into the basin. It was located in 1851 for a Pittsburg mining company, by R. S. Wigham, who erected a mill the same season, but the enterprise was among the early quartz failures. The property finally fell into the hands of Merritt & Bourn, of San Francisco, who still retain it. The mine was worked on a lease in 1855, and again in 1857, but with indifferent success. In 1862 it was leased to Weeks & Thomas, who, in the course of 15 months, took out 3,700 tons of quartz, which yielded at the mill an average of $22 a ton, and the profits to the lessees amounted to near $40,000. The mine was then idle until January, 1866, when the owners made arrangements for further explorations. Another level was opened, and in the course of the year the mine yielded $102,000 from 1,700 tons of rock-an average of $60 a ton. A mill and first-class hoisting works were erected last spring, and started in operation about the 1st of June, but we have no report of the yield for this season. At the upper level the ore chute extended only about 50 feet along the lode; but in the lower level, 380 feet on the slope of the vein, it has a breadth of 400 feet. The average width of the vein is about two feet, and the country rock is slate. The Wigham and the Banner are the leading quartz mines of Nevada district at the present time.

THE MINE OF THE NEVADA QUARTZ MINING COMPANY, commonly known as the Soggs" mine, is situated a mile west of Nevada City, and is a parallel vein with the Gold Tunnel. The lode was located at an early day, but no successful effort was made to develop it until 1857. A rich chimney having been discovered by the owners, they made arrangements for the erection of an eight-stamp steam mill to work the mine. This was run two or three years successfully, when it was taken down, and the owners put up a new 12-stamp water mill on Deer creek, and the mine has been worked, with one or two brief interruptions, for 10 years. About 5,000 tons of rock have annually been taken from the mine and crushed at the mill, the gross receipts ranging from $40,000 to $70,000 a year. During the year 1866, according to a statement furnished by William M. Ratcliff, the superintendent, the amount of rock crushed was a fraction under 5,000 tons, which yielded at the mill $42,000; while the returns from sulphuret ore shipped to Swansea and concentrated sulphurets netted $8,000. The average yield of all the rock crushed has been about $13 a ton, yet the owners have at times derived large dividends from the working of the mine, and, with the excep tion of the construction account of the first mill, but one assessment has been levied, and that only for a trifling amount. The lode is one of the largest in the district, though very irregular, ranging from a mere seam to 16 feet in width, and averaging about four feet. It is opened by three tunnels, starting in above the mill and running north. The length of the upper tunnel is 2,900 feet, and the other two about 1,900 feet each. The rock is taken from the mine in cars and dumped in front of the stamps, thus saving the cost of hauling; and having a large lode, and the advantage of water-power to run the mill, the owners have been enabled to work a low grade of ores with profit.

THE SNEATH AND CLAY MINE, situated a mile southeast of Nevada City, was discovered in the spring of 1862, and several lots of the quartz crushed during the next sunmer yielding good returns, the locaters erected a mill, which was started in operation about April, 1863. For a time the rock yielded largely, the gross product in two years being $180,000, of which over half was clear profit; but the owners were unable to agree in the management, and having worked out the opened levels the property was sold in May, 1865, to a New York company for $27,000. The mill and hoisting works had cost $45,000. The New York company opened two additional levels, which having been worked out to the extent of the pay ore, the work was suspended in the summer of 1867. The mine is believed to be a good one, and had it been judiciously managed from the start, and the "dead work" kept well in advance, it might have been profitably worked for a long period.

THE LECOMPTON MINE, three miles above Nevada City, on Deer creek, was

located in 1858, and in the course of two years the net proceeds amounted to $60,000, the quartz averaging $40 a ton. The gross yield of the mine up to 1863 was $220,000, and it has been worked but little since, the pay ore above the level of the creek being exhausted. This lode is situated near the junction of the granite and slate, and cuts through from one formation to the other without changing its course or dip.

There are numerous other mines in the district which have at times afforded large profits to the owners, but which are now idle, either from bad management or other causes. Among those now being worked may be mentioned the Cornish, the Pennsylvania, the Providence, and the Murchie, which have mills connected therewith, and the Cunningham, Mohawk, Mattingly, and Harvey. All of these have yielded good returns, and are still worked with fair success. There are now in the Nevada district 17 quartz mills, having an aggregate of 137 stamps, and the capital invested in the business is about $500,000. total yield of the mines in 1865 was about $400,000; in 1866, according to statistics kept by Wells, Fargo & Co., it was a fraction less than $500,000, and will be about the same in 1867. The number of men employed in the mines and mills is about 450, the gross yield being equal to $1,100 for each man. A considerable proportion of the quartz miners are either prospecting or engaged in opening veins, which are not now productive.

The

EUREKA QUARTZ DISTRICT.-Within the past year or two considerable attention has been given to the development of the quartz lodes near the town of Eureka, some twenty-five miles above Nevada City. The general characteristics of the Eureka district resemble, in many respects, those of the Nevada district, the country rock being a soft granite, which can be excavated in most places without the aid of powder, and the course of the veins being east of south and west of north, corresponding with the mountain range. This quartz belt crosses the South Yuba into Washington township, where the enclosing granite is hard, which greatly enhances the cost of working the mines. In the slate formation, which comes in half a mile west of the town of Eureka, there are numerous well-defined quartz veins, but they contain very little gold, and with one or two exceptions are considered valueless.

In 1856 a quartz lode was located on Gaston ridge, some miles south of Eureka, and a mill was erected to work it a year or two later, which was run with little interruption until November, 1863, when it was destroyed by fire. In that time some 15,000 tons of quartz were extracted from the mine and crushed in the mill, yielding an average of $8 or $9 a ton. The mill was an inferior one, having no pans or other improved methods of saving the gold; but the vein being large and favorably situated for working the owners realized a small profit, though not sufficient at that time to justify them in erecting a new mill. Two other mills were built in the district in 1857; but one was sold on account of a disagreement among the owners, and the machinery moved away; and the other, after doing a fair business for two or three years, was taken down and moved to Washoe at the beginning of the silver excitement.

No further attempt was made to develop the mines of the district until the spring of 1866, when some of the old residents, having worked out their placer claims, and others who had noted the favorable indications, commenced operations in earnest. A couple of arrastras were erected near the town, run by water power, and capable of reducing three tons of quartz in 24 hours. These arrastras have been constantly employed, have done excellent work, and been of great advantage in prospecting and determining the value of the mines. During the summer and fall of 1866, Messrs. Black & Young erected a 10-stamp mill on a lode situated about a mile south of town. Operations, however, were not fairly commenced on the mine until May last, since which time the mill has been running steadily, and the quartz is yielding from $20 to $25 a ton. Two other mills. were also built the same season, one of five stamps to work the Jim lode, and

the other of four stamps, intended for custom work. Two new mills are now in course of construction, one of 10 stamps to work the Veatch and Powell mine, and the other of five stamps on the Birchville mine. Both of these mines have been thoroughly prospected, are of good size, and the gold is found in paying quantities very generally disseminated through the vein-stone.

TECUMSEH MILLS.-Some years ago two mills known as the Tecumseh and Star were erected in Washington township, but on the same quartz range. Considerable quartz has been worked in both mills, which yielded fair pay; but owing to want of means to properly open the mines, the expense being very great on account of the hardness of the enclosing rock, the enterprises have not proved successful. The Star Company, however, is still prosecuting work, and the Tecumseh mill has lately been leased to parties who are prospecting other lodes. THE GRIZZLY LODE, situated four miles west of Eureka, in Devil's cañon, was purchased by the Eagle Company, of Hartford, about the beginning of 1866. The company erected a five-stamp mill at the mine in the fall of the same year, but being unprepared for winter work, little was done in developing the lode nntil May last, since which time the mill has been running steadily and with favorable results. The vein has an average width of four feet, runs in slate, and is opened by tunnels. It is so situated that, with proper arrangements and a larger mill, $6 and $8 quartz can be worked with profit. As long ago as 1854 a mill was erected on a lode called the National, about half way between Eureka and the Grizzly. This mill was run a year or more, a portion of the time being leased, but the yield of the quartz was not sufficient to pay with the prices then ruling. The work was suspended in 1856, and the mill was destroyed by fire a year or two later. The Grizzly and National are the only quartz lodes yet discovered in the slate formation of that region that have exhibited sufficiently favorable surface indications to justify an outlay of capital to develop.

About 250 men are engaged at the present time in the quartz mines and mills of the Eureka district, many of whom are prospecting or working on lodes that are not yet productive. There are 10 mills in the district, including the two in Washington township, having an aggregate of 60 stamps, and the capital invested is estimated at $200,000. The yield of the mines for 1867, it is believed, will amount to $200,000.

MEADOW LAKE DISTRICT.-The Meadow Lake quartz district is situated near the summit of the Sierra Nevada, but on the western slope. It derives its name from a large mountain lake, used by the South Yuba Canal Company as a reservoir, a dam having been constructed across its outlet to retain the water in the spring, and is let out into the company's ditches as fast as needed by the miners. Gold-bearing quartz lodes were discovered near the lake in 1863, others the year following, and in 1865, some of the lodes giving indications of extraordinary richness, considerable excitement was created throughout California and Nevada State, causing a rush of adventurers to the locality. The real work of developing the mines was not commenced until the summer of 1866, and considering the many disadvantages, including the deep snows of winter, has progressed favorably, though not, on the whole, equal to the anticipations of the first adventurers and locaters.

The country rock of the district is sienite, and usually has to be blasted in making excavations; but this disadvantage is partially compensated by the size of the veins, which will average considerably larger than those of Grass Valley and Nevada. The general direction of the lodes is northwesterly and southeasterly, and they are easily traced by the dark, reddish appearance of the croppings, caused by the oxidation of the iron pyrites encased in the quartz. The quartz contains an unusually large proportion of sulphurets, averaging, it is said, 20 to 25 per cent. The sulphurets yield by assay $60 to $70 a ton, and are successfully reduced by the Plattner chlorination process, works for that purpose having been constructed in the district. Seven quartz mills have been built in

the district, having in all 62 stamps. The mills, however, have not been running regularly, having been erected in advance of the development of the mines." Of several hundred quartz veins located in the district during the excitement in the summer of 1865, 50 or more have been partially developed and given indications of value.

THE U. S. GRANT COMPANY, whose mine is situated six miles south of Meadow Lake, and within four miles of the line of the Central Pacifi● railroad, has been the most successful of any in the district. The owners of the mine have kept a five-stamp mill running most of the time during the past year, and the quartz worked has paid largely. They are now building a larger mill, while the work of developing the mine is continued. The Golden Eagle, Mohawk, Montreal, California, and Excelsior companies have also erected mills and made fair progress in the development of their mines.

The number of men employed in the mills and mines of the district at the present time is about 200, and the available capital invested may be set down at $200,000. The yield of gold this year will be about $50,000. Much of the labor and capital is being expended in opening mines which are not now productive; consequently, if the mines are equally as good, the yield will not be as large in proportion to the men employed as in the older districts. There are no placer mines in the district, or at least none have been discovered.

Table showing the number of men employed, the capital invested, and the gross yield of the mines of Nevada county, California.

NOTE.-In estimating the capital invested in mining, the design has been to include the cost of machinery, tools, &c., as well as the labor expended in opening claims which are now considered of value, and excluding those that have been worked out or proved failures. The ditches might be considered as a part of the capital invested in the placer mines, as the water is mostly used by the placer and hydraulic miners.

SECTION X.

SIERRA COUNTY.

The Sierra, the principal drift mining county of California, lies between the middle Yuba and Slate creek. The lowest point in the county is probably 2,000 feet above the sea, and most of the mining camps are at an elevation of 4,500 feet or more. The surface is cut up by numerous cañons, about 2,000 feet deep, and not one acre in 50 is fit for the plough. There are numerous high peaks,

among which are the Dounieville Butte, 8,500 feet; Fir Cap, Saddle Back, Table mountain, and Mount Fillmore, each about 7,000, besides numerous others. The Donnieville Butte is one of the landmarks of the State, being visible from a large area in the Sacramento valley, and it is remarkable for the ragged outline of its summit. The county is so rough that only two wagon roads enter it west of the summit of the Sierra, one on the divide, between the middle Yuba and the north Yuba, and another on the divide between the Slate creek and Cañon creek. No road crosses the county from north to south. The principal mode of travelling is mule-back riding. The snow is very deep at the higher camp, lying in some of them three or four months in ordinary winters. Most of the mines are on old channels, high above the present streams, so high that the introduction of water is very expensive. There are few ditches, and many claims are not able to wash more than four or five months in the year. Two old channels cross the county. The main Blue lead, which crosses Nevada and Placer, is worked at Deadwood, Sebastopol, Little Grizzly, Excelsior, Monte Cristo, City of Six, Forest City, Chipps Flat, and Minnesota. All these have been mined mainly by drifting, and all save the three first are much less flourishing now than they were from six to 10 years ago. This channel runs from the northwest to the southeast.

Another channel which seems to run from the northeast to the southwest, passes through La Porte and Brandy City, thence to Camptonville and San Juan. This channel is not covered, as the other is, by heavy layers of tufa, lava, or volcanic sand, and the auriferous gravel coming to the surface offers excellent opportunites for hydraulic mining, which is or has been carried on extensively at all the points named.

A channel found at Howland Flat and at Cold Cañon, and another found at Morristown, Craig's Flat, and Eureka, are supposed to be tributaries of the main Blue lead.

La Porte and Port Wine, which belonged to Sierra county previous to 1866, were given to Plumas in that year by a legislative act, which was entitled "An act to better define the boundaries of Plumas county," and was passed without any suspicion on the part of the representatives of Sierra or the members generally that it took a rich mining district from the latter county.

The blue cement found in the Blue lead in Sierra county is soft, and it yields three-fourths of its gold or more at the first washing, so there is no cement mill in the county. In the eastern part of the county is Gold lake, which has the appearance of being in the crater of an extinct volcano.

A belt of limestone is observed between Dounieville and the Sierra Butte, and it may be that the belt which appears near Magalia, in Butte county, is the same. The State and county taxes in Sierra are $2 91 on $100 of taxable property, and the county debt is $30,000.

BRANDY CITY.-Brandy City, the principal hydraulic camp of the county, uses about 3,000 inches of water in piping claims, of which there are twelve, some of them using 500 inches. The lead is 200 feet. The supply of gravel will last 10 or perhaps 20 years.

ST. LOUIS AND NEIGHBORING Towns.-St. Louis has 10 or 12 hydraulic companies working, and using in all 1,000 inches of water, with a pressure of 100 feet.

Cedar Grove has drift diggings, but is doing nothing this year.

Pine Grove, a mile below Howland Flat, was an important place before 1862, but in that year the latter town grew up, and the former declined. All the mining is done by drifting, save in one piping claim.

Rabbit Point, a mile below Pine Grove, has two hydraulic claims, which are 100 feet deep, and together employ thirty men during the water season, which lasts three or four months.

Chandlerville, a furlong below Rabbit Point, had rich hydraulic claims from 1853 to 1857, but they are now worked out.