Year: 1867

AUSTIN. Nevada,


February 9th, 1866.


EDITOR CHRONICLE :-Being an old resi-
dent Of Calaveras. and moving that many of
her citizens. and the readers OF your valuable
paper, were interested more or less in Reese
River silver mines. 1 take this method of
posting them up in regard to matters gener-
ally in this part of the country. Men of sci
ence and good judgment have for the last
three years prophesied bright future for this
country. Their predictions are now being
verified by solid facts, substantiated by steady
shipments of large amounts of silver bars
from our mills and mines. The great evil of
our country is past; the many wilc cat
speculations that were the great evil of this
region in '63 and '64 have passed away, and
the people have begun to understand that
their real interests depend upon more solid
foundation. namely: that they must be
more judicious in their selection of mines, of
which there are many of fabulous richness,
the ore often paying an average of 5000 per
ton, and in country of as great mineral
wealth as this there is no use of squandering
money where mining, as a business, will pay
as it does here. There are six mills running
ut this time here, with most fattering results.
The Murphy mill, at Twin River, has turned
out on an average sixty thousand dollars a
month for the last five months, and ore on
the dump and in sigh, to run the mill for the
next year to come, of high grade ore. pay
ing at the rate of $3.50 per ton. There are
numerous other mines here that will pay a.
well as the Murphy. The famous Hybridge
at Silver Bend. promises to rival the Murphy
mine at present. Col. Buell.. the enterprising
pioneer of Reese River, has put up a small
ten stamp mill OH the mine. and it is turning
out one thousand ounces of bullion per day.
The ledgeis fifteen feet wide. has been opened
to depth of fifty feet in several places, and
discloses finely developed vein of very high
grade, and would within itself supply and
keep dozen mills of twenty stamps employ
ed. There are many other rich mines dis
covered and in a steady course of develop
ment in the vicinity of Reese River. The
principal mines lay south of Austin. The
most active mining camps are Twin River
District, Hot Creek. Reveille, and Silver
Bend, or Belmont, as it is called at present.
Belmont is to be the future county seat of
Nye county, the present Legislature having
passed an Act to change the county seat of
Nye county from lone to Belmont direct,
without submitting it to the people. There
are many rich and valuable mines around
lone, but they have adopted the wildcat
system to too great an extent, consequently
they have scattered their mines. or the titles
of them, all over the States. The conse-
quence is, they have no system or organiza.
ton, and the mines have to Law idle for the
present, though there are some two or three
mines being worked with great success, and
one fine twenty stamp mill is being run day
and night. There is great interest mani
Tested by the people of this part of the coun-
try in collecting samples of the ore. from the
various mines and districts in this part of the
State, to be sent to the Paris Exposition next
July. There are at this time several tons Of
the richest ore from this part of the State
collected in the committee rooms al Austin,
to be forwarded the first of March. They
have large blocks of salt from the Salt Noun
tains in this State. These mountains are the
curiosities Of this part of the world. 1t is a
large mountain of pure salt crystalized, and
has to be blasted to get it out. There is salt
here to supply the world, and of the purest
quality. Besides this Salt Mountain we have
large salt beds, covering thousands of acres
of land, probably the beds of ancient lakes
that have dried away. We have large mines
of sulphur, and mines of alum, and in fact
most any other mineral the earth is heir to-
Col. Buell. has been appointed Commissioner
from this part of the State to represent US at
the coming Paris Exposition. will venture
to predict that in five years from this time
when the great iron horse binds Nevada to
her elder sister, California, to draw her sup
plies across the snowy mountains, that this
will be one of tn, most prosperous mining
States in the Union; but enough of that at
present. There are many of Our old Gala
veras friends over here. Some of them have
been lucky. and others have not done any
thing. There is one old Calaverasite made
his fortune out here, and says he is going
back to Calaveras to live again. He says
this is good country and so is Calaveras. l
am told he has made over two hundred thous-
and dollars out here, specializing and locat-
ing mines. His name is Jos. L. Williams.
and he formerly mined at Angels Camp.


Yours. respectfully,


+. G. MCDONALD