The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1904-10-15

haA0Ss
Superintendent NJ. l.. Mcdonald OF
the Southwestern mines at that place Is
authority for the latter statement.
lore containing IS per cent lead n 90
ounces of silver is se~lf.fuxing," said
he, land as we have an unlimited guam.
tity of such ore in sight, it is within
the range of possibility that a smelter
may be put in Tonopah."
Reveille is 55 miles eastward from
the latter, but the owners Of the South
western, have in view the building OF a
railroad to Tonopah for the purpose of
carrying their product to market or to
the Tonopah smelter.
Character of the Ores.
]. E. Spur of the Department Of the
Interior, who has written an exhaustive
report to the department at Washing
ton on the ore deposits in this region,
winds up by saying that ''the latter an
desite is the most favorable of the cap
ping rocks; the pumiceous dacite
breccia with inter-strati6ed, coarse.
tuffaceous rocks is next. while the brec-
ciated rhyofite should be prospected
very cautiously to see whether it is in
~trusive. The tuff may be pierced to
discover the underlying rock where the
geological relations do not make this
plain, while intrusive dacite and rhyo-
lite necks should be approached very
cautiously indeed.
'It must be understood that these
characterizations apply only to the i'm
mediate vicinity Of Tonopah, or the
Tonopah district proper. On account
of the sudden rise and fame OF the
camp the name Tonopah has spread far
beyond its limits. and has been applied
to mines lying in quite other districts.
simetimes so or 80 miles away. Here
and also in neighboring districts which
have not borrowed the name Tonopah,
the geological conditions are different.
In the Gold Mountain district, for ex.
ample, about four miles south of To-
nopah, the veins lie in rhyolites and
tufts and evidently belong to the rhyo-
little period yet they carry in some
cases considerable values in gold and
silver.
"The position of the early andesite
away from the outcrops can be foretold
to only a limited and uncertain extent,
for in dealing with q complex of VOL
canic flows and dikes like that in Tono-
pah there is no rule which governs their
distribution and by which their posi-
ton in an unknown locality can always
be defined with certainty. Therefore,
the prospecting should be done eau
| tiously and the district should be de.
veloped from the unknown region as a
center ; thus little by little a greater
knowledge of the geological detail viii
be gained. On account of the lack of
certainty Of results in this work. in
many cases it would probably be more
economical, both of time and of money,
to explore with a diamond drill rather
than with shafts. Certainly the sink
ing of a two or three-compartment shaft
in an improved portion of the district is
often unwise."
A Word to the Wise Sufficient.
To those who speculate in Tonopah
and Goldfeld stocks / would suggest a
close examination Of the personnel of
the directors of companies before in.
vesting. There are dozens of what are
known as wildcat" schemes or com.
panies in the camps which have been
organized for no other purpose than to
"cinch" the public purse.
Climate, Living, Etc.
In the sections of Nevada above re.
ferred to the climate as a general rule
is arid, with rare rains and occasional
SHOWS. but this season, and more parti.
cularly during my visit, was fraught
with heavy rains and electric storms of
unusual violence.
The cost of living at the mines is
moderate, and the markets are well
supplied with the best products raised
in California and the State where the
rich territory is situated.
4 I will repeat, however, that people
with limited means should hesitate be-
fore moving to either Tonopah or Gold
field. There are too many Of that class
there now and the Winter season is
trying in both places.
Then fellow articles and interviews
by men who have had experience in
both camps. and by others from the
outside who are well known in the COM