USA > Nevada > Eureka County > Eureka and its resources; a complete history of Eureka County, Nevada, containing the United States mining laws, the mining laws of the district, bullion product and other statistics for 1878, and a list of county officers > Part 4
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The El Dorado mine is situated near the Bald Eagle. In the spring of 1878 the property went into the hands of M. H. Joseph & Co. The company patented the mine and com- menced to vigorously prospect it by sinking a shaft and then drifting, and the result was that a valuable property was developed. The ores which are worked at the Richmond, assay $112 per ton. The owners contemplate sinking the main shaft a further depth of 100 feet, placing a whim or small engine over the shaft, instead of the windlass as at present, and are sanguine of opening up a dividend paying mine.
Next in order comes the Industry mine, the property of the British Consolidated Mining Company. Manager John Polter has had a large force of men employed during the
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season, and has found some very rich ore deposits. The mine is valuable and proves the wisdom of the company's invest- ment. Something like $50,000 was extracted from the Industry under lease during the year 1877.
Above the Industry we find the Piute, a claim of no mean merit, but still comparatively undeveloped.
Below the Industry, and to the east, we have the "Alexan- dria," a mine upon which a great deal of work has been done with profitable results. It is one of the oldest mines in the district, and is considered one of the best. Some $7,000 worth of ore was extracted during the summer of 1878, at no cost save that of hoisting it to the surface.
Further on towards the south we have the Sterling Com- pany's mines, followed by the Valentine, San Jose, Orange, Lemon, Frankie Scott, X.Y.Z., and Fourth of July. All producing mines, and nearly all self-supporting. There are many other mines of promise on the mountain, among which are the Essex, Excelsior, Pioneer, Adelphi, Piantoni, and Golden Rule.
A tunnel is being run from the base of the Eastern Slope, corresponding to the Prospect Mountain tunnel on the western, and of equal value to it. It is known as the Eureka Mining and Tunnel Company, and is an enterprise started by General P. E. Connor, for the purpose of exploring and developing the hidden wealth of Prospect Mountain. It is one of the most important schemes ever undertaken in this district, and fraught with great results. Its completion will demonstrate the value of the mines situated on Prospect mountain.
The Connelly mine, owned by the British Mill and Mining Company, is situated on an eastern spur of Prospect moun- tain, and is said to be a true fissure vein. It has yielded con- tinuously for over a year 20 tons of high grade ore daily. Fine hoisting machinery is placed upon the mine, and work is being pushed in a vigorous and systematic manner.
The Flag Staff mine is a continuation of the Connelly,
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and is growing in importance with the developments of its neighbor.
The Atlas follows next in succession to the north. This mine has yielded handsomely in the past, and will give a good report of itself as soon as work is re-commenced. But little can be said of the Atlas at present, as all work has been suspended for some time, owing to pending litigations.
Following the Connelly south, we find the Helen Morti- mer, Uncle Sam, North Pacific, Southern Pacific, Pick wick, Henrietta, Hamburg, and C. R. Brush.
The Hamburg company have erected hoisting works, and have probably done more towards developing their mine than any company off Ruby Hill. From the workings of the Hamburg mine, confined, as yet, to near the surface, there has been extracted over $200,000. This ore, precisely like that from the Eureka Consolidated and the Richmond, yields from sixteen to sixty per cent of lead, and from $40 to $80 per ton in gold and silver. The company have now some 800 tons of this elass ore on the mine dump, the whole of it extracted in the course of prospecting the mine, no stoping having yet been done, the ore in sight above the lowest level amounting to several thousand tons. In the progress of ex- ploration caves filled with rich ore have been encountered here, similar to those opened up in the Eureka and Richmond group- a geological feature of importance, as pointing to continued mineralization of the lodes where they occur.
The improvements and equipments made on this property consist of a three-compartment shaft, sunk to a depth of 600 feet; steam hoisting works, having capacity to go down 1,000 feet or more, together with houses, shops, wagon roads, etc. From the shaft extensive galleries have been run off at regu- lar intervals, all in ore of excellent quality. Adjacent to their mine the company own 300 acres of wood land, capable of furnishing fuel for a long time ; also a traet of 150 acres, near the town of Eureka, which affords water ample for
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every purpose, this company, as regards these two essentials, being very eligibly conditioned. In view of their large and promising ore deposits, their complete equipment, wood, water, and other natural advantages, the expert alluded to expresses the opinion that this property possesses a prospective value equal to any other in the Eureka district. The company is, in many respects, an exceptionally good one. The mine is under the able management of J. C. Powell, a man of rare intelligence and highly experienced in the science of mining.
All acquainted with our district hold great faith in Pros- pect mountain, and many look forward with sanguine expec- tation to the day when it will unfold from its unexplored depths treasures equal to those of Ruby Hill.
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CHAPTER VII.
The Great Tunnels of Prospect Mountain-The Prospect Mountain-The Maryland-The Eureka-The Charter-McCoy Hill and its Mines.
PROSPECT mountain has many mines, locations, and pros- pects on its rugged old face, and it is very probable that every miner, locator, and prospector fondly dreams of the day when he will own a property of wonderful value, car- rying millions to the credit of his bank account. All are anxious that their properties should be' developed, and the cry is, " Depth, depth, depth !" The sooner that depth is attained the sooner are the mountain and its mines developed. With this object in view the several tunnel companies men- tioned in the foregoing chapters have been incorporated, and, as the tunnels are being driven from the base of the moun- tain into its very bowels, every foot in length tells in the general depth, and so very steep is the mountain that this gain in depth is nearly foot to foot for every foot driven. To give a better idea of the advantages the mountain and its mines will derive from these tunnels, we will give separate descrip- tions of each of the three great tunnels, commencing with the Prospect Mountain tunnel.
Of the numerous tunnel enterprises which are now being carried forward in the Eureka district none are more impor- tant than that of the Prospect Mountain Tunnel Company; and, so far as actual progress and development are concerned, it far surpasses any other enterprise of similar character in the district.
This tunnel is situated on Capt. Foley's ridge, on the west side of Prospect mountain, and commences at a point about one hundred (100) feet southerly from said Foley's cabin, and runs thence south 732° E. three thousand (3,000) feet,
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and was located on the 22d day of August, A. D. 1876, by R. Rickard and John Shoenbar. The work is now being prosecuted with great diligence night and day, and at this writing the tunnel has been extended nine hundred and fifty (950) feet, and has attained a perpendicular depth of six hun- dred feet, having struck in its course strong indications of rich mineral-bearing ore, and giving evidence of the close proximity of vein matter.
This company was organized as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada, on the 24th day of August, A. D. 1876. The stock is owned almost exclusively by citi- zens of Eureka, who have quietly and persistently prosecuted the work, feeling assured that, in time, they would be abun- dantly repaid for their investment. We cannot but regard this enterprise as of vital importance to the interests and prosperity of this district, inasmuch as the tunnel will pierce the mountain at a depth of nearly fifteen hundred feet when completed, and thus develop the permanency of the many ledges which are developed nearer the surface on the west side of Prospect mountain.
THE MARYLAND TUNNEL.
This company was incorporated on the 15th day of Octo- ber. A. D. 1878, under the laws of the State of Nevada. The property is situated on the east side of Prospect mountain, at the head of New York Canon, and is 1,500 feet wide by 3,000 feet in length. Though this property is yet in its in- fancy, enough work has already been done to prove beyond a doubt, that it will develop one of the richest portions of the great mineral belt which runs through this section.
The company owns nine distinct claims, which claims will be worked through the tunnel at depths ranging from 200 to 1,200 feet.
Proceeding in a southeasterly direction from the Jackson mine, and on the natural course or strike of this mineral
A BURRESEE
SILVER WEST, OR K. K. CON. FURNACES. From a Photograph by Louis Monaco.
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EUREKA AND ITS RESOURCES.
belt, in which is embraced the famous Eureka lode, we come to the following named mines, which, although in the hands of men of limited means, unable to erect suitable machinery, have produced results as follows : The Orange mine yields ore that pays from $100 to $150 per ton; the Union, which pays from $137 to $175 ; the Edwards, from $120 to $200; and the Williams has recently yielded ore that went $700. The Banner is yielding ore that pays from $40 to $200.
All of the last named series of mines are on the same great mineral belt as the Eureka Consolidated, Richmond, K. K. Consolidated, Phenix and Jackson mines, and adjoin- ing the Maryland Tunnel Company's property on the north- west.
Immediately adjoining the Maryland tunnel on the south- east, we have the Excelsior and Fourth of July mines ; mines showing prospects equally as encouraging as those above mentioned. All of the last named series of mines, except the Banner, Union and Orange, have obtained their ores near the surface. In fact, eighty per cent of all the ores extracted from Prospect mountain have been taken out by hand-windlasses, at depths ranging from ten to sixty feet below the surface.
The object of the tunnel is to cut through all of these claims in succession for the purpose of developing and work- ing the same ; the claims all adjoining each other in one unbroken connection, and showing ledge matter for over one thousand feet on the surface.
THE EUREKA TUNNEL.
This tunnel is being driven from the eastern base of the mountain, and will cut the ore bearing zone on its line, at from 1,000 to 1,900 feet. The line of the company's tunnel crosses five known ledges, upon which and near their works are a number of producing mines, among which are the Bald
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Eagle, Industry, Lemon, Piute, Magnet, and the El Dorado. Some of these mines have produced the richest ore ever found in the district, working several hundreds of dollars per ton in gold and silver. The company's mines purchased by them are four in number, viz .: the Crucible, the Inca, the Indus and the Exchequer, and are located adjoining some of the mines previously named, and crossing at right angles with the line of the tunnel.
The tunnel is located at the head of Goodwin Canon, and as the work progresses in the tunnel, it will cut these ledges, and the facilities afforded for working them will be much better than by raising to the surface by means of hoisting works.
At the present time the tunnel has attained a length of 600 feet, and a depth of 400 feet beneath the surface, and is being worked night and day. It is believed that the fin.it ledge will soon be encountered, as small bunches of ore are appearing in the face of the tunnel.
CHARTER TUNNEL.
This property is centrally situated, and lies about two thou- sand feet south of the Eureka Consolidated and Richmond mines.
The claims owned by this company embrace the most extensive property owned by any one company, it being the possessor of not less than thirty-eight separate and distinct claims.
The main tunnel itself is an immense enterprise. In front of its mouth, at the base of the mountain, is a level surface of several hundred acres. Much of this has been located by the company, for reduction works and houses for the employés of the company. The tunnel enters the mountain three hundred and fifty feet lower than any other available point in the dis- trict. Its direction is toward a point between the Needle and Dehman mines-the latter lying about five hundred
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feet north of the Needle. At this point the tunnel will tap the different mines at a depth of nine hundred feet by cross- cuts. Before reaching this distance, drifts will be run on the ledges as they are met. Extended a little beyond the Nee- dle, the tunnel will tap the noted Grant mine, and still further extended, can be made available, at comparatively little expense, in developing the entire mineral range, at a depth of fifteen hundred feet below the surface, for a distance of eight or ten miles.
In the opinion of the best judges, this tunnel will ultimately be among the most famous and valuable in the world, as it is beyond question that the mountain through which it runs is unsurpassed in mineral wealth.
Several tunnels of smaller importance have since been loca- ted, but owing to the small amount of work performed, it is . almost impossible to foretell what the ultimate results will be.
MCCOY OR MINERAL HILL.
McCoy hill is situated to the south and west of Ruby hill. On this hill quite a number of valuable properties have been taken up, among others the Grant mine, owned by Major W. W. McCoy. From the Grant a good deal of rich ore has been extracted and reduced at the Richmond company's fur- naces. Systematic development is taking place, and the mine is certainly a valuable one. United States patents have been issued to the Grant, and several other properties situated on McCoy hill.
The Original Baltic is situated to the north of the Grant, and is considered a mine of no little promise.
The "Monogram " is a location of no mean prominence among its neighbors, and bids fair to be a valuable ore pro- ducer. A shaft was sunk down thirty feet, following the ledge, which is twenty inches wide all the way. Several other well-defined ledges crop out on the surface near this one. Assays of $200 have been obtained. A tunnel was run in on
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one of these ledges, tracing it lengthwise over forty feet. Assays of choice samples reached $500.
At the Needle, a contract was recently let to sink a shaft one hundred feet. They are at present taking out some very high grade ore, picked specimens assaying $1,500 per ton. The ledge is large and well defined. Ten tons that were worked in 1874, averaged, in different lots, from $200 to $500 per ton.
North of the Needle is the Dehman, in which is encoun- tered the same character of ore. These last-named locations were made in 1870.
The Firefly shows a splendidly defined ledge, about five feet wide, lying between two different limestone formations. It appears to be a true fissure vein.
Lying south of the Firefly is the Peer, which shows a ledge varying in width from four to fifteen feet. This claim contains only eight hundred feet, but has a plainly defined ledge.
In the State Pride series there are eleven different locations, covering eight hundred feet of ground. Shafts were sunk on several, and they showed every indication of being regularly defined ledges, from one to four feet in width. These are interlaced with cross-ledges, which run obliquely across. The croppings very much resemble those on Ruby hill, only a lit- tle darker, perhaps. They cannot be termed blind ledges, for the croppings can be traced on different points on the surface, and on sinking a few feet ledge matter is encountered.
In the Plummets, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, the ledge is two feet wide at this writing, with a well-defined surface cropping, which is evidently becoming wider as the work goes ahead. No assays have been had, but the quartz contains rich argen- tiferous galena. A contract was recently let to extend this tunnel one hundred feet more, at $6 per foot. A shaft was sunk down thirty feet at another point on this claim.
From the Premium some very fine ore na been extract-
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ed, assaying $500, and the ledge is from three to four feet in width.
Situated about three hundred feet west of the Premium, lies the " Premier," and running parallel with it. A tunnel was run in fifty feet, which tapped a shaft, also down fifty feet. The ledge is fifteen feet wide and well defined.
Southeast from the Charter tunnel is the Altai. The ledge appears to run nearly parallel with, and about six hundred feet west from the well-known Grant mine.
The Andalusia is a fine prospect, situated between the Charter tunnel and the Peer. The ledge is fifteen feet wide, and assays from it were very satisfactory. A tunnel was run in forty feet, and two shafts sunk, one fifteen and the other thirty feet. The croppings show up boldly.
The Coronet shows a contact vein, and runs 'north and south. Assays show $500 in gold and silver. The shaft is down one hundred and eighty-four feet, and a drift on the ledge from the bottom is in fifty feet. The ledge has an east- erly dip.
Most of these locations will be tapped by the Charter tunnel before a great length of time.
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EUREKA AND ITS RESOURCES.
CHAPTER VIII.
Hoosac Mountain-Hoosac Mine-Outside Districts-Silverado-Rescue -- Secret Canyon-Geddes & Bertrand-Mineral Hill and Cortez.
THE HOOSAC MINE,
Whose record, next to the Richmond and Eureka Consoli- dated, stands without a parallel in the district. Discovered in the summer or fall of 1869, by its present manager, Mr. William Wermuth, it was permanently opened early in the succeeding year, and with such flattering prospects that the developments then inaugurated and in progress, incipient though they were at first, were pushed ahead with the dis- patch which such potent factors as muscle and money are capable of producing. The brilliancy of the Hoosac's record is well known, but it may not be so generally understood abroad that its aggregate bullion production from 1872 to 1874, the period at which it discontinued active operations, in both mining and smelting, approximated about $600,000; Daniel Myer, of San Francisco, its then bullion agent, having received $400,000 worth of it, and the Richmond smelting works receiving the value of the remainder of said aggregate amount in rich ores direct from the mines. One would naturally suppose that a mine which, under adverse circum- stances, was capable of yielding so princely a sum in so short a time, was capable of a still greater yield, if opened and worked as it is now, in a thoroughly systematic man- ner, aided by so powerful an auxiliary as steam. Yes, one would, and very naturally, and such has been the opinion tenaciously held to by many well experienced persons, chief among whom has been its present manager, whose persist- ent efforts stand at last in a fair way of being amply remun-
ABURAS!
EUREKA CON. AND K. K. HOISTING WORKS, RUBY HILL. From a Photograph by Louis Monaco.
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erated. Patience and perseverance will have their reward, and though it may be at times delayed, it is for all that none the less certain to come to those who honestly seek it, even amid the toils and turmoils incident to mining.
HOISTING WORKS AND ALTITUDE.
Visiting this now promising property, we find the sur- roundings but little changed, the recently erected hoisting works alone being the only object not visible when last visited, now above four years ago. The view from the vicinity of the mine, if not absolutely enchanting, possesses at least the merit of retaining those peculiar attributes with which mother Nature endowed the landscape of the great corrugated basin of Nevada. In altitude, the site whereon stands the new hoisting works ranks not far below the highest point of Prospect mountain, it having been ascer- tained to be 8,100 feet nearer the celestial spheres than are the crested waves which lave the Golden Gate. The eleva- tion of the majority of the mines located along the eastern and western slopes of Prospect mountain is about the same as that of the former. Commencing on the northern de- clivity of the slope, we have the Bald Eagle, the Atlas, the Dunderberg, or Ruby Con. Company's property, the Con- nolly, the Industry, the Alexander, the Orange, (to be known in future as the Bradford), the Fourth of July, the Hamburg, and other mines on the east, together with the Banner, the El Dorado, and some others which cannot now be remem- bered, occupying the height on the west.
All of these mines are in good condition, and many of them have largely contributed to Eureka's prosperity, but not in the degree to which the Hoosac has, the Ruby prop- erty alone excepted. Although all of the mines named have, by their developments, done much to remove skeptical preju- dices in regard to the richness of old Prospect, the credit of finally determining beyond a doubt the value and permanence
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of that great ridge as a mining center, will, without a doubt, yet devolve upon the Prospect Mountain tunnel enterprise, and the men who sustain it. The
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
Of the Hoosac mountain, which is a lateral offshoot of the parent ridge, differs somewhat from those of other sections of the district. For instance, lime and shale predominate on Ruby hill and along the trend of the great mineral zone, bearing southerly from it, while quartzite, porphyry, and trachyte prevail in the former locality. Quartzite and shale- the former on the west and the latter on the east-inclose the ore bodies of both Ruby hill and Prospect mountain, while porphyry and quartzite seemingly perform the same office in the Hoosac. To the superficial observer, Hoosac mountain looks exteriorally as though it were nothing more than a huge mass of cold, barren, vitrous appearing quartzite, and such it is to some extent. Great belts of it course north and south through the hill, and rear their shaggy, weather-beaten forms far above the mountain's configuration, just as though Nature set them there as landmarks for those seeking her metallic treasures. There are two distinct formations on the hill- quartzite on the east and trachyte on the west. These are the local formations, and though the latter has not yet been reached, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to meet with it either as foot-wall or otherwise as developments pro- gress westward. Porphyry, however, may yet form the foot- wall to the lode towards the west. In the old workings it was found to invariably surround or inclose the ore bodies, and from present appearances it is not improbable that it may perform a like duty in the developments now under progress.
THE HOOSAC MAIN SHAFT
Is now down 200 feet; it is substantially timbered and as straight as an arrow. From the bottom of this shaft a drift
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EUREKA AND ITS RESOURCES.
opens southerly for a few feet, and then bears west, fifteen degrees south. At that time it had attained a linear trend of 300 feet, the header showing well in an admixture of porphyry and highly mineralized quartz, ferruginous seams and stains, and other matter usually found outlying and following or coursing along the ore bodies of this district. These indications point with almost unerring certainty to the near approach of the header, where ought to be encountered the fine ledge cut at about 80 feet from the surface, and something about 300 feet westward of the shaft, and consequently entirely severed from the old workings. On examining this ledge, it is found to be 22 feet wide (22 feet solid ore), but its lateral expansion appears to be still greater. The ledge is strong, well formed, and dips northeast, or thereabouts, at about an angle of between 70 and 80 degrees, though it is possible, a proper measurement may show the inclination to be much more than here given. The line of contact of the ore in place, which is clean, rich and solid, is at both east and west clearly outlined, porphyry and quartzite encasing. No ore has yet been extracted, beyond what was taken out of the drift run through it in cutting, and it is likely that neither winzes nor lateral drifts will be run for some time to come, the bottom developments absorbing every consideration at present.
From the foregoing it will be noted that the prospects of this old and still valuable property are of the most encour- aging character. The one thing now most needed is to prove the downward trend of the lode already cut ; and that this will, in proper time, be as fully demonstrated as that there is now again a great and brilliant future opening for the Hoo- sac is almost certain. The ledge cut has a true polar strike, a fact which adds to its value. All the great and permanent ore veins of this continent trend towards some point of both the Arctic and Antarctic circles of the globe. So with the rock cleavages of the globe, and so with all the great valleys
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