The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1909-11-06

region, and also be extended to Luck
Boy, Hawthorne and other Nevad.
points. Up to date, however, plan
along this line still seem to be in
somewhat chaotic condition, but rumorl
have the names of Wingfeld, Knox and
others, connected Herewith. Splendid
water powers exist in the Silver Lake
region south of Mono Lake, and these
seem to be the proposed source for the
generation of power.
There is also considerable talk
Of the extension Of the Virgins
and Truckee railroad from Minden
to Bodie, and a connection made with
the Bodie and Bennett timber railroad.
Numerous prominent railway men and
capitalists have recently been looking
over the country, which gives consider
able color to the rumors
After leaving Bodie, the first glimpse
of Mono Lake is caught from the top
of the divide about two miles from
Bodie, but this view is only m~omentary,
for the road quickly drops below the
crest Of the hills and then winds down
ward along the gulch for several miles,
finally skirting the north side Of the
lake, and thence running westerly
across the old Mono placer diggings,
and up a gulch FIVE or six miles further
to Lundy.
Out on Paoha island, in the middle
of the lake, Ear distinctly be seen the
derrick of the Soderberg Oil company,
and on the mainland on the northwest
side of the lake is the derrick of the
Sierra company. A small flow Of ex-
ceptionally good oil has been struck IN
both of these wells, but the quantity
developed is still small. The oil has q
parafine base, 40 per cent kerosene, 90
per cent lubricating oil, the remainder
being parafine and other ingredients.
The gulch leading into Lundy is
picturesque to a marked degree. Tall
pines and hemlocks line the banks of
the stream and dot the mountain sides,
which are so high and PERCEPTIONS that
it would "give a woodpecker's head d
spasm to take one glimpse down the
awful chasms.' While engrossed in
admiration of these scenes, the crest OF
the great divide that separates this
country from the Yosemite valley
looms up in the distance, gnarled and
grand, and then like the sudden change
of a kaleidoscope Lundy lake, cold and
blue and teeming with trout, appears
directly in the foreground as You noun.
to the top Of the grade in the road
and enter the basin in&which the lake
is enclosed. Swimming along for a mile
at the waters edge, we put the broke
onto the "benzine wagon at Taylor's
hotel, one of the landmarks Of that
region.
The principal object of the trip be-
ing an inspection of the famous Parrett
mines that have recently been taken
over by Mr.. Mccormack for the Broken
Hills company at a price of 100000, we
nhoof' it up the gulch a mile Or moro
to the "hermitage' Of "Uncle' Jasper
Parrett, the locator of the claims, and
whose advent into the gulch dates
from 1879.
Here is a man and a scene worthy
of a place in the romantic history Of
California; man who has 'out-
Crusoed'' Robinson Crusoe, aud who
has during a lonely, companionless vigil
of thirty years, wrought a work d a.
tonishing and intensely interesting
phases.
On the nQythern slope of one OF the
most precipitous mountains in this re
gion he years ago located a group OF
six claims which are known throughout
the country as the Parrett mines.
Single handed he built his c~ommodiOus
cabin in the gulch at the bottom OF the
hill, and then proceeded to develop the
claims he had located. He built trails
up the mountain side for thousands OF
feet, over cliffs and around precipices
that fairly shout with danger to the
traveller. The veins proved rich in gold,
some of them averaging about $50 per
ton and others close to 800. Parrett
quarried out tons upon tons of the ore
from big surface cuts, and then, still
unaided by anyone, constructed an
arastra by the side Of his cabin, built
a long 1ume for water power for the
immense shot water wheel with
which the arastra was run. Some ~
the timbers he has used in the con
struction of his mill would put to ront
half a dozen men of the ordinary type.
but with pulleys and handspike ne
wrestled them into position and wal
under obligations or thanks to no one
In