The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1899-03-15
FROM THE coMsTocK LODE.
Changes Made In Wood by Enormous
Pressure. Heat and Mineral
fxcd water.


-Tbat paperweight of miner said
the mining broker, as he completed
transaction in stocks that made him
sigh for past days. For the thou
sandth consecutive time | am about to
explain that it was given TO me by a
SUPERINTENDENT whose mine visited on
the famous Comstock lode. Now that
YOU know that ii comes from the Com
stock perhaps you will be able TO tell
what il is.
NO. it's not piece Of rock, although
II has somewhat the appearance OF a
| mineral specimen. Neither is it metal
lie. although it has both weight and
hardness. You might observe also that
| II rings clear when struck, that IL will
turn the edge Of knife, that IL will
scarcely kindle in the flame of blow
pipe. that although ii was taken from n
| depth of .. 900 feet or more, it is prod
uct of the surface of the earth. Now
that you are so well informed possibly
YOU would like TO pass an opinion on
the subject?
Give il up? | don't blame you.
| That's what did first off, and every
BODY else the same way except few
old Comstockers who drift into my
| office. They know what it is as soon
as they set eyes on il. That is piece
of wood which has served as timber in
one of the mines on the lode. II was
Just ordinary pine brought from the
| Sierras to begin with. But where ii was
used il was subjected TO great heat, TO-
gether with a pretty steady flow of
mineralized water almost at the boiling
| point, and also to great pressure in
| holding up the mountain of rock which
| lies over the vein and is known in the
geography of the outside world as
Mount Davidson.
The hot mineralized water has a
great deal to do with this alteration of
the wood but the largest part of the re-
suit is due to an enormous pressure.
Out there in Virginia City they will tell
YOU that Mount Davidson is sliding
| down hill 1t is an actual fact. The
| upper layers to a depth of half mile
or more are steadily sliding downward
|
| tain. The place where the sliding mo-
ton is most felt is just where the rich
ore is thickest. Some folks say that il
| is due to the extensive excavations UNI
derground that this slide is going on,
but the experts will talk to you by the
hour about geological faults and con-
vince YOU that this sliding is the work
of nature. The few people who are left
in Virginia City, now that the mines
are idle, do not seem TO be anxious
| about this Sliding down hill. | guess
| it's because they feel that the capacity
of the Geiger grade for rapid transit in
| time of urgency was established when
Hank Monk undertook to put Horace
Greeley through on time and succeed
ed. But down i'll the underground
workings it is different. The pressure
is something enormous. But it is slow
and gradual. They have learned to fig
ure out the direction of the greatest
pressure and they timber the mines
VITA regard to that direction. Because
the pressure is 50 slow in making itself
felt a straight timber of the largest
diameter or of the smallest will shorten
under the strain without bending.
That's what has happened to my speci-
men that use for holding my papers
down. The heat the minerals in solu-
ton in the water, and above all the re-
morseless pressure of the mountain
have shortened the stick. and the short
ening was attended with a considerabl
degree of mine radiation. Just as soon
as the pumps get the lode emptied and
things begin to boom once more on the
Comstock you can count on seeing
plenty Of this peculiar wood coming
into the possession of those who like
to have about them all sorts of things
somewhat out of the common."--N. Y.