The San Francisco call., 1898-02-06
New Life and Progress Fills the Mining ln-
 dustry Everywhere.
The Advertising Opportunities of the State -Old Com
 stock Dream Revived.

d the Transmississippi Exposition has be- come a live question with the appoint ment of a public spirited committee 10 promote the work Southern California has been awarded 2000 feet of space, and if the rest of the State is going to rise to the occasion also there must be prompt action. There is no question as to the great advertising value to this State or a striking showing of the mineral re- sources and opportunities for California to the three or four millions who will at tend the exposition. The question is only as to the degree of enterprise with which the opportunity will be seized. Several mining counties and the State at large will be well rewarded by the Mining Fair. Now there should be a great permanent mining exhibit added to the collection of the State Board of Trade, and large exhibit sent to Omaha. The matter of what California will do about proclaim ing its mineral wealth to the world at Paris in 1900 seems doomed to wait until the Legislature meets and decides the matter of an appropriation. There is source Of great advertising opportunities ahead for the mining industry of the State.
 Theundying that the Comstock will recover some of it's departed glory is be- ing again revived by discussion of the possibilities and practicabllity of pump ing out the deepest levels which have been so long flooded and abandoned, and sinking deeper in quest of new bonanzaS. This seems feasible to mining men and the thing may be tried some of these days, especially 1T the prospecting of the Brunswick lode keeps on disappointing. The deepest shaft reached 525O feet, and on the 3000-foot level good ore and indi- cations were found in the Belcher, Jacket and Hale and Norcross. This was in 1S62, and the pressure for dividends prompted an abandonment of deep work ing and q return to the unworked ore bodies in the upper levels, which yielded millions before their riches were exhaust ed AS pumping operations would be conducted on the 16OO level, that of the Sutro tunnel, there is but about 1900 feet to unwater. As the chances are good that unreached bonanzas lie below the deepest workings, there Is a fairly good promise that the enterprise will be car ried out one of these days, and that Nir- ginia City may again hum with life. But so far it is all interesting discussion.
 In reviewing the lead industry for the year, with it's boom in production and it's rising prices, the St. Louis Republic says:
 St Louis broke all previous records as pig lead market during the past year. The receipts were 22o0, ,54S pigs, as com pared with 1,946 ,139 during 1Ss6, while there IS not Q year in the whole history of the business that can compare with 1897, eith- CT in point of the output in the St. Louis district or the general increase in the amount of business done.
 Tt has been the most prosperous year in the history of lead mining Tn the coun- try. and Missouri has played a promi- nent part in the immense development As a general rule lead is struck at d depth of 200 to 250 feet below the surface but during the past year discoveries of the richest ore ever found have been made just under the sod and down as deep as l100 feet. Perhaps the richest prospect Known in this country was struck the last week Of the year near Webb City, when a 30-foot face vein of ore was uncovered the dirt from which yields 1600 pounds of lead and zinc ores to the ton.
 Besides the immense investments of the National Lead Company it is known that upward of S400 GOO was brought into the State from outside investors to be expended in lead mining over and above the vast sums that were already invested. Thousands of dollars weekly have been earned by miners and mine owners, and the industry has grown to be one of the greatest In the State, besides forcing Missouri to the front rank as a producer Of one of the most important commercial metals
 An important grubstake decision has been rendered by Federal Judge Han ford at Seattle. Seven Spokane men grubstaked a proSpector a year or two ago to prospect in British Columbia. Af- ter a period of failure there he heard oI the Klondike, went there and secured some rich claims, in which the Spokane men have sought to establish an inter- est. It was shown that there were no definite limitations of time and place in. the grubstake contract, and the court holds:
 T consider that the contract cannot be fairly construed so as to create any right in favor of the plaintiffs to property sit uated in a distant foreign country, pur- chased by Malloy with his own money more than two years after the agreement was entered into. Grubstake contracts will be enforced by the courts but only as other contracts. It is not enough for parties to assert that they have rights in order to secure legal protection, but they must be able to prove in each case clear and definite contract. and by terms and conditions in compliance herewith rights have become vested"
 The warning Is that there should be definite agreement as to time, etc, when grubstahng Is done.
 The S,OOoyCOO gallon reservoir for the Argonaut mine, Amador County, is com pleted.
 The Kinyon mine at Randsburg is to have stampmill-the first in that dis trict.
 On Ash Creek, near Hornbrook, Siski- you County, pockets Of gold have been taken out that aggregate in the neighbor- hood of SlO,OOO within the last two months.
 It is reported that the King Solomon mine at Johannesburg is turning out 5000 ore at depth of 315 feet, and from the
 
 ported of still richer ore. From the Nancy Hanks (of the Randi fifty tons will be sent to the reduction works as an experi- ment.
 At the Montauk, Fl Dorado County work progresses satisfactorily to the new purchasers, who seem elated over their acquisition They are considering the i'm mediate addition of twenty stamps
 A contract for sinking the South Eure- ka shaft at Jackson 200 feet deeper has been let to Crocker 6 Wells of Jackson the price per foot being $14 95 The pres ent depth of the shaft is 1900 feet
 The mines at Harrison Gulch. Shasta County, are being worked with full crews both night and day. The cyanide plant is also run full time
 Considerable development work has re- gently been done on the Galena ouartz mine at Black Canyon. The main tun- nel has been extended on the ledge 41O feet. The ledge has an average width of four feet. Development work IS being done on the -Iorsefy quartz mine. whic6 Is an extension of the GaIena ouartz mine in Black Canyon. The prosnect tunnel is now in seventy feet on the ledge and some fine-looking quartz has been taken out.-Auburn Argus.
 The Reward mine, Nevada City. is one of the properties in which successful de- velopment has been going on in Nevada County. drain tunnel HOO feet long taps the shaft at 4S0 feet The shaft is down 6S0 feet A two-stamp mill has