New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-01
A NINE OF PURE CRYSTALS.
ROMANTIC STORY OF FIND IN GALA
VERAs COUNTY. Cal.
CRYSTAL BALLS THAT RIVAL THE FoHEiuN
PRODUCT OBTAINED FROM IT.

PRODUCT OBTAINED FROM 1T.
c,oco halls turned from quartz crystals have
obtained a considerable amount Of popularity
chiefly for decorative purposes, ne" i'iiii'"s
field has been opened up for those who nave
efficient confidence in the permanence OF the
present fancy. Thus far the largest ana hhes'
balls have come from Japan. one notaoie spe''
men being now in the possession Of Miss Helen
-o,,,a I, &c about seven and one half inches in
diameter and together with its gold and silver
roountincs IS said to have cost Miss Gouid
S15 600 But within the last year several tons
NJ valuable CRYSTALS have been produced in this
country and il is hoped that from some OF these
masses or from others still waiting to be exca-
waited in the same neishborhood, balls may be
turned which will equal the foreign ones In size
and beauty This immense deposit or quartz
CRYSTALS is being worked by Milwaukee MIN
ing expert, John +. Burton. and the story OF
how he came to undertake the project reads
somewhat like the Captain Kidd tales OK caves
of buried treasure
Several years ago." said Mr. Burton. who has
lust spent a couple Of weeks in this city. "a
friend Of mine, q mineraogist, who was very Ill
and believed he could not recover, toid me
secret which he had long guarded carefully. Al
though his story sounded much like many other
improbable yarns OF the kind, l was somehow
IMPRESSED with the idea that it was true.
Briefly it was that in an old cave, the exact
location of which he described carefully. in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains. in Calaveras County.
Cal. there were tons upon tons OF pure quartz
CRYSTALS many of them Of huge size. He gave
me the name Of the owner of the property In
which the cave was-Captain Jack McSorley,
of Mokelumne Hill-urging me to believe what
he told me. and to investigate the contents OF
the wonderful cave After spending many
months in studying the subject Of quartz crys-
tails. and in making inquiries regarding the de-
mand for them and their market value. de-
cided to try to discover the deposit. Having
located the cave. it was bought By friend OF
mine and I called on Tiffany G. Co.. which firm
I knew to be interested in quartz crystals.
Naturally. they were little ncredulous about
the existence of the cave. but they said that If
my statements were true they would handle all
the crystals could send them.
well it took me seven months to open the
cave but when | saw the astounding mass of
crystal it contained l considered myself well
paid for my time and labor. Last February |
shipped twelve tons-an entire caroad-of the
sparkling stones to Tiffany e. Co. Among these
were magnificent specimens, but hope TO
discover still finer ones in the course Of the
present winters work"
There is now to be seen at Tiffany & Co.'S
crystal ball 81 inches in diameter which was
turned from one Of the Calaveras County speci-
mems. 1t is nawless and clear as distilled
water. and is valued at $1,000. The machinery
for turning the balls is very expensive and this
fact, together with the rarity Of crystals that
will yield perfect balls Of large size. accounts
for the high prices charged for them. 1t would
be possible to produce much larger balls If
occasional flaws were admitted, but when per-
feet is desired there is often a great deal OF
waste in the cutting The 5la-inch ball now at
Tiffany's originally ~ inches in diameter.
but owing to the discovery of a small flaw it
had to be cut down and turned to its present
size. The value of the balls increases far more
rapidly when the diameter is more than seven
inchea Mr Burton declares that II ha could