USA > California > Placer County > History of Placer county, California > Part 41
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White men must be taxed to build railroads, but their money must be spent in the employment of Chinese to do the work, though their wives and children should beg for bread. This is the Democ- racy of a few Senators and Assemblymen now at Sacramento, whose constituents to a man, condemn them and their votes on this bill. The individual who uses his own money, has a right to employ whom he pleases, but when the taxpayer is forced to furnish the means, he has a right to a voice as to who shall perform the labor and receive the money. These Senators could vote to saddle a debt ou the white people of Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno. Tulare and Kern Counties, in magnitude nearly equal to the whole value of their real property, and then vote in effect to prohibit these white people from getting work on the road, so as to get part of this money back. The doctrines of the Democracy in the last campaign, were the discouragement of Chinese immigration and coolie labor, but here is a direet bid for flooding the country with beastly. heathenish, coolie slaves, to the exclusion of white laborers. And professed Democrats support the infamous measure! Mark them, we say, that they may never again be placed in a position to deceive and betray the members of our party. The Democracy need no such men, and will be infinitely stronger, more powerful and numerous without such than with them. Their room is decidedly preferred to their company. Joy to these few proclaimed Democrats
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HISTORY OF PLACER COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
-they have found their affinities, and should find comfort in Chinese association, for whom they legis- late.
But the editorial labors of Governor Walkup were not confined to railroad and party matters alone, as all the interests and resources of the county were carefully attended to, and the miscellaneous matter of the paper was made very interesting and instruct- ive. Although entering the editorial chair late in life, he succeeded remarkably well as a writer, and made a readable and useful paper. With a strong mind in a large and strong body, he was enabled to do a great amount of work as the well-filled columns of his paper proved. In 1872, he suffered from a severe attack of sickness and in August, 1873, he was prostrated with the malady that a few months later returned with fatal effect. On the 15th of October, 1873, while engaged at his duties in the office of the Herald, Governor Walkup was stricken with paralysis. and died in about one hour from the moment of the attack, retaining conscious- ness a sufficient length of time to show those who flocked to his assistance, that he fully realized his condition and was resigned to his fate. His age was fifty-three years, nine months and sixteen days. He died in the same office, and in nearly the same manner as his most cherished friend, and ex-editor of the Herald, Hon. James Anderson, seven years and three days before. Of these deaths the Herald said, " Both served the people of Placer in the State Senate and acquired reputations for honesty, integrity and ability." But they have " crossed the river," and now they lie side by side in the same burial lot in the Odd Fellow's Cemetery, here in Auburn.
" In life there is death "-truly " Leaves have their time to fall And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, And stars to set-but all, Thou hast all seasons for thine own: O Death! *
*
We know when moons shall wane, When summer birds from far shall cross the sea, When autumn's hne shall tinge the golden grain- But who shall teach us when to look for Thee ?"
The sudden death of Governor Walkup created a marked sensation at his home and throughout the State, dying, probably as he would have wished, in the harness of his duties, laboring for the public. So his brother, Hon. Rankin Walkup had died at his home in Columbus, Ohio, December 27, 1869, also in the fifty-fourth year of his age, enjoying robust health to the moment of his death, which was caused by the rupture of a blood-vessel in the brain. Gov. Walkup was not an aged man at the time of his death, but in that period which Victor Hugo defines as the youth of old age. He had lived an active and useful life, performing his duties as God had made him to see them, and in the nature of mankind could look forward to many years of usefulness, and an old age of happy content. With a most amiable and loving family, a well-earned fame and a compe- tency of worldly goods, a pleasant home in a lovely
village, bearing the esteem and respect of all around him, there seemed much to live for, and universal regrets followed him to the grave.
The journalistic career of Governor Walkup eon- tinued through a period of about six years, during which time he spread his name and doctrines over the State; a powerful enemy to oppression and wrong, and a bulwark of defense to the weak and to justiee. From August, 1872, he was associated with and assisted by Mr. J. A. Filcher in the conduct of the Herald, this gentleman ably seconding his efforts and continuing in the course so ably marked out by his predecessor.
Mrs. Walkup and Miss Jeanette E. Walkup, after their sad bereavement visited their friends in the East, and returned to their home in Auburn where they still reside, prominent and highly appreciated members of society.
CHAPTER XXVI1.
MINING.
Antiquity of Mining History-Ancient and Modern Mining- Gold-Silver- Copper- Iron-Coal-Australia-California- Nevada-Idria Quicksilver Mine-Character and Uses of Gold -Of Silver-Of Copper-Of Iron-Tin -- Chromium-Tellu- rium.
Iron is heaped in mountain piles, And gluts the laggard forges; But gold-flakes glean in dim defiles And lonely gorges. -Holland.
THE history of mining is co-eval with the earliest civilization on the earth. Far beyond all written history is the history of the rocks, of caves in the earth, of mounds built by human hands and of tombs. These simply tell us that in some remote period of undefined time, man lived, and in successive ages of development used implements of stone and then of metal to aid the work of his hands. Few of the metals that are abundant and of use, can remain in a pure state through unnumbered years. Copper. tin and gold exist pure in nature, and these would be the first to be utilized by man, but the gold being in small quantities, and not equal in usefulness in the manufacture of weapons or other implements, would be most neglected by the savage. In caves tombs and mounds, are found implements of bronze, and arehæologists have given the name of the "Bronze Age" to the period when the first miners lived. Quite an advanced stage of civilization must exist when metals are mined and manipulated, and undoubtedly writing of some character soon followed. In our own time is seen man in the various ages of development, from the era of the " Stone Age." The Indian, as he was originally found in California and Nevada, living in a country abounding in minerals and metals in their pure state, was literally of the " Stone Age." The Indians of Mexico, at the period of the Spanish Conquest, were so far advanced as to make slight use of gold as ornaments, and copper
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in use, but it is disputed and doubtful if they had ever mined for silver, or had the knowledge to extract it from its ores, although the romaneists who accompanied or followed Cortez, told of a high civil- ization and an abundance of silver. The oldest written history speaks familiarly of gold and silver as money and ornaments, and of iron and brass in various uses. Mining and the refining of metals were arts practiced before the days of Abraham, and the exact period when the discoveries of the methods of converting the ores into useful metals is lost in the obscurity of past and unrecorded time.
The discovery of gold and the first mining in California has been told in the early pages of this work.
A few years since Captain John Faul, a well-known and skillful mining engineer, wrote for the Placer Herald a series of articles upon the antiquity of mining. the nature and use of metals, from which are taken the following extracts. pertinent to the subject and useful to the dweller in the region of the mines.
ANCIENT AND MODERN MINING-GOLD.
Mining of almost every description has been known from the remotest ages. In the time of Queen Elizabeth, gold was found in the alluvial soil near the lead bills of Scotland, and in Cornwall in several of the stream-works of that county; one specimen weighed as much as ten grains. A few years ago, as much as 1,000 ounces were found in the alluvial soil at Croghan Kinshela, County Wick- low, Ireland; one piece weighed twenty-two ounces, and in this instance it was alloyed with silver.
The richest gold mines in Europe are those of Hungary and Transylvania, in which about 20,000 workmen are employed, part of them in the Govern- ment mines and part in those worked by private enterprise. The mines of Schemnitz in Lower Hungary, have been known ever since the twelfth century. They lie in a small basin in the midst of barren mountains. All the mines terminate in a common level about 600 feet below the surface, from whence the water is conveyed by means of a sub- terranean adit twelve miles long.
The veins of the Hungarian mines are the largest in Europe, being rarely less than from eighteen to twenty-five feet, and in some places or parts upwards of 120 feet thick. At Kremnitz, in the same country, mines of gold and silver have been worked for at least 1,000 years, in veins of a mountain of white quartz containing silver, also gold.
Joachimsthal, in Bohemia has long been celebrated for its mines, situated in steep, rugged mountains, intersected by deep valleys, which allow of numerous levels to the various works being opened in their sides. One level by which the mines are drained, extends to a distance of 34,000 feet, and is 1,140 feet below the top of the mountain. But in some places operations have been carried on to the still greater depth of 2,100 feet. The product of the
Bohemia mines altogether, is stated to be only about 2,000 ounces annually. But this arises rather from the works being neglected, in consequence of the superior richness of the Hungarian mines, than from any deficiency in the ores of Bohemia.
SILVER.
Sweden and Norway possess fertile mines. From those at Konigsberg in the latter kingdom, large masses of native silver have been obtained. The annual product is about 5,000 pounds weight of this metal. One mine at Konigsberg is 2,250 feet deep.
Silver abounds in the Altai Mountains of northern Asia. The most important mines, those of Kolyvan, produced in less than 100 years about 1,300,000 pounds of silver, and 40,000 pounds of gold.
The mines of Huantajaya, in Peru, used to furnish annually from 70,000 to 80,000 marks (the mark is eight ounces troy) of silver, derived either from the native metal. found in large masses, from chloride of silver, or from sulphurets and other ores.
The mines of Potosi have long been celebrated as surpassing all others. These mines are in a mountain of that name, near the source of the river Plata (silver), which derived its appellation from that circumstance. The mountain. one of the most con- siderable in the country, is in the form of a sugar- loaf, six leagues in circumference and 4,200 feet high. It is filled from top to bottom with veins of silver ore of the richest quality, and the whole mountain is perforated in every direction by the drifts exca- vated in the pursuit of it. The mine was registered according to the laws of the Government, on the 21st of April, 1545. Since that time it has been wrought constantly, and the quantity of silver it has yielded is so immense, that it is useless to attempt to describe its value. It is said the mountain is completely excavated, being perforated by about 300 shafts, few of which, however, exceed seventy yards in depth. Since the first discovery of this mine, the ore has materially deteriorated in quality, the best having been earliest exhausted. The abun- dance of the ore is, however, so great that the mine can still be worked with profit, the actual quantity of silver extracted from it having fallen off only in the ratio of four to one.
The Mexican mines are the most productive on the Western Continent. There are thirty-seven mining districts, comprising no less than 500 places celebrated for their silver mines, which are about 3,000 in number, and contain from 4,000 to 5,000 beds or veins of ore.
The most remarkable of the mining districts is that of Guanaxunto, owing to the immense richness of the La Kux vein. But it is impossible to deter- mine, with anything like accuracy, in what particu- lar locality the precious metals are the most abun- dant. The quantities of gold, silver. and mercury, which, during a little more than 300 years, have been obtained from the South American Continent, can never now be known.
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HISTORY OF PLACER COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
When it is remembered that the mining opera- tions, for the most part, have been conducted in the roughest manner, with imperfect tools and machin- ery, and with unskilled laborers and managers, the wonder is that the results have been so profitable. Still, this is only an additional proof of the vast treasures the country has contained, and which, on the best authorities, it is stated are, at the present time, in a sense, inexhaustible.
As an illustration of the productiveness of the country, we may mention the great vein of Potosi, and which made the mountain so famous. It appeared a little below the surface, near the apex. and could be seen about seven yards wide, for more than 1,000 feet down the slope. Its depth and breadth were so direet and the quantity of ore so great, that for forty years it was worked without artificial light.
COPPER.
The most extensive system of mines in Cornwall are those called the Consolidated Mines, near Red- rnth. They are situated on a range of hills from 200 feet to 300 feet above the level of the sea, the deepest of the shafts reaching 1,370 feet below the level of the sea. So numerous are the shafts that it is calculated that their united length is equal to twenty miles; while that of the excavated galleries, levels. and adits amounted to fifty miles.
These mines are kept free of water by means of nine large steam-engines; eight others of smaller size are employed for raising ore and doing other work, and six water-wheels contribute their aid, besides horse-whims. This immense mass of machinery, it is calculated, is equivalent to the labor of 4,500 horses. The annual average quantity of copper obtained from the ore is upwards of 1,500 tons, whilst the number of persons immediately employed in the various processes exceed 2,500, of whom about 1,600 are employed underground.
Next to the above-named mine is the Dolcoath. This mine has been worked to the depth of 1,400 feet, and, with the aid of the different lodes laid open, the mine has been in constant operation for above 100 years.
Now comes the Botallack mine, which is remark- able for its romantic and singular situation. It lies on the northwestern coast of Cornwall, near St. Just. The entrance to this mine is in the rock immediately overhanging the sea, and the works are carried many hundred feet under the bed of the ocean. The roar of the waves during a storm can be heard in the levels beneath, producing a most appalling effect.
Besides those in Cornwall, copper mines are worked in Spain, France, Austria, Transylvania. Prussia. Saxony, Sweden, Norway, Russia. Mexico, Australia and America. The principal copper mine in Sweden is the celebrated one of Fahlun, in the province of Dallearlia. This mine is a vast chasm, formed by the artificial excavations for the ore, the
bed of which is not above a mile in extent. The descent to the first gallery is by wooden ladders, and from thence by winding steps eut in the rock, made so commodious that horses ascend and deseend by them to bring out the ore.
It is said that this mine was worked before the Christian era; but all that is certainly known is that it has been so ever since 1347. The ore is extremely poor, yielding on an average not more than one and one-half per cent. of pure metal. The water which collects in the mine contains a little sulphate of cop- per. As it is pumped up, it is conveyed slowly through long troughs containing pieces of old iron. In this way the copper is precipitated, and adds a little to the profits of the workings. The part of the mine open to the sky is of a funnel shape, resem- bling the crater of a volcano. It was originally a mine of the usual construction, but in consequence of the numerous levels and gallaries excavated, and sufficient attention not being paid to propping up the roofs, in 1666 the the whole eentral mass fell in, and thus formed the present open basin. A princi- pal level is carried from the bottom of the crater, and other shafts sunk so that the deepest part is upwards of 1,200 feet below the surface. There are stables in these subterranean places for horses, who never see the light of day, and there is a wainscoted chamber for the Council to meet in. By an old eus- tom, each King on his ascension to the throne of Sweden, visits the mine, and inscribes his name on the walls of this apartment.
IRON.
Sweden is also proverbial for furnishing the best iron, which. I believe, is obtained from the mines of Dannemora. These mines, like those of Fahlun, are immense open exeavations, the descent being made in buckets. The act of being raised or lowered in these vessels is rather a formidable undertaking for a stranger. While a visitor to the mine was oeea- sionally compelled to shut his eyes to avoid giddiness, he was passed by three girls, ascending in another bucket, who, while standing on its edge, and holding the rope by one hand were knitting with the other with perfeet unconcern. The descent of 500 feet occupied five minutes. Since the visit referred to, the depth and extent of the mines have been won- derfully increased.
The iron mincs at Persberg, about two and one- half miles from Philipstadt, are perhaps the most interesting and romantic exeavations of this kind in the world. The mountains in which they are situ- ated are entirely composed of iron ore, and are thir- teen in number. Dr. Clark, who visited these mines, states that, familiar as he is with mines, his astonish- ment at beholding these exceeded anything he bad ever before felt on such occasions. For grandeur of effeet, filling the mind with wonder amounting to awe, there is no place where human labor is exhibited under circumstances more tremendously striking. "As we draw near the wide open abyss, a vast and
RESIDENCE OF G. C. LEWIS, AUBURN, PLACER CO. CAL.
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MINING.
sudden prospect of yawning caverns and prodigious machinery prepared us for the descent. We ap- proached the edge of the dreadful gulf whence the ore is raised, and ventured to look down, standing on the verge of a platform constructed over it in such a manner as to command a view as far down as the eye could penetrate, for to the sight it appeared bottomless. Immense buckets, suspended by rat- tling chains were passing up and down, and we could perceive ladders scaling all the inward precipices, upon which the work people, reduced to pigmies in size, were aseending and descending. Far below the furthest of these, a deep and gaping gulf opened to the lowermost pits. The clanking of the chains, the groaning of the pumps, the hallooing of the miners, the creaking of the blocks and wheels, the tramping of horses, the beating of hammers, and the lond and frequent subterranean thunder from the blasting, combined to produce an overpowering effect.
" The ladders for descent, instead of being placed on platforms, as in the Cornish mines, are lashed together in one unbroken line for many fathoms, and being warped to suit the inclination of the sides of the precipices, are not always perpendicular, but hang over in some places, so that, if the feet were to slip, and the person held fast by his hands, he would hang over the gulf. These ladders have only wooden staves, broken and rotten in many places, covered with frozen ice and mud, so that the hands are numbed and rendered unable to grasp firmly.
"As we descended deeper, large masses of ice appeared on the sides of the rock. Ice is raised in the buckets with the ore and rubble of the mine. After much fatigue and no small apprehension, we reached the bottom, and were hurried along a vaulted level with a prodigious cavern, where, amidst falling waters, tumbling rocks, steam, ice and gunpowder, fifty miners were in active employment in a din of noise that rendered all conversation impracticable."
In Cornwall there are about 160 mines at work, giving direct employment to at least 30,000 persons, and probably maintaining 100,000. The value of the metals-chiefly copper and tin-raised annually in this district is about £1,500,000.
COAL.
In the coal districts of Durham and Northumber- land the number of pits, or collieries, is about 200. covering an area of 67,000 acres, and supplying employment to about 32.000 men and boys.
Thirty years ago these two counties produced only 4,000,000 tons of coal per annum; in 1857, the quantity raised was 17,000,000 tons.
AUSTRALIA.
In 1851 the gold-fields of Australia were discovered. Mr. E. H. Hargrave, who had mined in California, was the first to make it known to the Colonial Gov- ernment, and he was awarded the sum of $10,000 for the important intelligence. In little more than three years it was estimated that the gold obtained in and
actually exported from the Australian Colonies was equal in value to £50,000,000.
CALIFORNIA.
But for many years America furnished by far the greater portion of the gold employed throughout the world. The discovery of gold here in California, the vast number of people attracted hither, the changes suddenly wrought in the aspects of a comparatively unknown country, and the almost fabulous quantities of gold obtained in a few years, are events recent and well known. The progress made with the last few years in developing the resources of the State is wonderful. Many rich mines have been discovered, such as the Amadors, the Eurekas, and the Idahos, the latter of which returned and paid in dividends last year upwards of $200,000, the rock paying over $35 per ton; and still there are hundreds such ledges hidden in the bowels of mother earth, teeming with riches, and awaiting the explorer's pick, softly whis- pering " seek and ye shall find."
NEVADA.
The silver mines situated on Mount Davidson, Washoe, are, like the Potosi of old, inexhaustible. The excavations made, the number of tons of rock taken out, and the amount of bullion returned in so short a period, far surpasses any ever known since the annals of mining.
Years hence the history of California mines will be read with great interest, and be handed down from generation to generation till time shall be no more.
The quicksilver mines are the richest in the world. and have made greater returns than any mines ever known.
IDRIA QUICKSILVER MINE.
This once most celebrated mine is situated in Carniola, a Duchy of Austria, and has been worked from the beginning of the sixteenth century. History informs us that it was first discovered by a peasant taking water from a spring to try a new tub, who was astonished at finding some metallic globules left at the bottom of the vessel. On making the circum- stance known, surveys immediately took place, which gave rise to the opening of the mine in 1525. The metallie vein is situated about 720 feet below the surface. It extends 2,400 feet in one direction, and 3,000 in another, and lies in a valley elevated 500 feet above the level of the sea. There are six shafts to the mine, three of which are for drawing up the mineral, and one for pumping out the water. The mine is entered from within a spacious building, in the middle of the town of Idria. by a passage lead- ing almost horizontally under a lofty vault to a staircase of stone and wooden steps, which are kept in excellent repair, reaching to a depth of 450 feet.
The remainder of the descent is accomplished by wooden ladders conducting from one landing place to another, having benches for the weary traveler to rest on. The whole mine is kept remarkably
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HISTORY OF PLACER COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
clean and in good order. The temperature in some parts of the mine is from 80º to 90º. The mineral products are so varied and confused together, that the mine is unlike any other in the world in which operations are carried on. In some parts. pure mereury distills in globules from the rock, and a miner is said to have collected thirty-six pounds in this manner in six hours. The ore is raised in square buckets by means of a water-wheel turned by an artificial canal from the Idrixa. Besides the metallic mercury obtained from the ore by distillation, all the important preparations of mercury used in the arts and in medicine, are either found naturally or are manufactured at Idria, in spacious laboratories erected for the purpose. In 1803 the works were set on fire, and the only method of subduing the flames was by inundating the mine with water. Full one year elapsed before the water was pumped ont and operations resumed. There are upwards of 700 persons employed, who, from the great heat of the mine and the un wholesome effluvia of the mineral, suffer very severely in their health.
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