ers to keep the twenty stamps running.
There are altogether ninety men en-
nloved at the mine when running fuli
handed.
During five months-two months with
ten stamps. and three months with
twenty stamps-there was extracted
seventy thousand dollars-a pretty good
showing for a year old enterprise.
The machinery is at present run by
steam power. but the company has
leased the Yuba County ditch for nifty
years where 1000 inches of water. with
a vertical fan OF 40 feet can be utilized
"a furnish electric power, which viii be
transmitted to Browns Valley, 10 an
who want ii. and ii is also the intention
of the company TO extend its operations
10 Marysville supplying light ana power