The San Francisco call., 1905-04-08


industry in California goes far to full
fill the many predictions of the past
| as to great enterprises and operations
on a stupendous scale. The extension
of the dredge mining has been 80
much discussed lately that the pub
lie has ceased to wonder at any new
announcement. Not the least inter-
esting gold find that Is reported is
| one in Sutter County. Mention has
already been made of the discoveries
| in the tule lands of the county. A
| long review of the facts Is published
! in the Sacramento Bee. in which some
| of the leading statements are as fol-
| lows:
| Assays of the sand show that it is re-
| markably rich. as some Of It has assayed $40
| in the center of the Sacramento Valley are
puzzling to the oldest miners. The. deposits
are not unlike the beach deposits found on
! the coast of Alaska in that the sand Is found
| in well defined channels that bear every in
dication of once being estuary of the
| ocean or an old river channel In these
! channels the sand is found about seven feet
under the surface and lies in two strata
| then clay is encountered for about six feet
| and the black sand is again entered. The
4 second stratum varies In thickness from ten
| to twenty feet. The channels in a zig
| gag course and estimated to be from 500
4 to 800 feet in width
| In August of last year. on the ranch of
| Mrs Ida F. Lee located six miles west of
| the little station OF Tudor. in Sutter County.
| hired man on the ranch discovered the SAND
/ in shallow hole. not than eight feet
| in depth and. being somewhat Of miner.
| panned 1t out in crude manner and found
: proprietor of the ranch secured the services
/ of well-borer and. near where the ranch
hand got his s. SAND t SUNK SUNK wen primarily to
| ascertain to what depth the gold-bearing sand
extended.
| Boring ceased at thirty-fve feet and in
| that distance two strata of sand and one of
clay had been encountered. Both layers OF
| tested in a rough way and all found to con-
| tain gold. In the early part of November
some thirty holes were sunk the ranch
| of Mrs Lee and the ranch OF W. T. Phipps
which adjoins on the north. for the sole pur-
pose of ascertaining the extent of this deposit
Samples were taken at various depths from
than the clay which underles the first layer
OF sand This layer proved to be about fifteen
feet deep. on an average. and about 900 feet
| wide, the channel forming horseshoe on the
| two ranches and extending along both sides
| of the half-section of land
| Some thirty tests made during No
| vember and December by various assayers
showing. yields varying from 81 25 to $50 PEI
| ton When these reports first made pub
lie their correctness was doubted, but wher
the names of SOME of the assayers were made
| known the doubling ceased.
| No system of separating the gold from the
| sand has been settled and miners differ
as to the process necessary. The reported
| richness of these deposits is too extravagant
| to be given credence by those who have not
| seen the assayers' reports.
Since the wells were sunk and tests made
on the Lee and Phipps ranches boring has
been carried on on number of othR ranches
near by. The latest find was two veeks age
| when the report of the assays made of the
sand taken from the 7OCe-acre ranch of John
Markley and associates showed sl2 to the
ton The Marklex ranch is a few miles north
west of the tracts above described and well
out into the tile basin.
DISCUSSING NEW LAW.
The exclusive publication in The
Call concerning the intent of the min
ing legislation passed by the Califor-
MIA Legislature at its recent session
has excited a great deal of interest in
all mining sections of the State. The
Los Angeles Times says of this law
to head off mining takers:
Whether this law will prove broad enough
and stringent enough to- serve the desired pur-
pose can be determined only by the test of It's
practical operation. That there is need fol
| some such law has long been apparent. lie
climate mining enterprises have long suf-
fered severely from the operations of these fake
mining schemes, founded upon worthless claim.
and often upon no claims save the mendacious
claims of the swindling faKers themselves Il
this law shall prove sufficient to put end tt
the particular kind of swindling to which it re
fers it will accomplish great and lasting
benefit.
From the text of the law it is evident thai
its application not restricted TO mining cor
porations alone, but that il will apply will
and supported by Misrepresentation. If tn,
language in which 1t is couched may be taker
as any criterion, the law seems to be broat
enough to cover large number of swindling
.