Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-17
PLACER STRIKES
BOOM OLD CAMP
MANHATTAN DOUBLES ITS Pop
ULATl0N
LATEST DISCOVERY RUNS $50 A
CUBIC YARD
Rich Gravel at Bedrock Extends Along
Dry Wash for Distance Of
Seven Miles and in
Vicinity
BY JAMES WYNKOOP.
Mining Editor of The Herald

Since the first rich placer strike in
Manhattan gulch, Nye county, NeV''
about two months ago, the camp, 1t IS
said, has doubled in population ana the
entire guleh and contiguous placer
ground have been located. Those re-
turning from the country declare 1t
the best and richest placer proposition
ever known in America, a statement
which, If only half true, would make
camp worth while.
The last strike of consequence was
made only a few days ago in the nam
gulch on the Memo Extension ground,
owned by A. E. and NJ. G. Smith. This
strike was made in a shaft at a depth
of fifty-two feet, and twenty paintings
here showed values of $50 to 500 cubic
yard.
At depth of forty-fve feet the mint
ers encountered four feet of pay gravel
which went from SO to S. yard. Be
low this strata was blue clay, winch
carried small values, and beyond this
was the rich gravel. Latest reports
from Manhattan are that bedrock Will
be reached in this shaft in another
three feet of sinking making the dis
tance to bedrock fifty-five feet. At
a depth of fifty-two feet so much water
entered the shaft that work had to be
abandoned until pumps are installed.
Seven Miles of Placer
The gulch runs about seven miles
west from Manhattan, and there is
known placer ground the entire length
of it and in side gulches. The rich
gravel is from two to three feet thick
on bedrock, which lies about fifty feet
below the surface in the course of
an old stream. The rich gravel was
discovered about two months ago
while men were sinking wall at Cen
trail, a small camp about two and
half miles from Manhattan, on the
Bald Mountain Consolidated company
ground
Since that discovery the whole gulch
has been located, and more than a hun
dred shafts are now being sunk. Twen-
ty or more of these have already
reached bedrock and got results rang
ing from so to $100 a yard. At Central
the Consolidated company, under the
direction of o. B. Steen of Los Angeles,
engineer IN charge, eight shafts have
been sunk to bedrock and about 800
feet of drifting has been done on the
bedrock. Mr.. Stems sampling in these
drifts gave an average of a little more
than one ounce of coarse gold to the
cubic yard, which can be estimated as
a fair average of the entire seven miles
of the gulch
On Dry Wash Wilson's ground mug
gets have been found dunning from
$40 to $50 in value each. They are now
sluicing on this ground in gravel run
ming, it is said, more than $100 a cubic
yard.
On the Memo Extension
On the Nemo's ground, about three
and a half miles from Manhattan or
about the center of the gulch values
have been recovered running from $40
to sos.
On Mueller's ground bedrock is
ninety feet below surface, and here
values averaging one ounce to the cubic
yard have been encountered. After
cutting through twenty-five or thirty
feet of loose rock and desert soil
strata of gravel ranging from ten 10
fifteen feet thick was entered. Below
this was a few feet of sandy silt and
then the rich gravel at bedrock was
reached.
Aylward and Colburn of Goldfeld,
operating in the main gulch, report
that the first stratum of gravel encoun-
tered, originally supposed to be barren
of values, yields $40 to $12 to the cubic
yard.
There is plenty of water for sluicing
purposes, and all that is required is to
pump it from bedrock The Bald Noun
tain Consolidated is a Los Angeles
company and its holdings are the larg-
est in the new placer country. with the
exception of those of Dry Wash Will
son.
This company has ordered an cleo
trical plant, and it is now being in
stalled 1t cost of about SIS 900 At
first 1t was thought best to install a
gasoline plant, but on account of the
rapid progress being made by the Col
orado & Nevada in extending its power
lines in that direction the electrical
apparatus was decided upon. This
power company expects to have its
lines in operation in Manhattan gulch
within month. 1t will deliver about
1000 horsepower to the different plants
of the various placer mining COM
panies.