Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1909-09-03
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The following from the Tonopah Bo.
nanzl hits hot air mining men very
hard:
The articles that have been appearing
in some of the Nevada papers relative
to the enormous strikes and immense
lodges that are found in some of Il
new camps remind the writer of Mark
Twain's story of the Calistoga Springs.
A number of years ago when Mark
was prospecting Nevada and California
his eyes CHANGED to read a dispatch sen.
by &; we'll known mining writer OF san
Francisco to the Saturday Evening
Post, in reference to gold being found
in solution in the water of Calistoga
Springs. Mark wrote thuswise:
II have Just seen your dispatch from
San Francisco in the Saturday Evening
Post, about gold being fonnd in solution
IN Calistoga Springs, and about the
proprietor having extracted 1900 ounces
of gold of the utmost fincness from two
barrels of water during the past fort
night. by n process known only to him.
self. This will surprise many of your
readers, but 1t does not surprise me,
for j once owned them springs myself.
What does surprise, however, is the
falling off III the richness of the water.
In my time the yield was 81 a dippcrful
am not saying this to injure the prop
erty in case 4 sale is contemplated. |
am saying it in the interest of history.
1t may be that the prOprietOr's process
is is an inferior one. Yes, that may be
the fault, Mine WAS to take nv uncle
II had an extra one mt that time on ac-
count of his parents dying and leaving
him on my handS) and fill him up and
let him stand for fifteen minutes in or
der TO let the water settle. Well. then
l put him into an exhaust receiver
which had the effect of sucking gold
out through the pores. l have taken
more than Sl1, 600 out of that old man
in less than q day and n half.
Il should have held onto those springs
but for the badness Of the roads and the
difficulty of getting the gold to the
market. | consider that the gold-vield-
ing water is in many respects remark.
able. and yet it is no more remarkable
than the gold-bcaring air of Catgut can
yon, up there toward the head of the
Auriferous range. This air, or this
wind, blows steadily down through 600
miles OF the richest quartz groupings
during an hour and Il quarter every day
except Sunday, is heavily charged with
exquisitely fine. impalpable gold. Moth
ing precipitates this gold 50 quickly rs
human flesh heated with passion. The
time that William Abrahams was dis
appointed i'll love he used to sit out
doors when the wind was blowing, and
como in again and begin to sigh, and |
would extract over a dollar and a half
ont of every sigh. He sighed right
along, and the time that John Harbin-
son and Alex Norton quarrcled about
Harbinson's dog they stood there swear
ing ut each other and they knew how,
and what they didn't know about swear
ing they couldn't learn from you and
me, not by II good deal, and every three
or four minutes they had to stop and
declare a dividend. If they didn't thcil
jaws would clog and they couldn't gel
big, nine-sylablc oneS out at all. ant
when the wind quit blowing the,
cleaned up Il little over $1,000 apiece.
know these facts to DC absolutely true
becau got them from Il man who's,
mother knew personally. | do no
suppose that II person could bny tn,
water privilege ut Calistoga now mt an
price, but several good locations alonl
the course of Catgut canyon gold bear
ing trade winds are for sale, They ar,
going to Ike stocked for the New YorI
market. They will sell, too; people vii
swarm for them as thick as Hancock
veterans in the SOUTH
Some of the literature that has bae
dispensed about Nevada mines an,
mining is just about rs truthful a
Marks tales and facts must he write
to get results. The truth about on
mines and our prospcctsarc good cnoug
Let the facts be known. and IA soil
boom and the greatest prosperity vii
come to Nevada.
Respectfully,
BILL STERLING