these minerals are very rich in silver, but they are so finely disseminated in a gangue of quartz and calcspar, that hand-sorting is impossible. Hence the company must be able to beneficiate low-grade ores, of which it has an immense supply, or it must give up the problem as too diffi cult for solution.

The great progress made during the past two years is the adoption of a plan which promises to effect the profitable reduction of these poorer ores. Herr Haber, by an elaborate calculation, arrives at the figures of cost which I have hypothetically given above, as the actual expense in Pahranagat district two years ago. Having satisfied itself by actual developments that the amount of available ore will justify the extensive use of additional capital, the company is now about to inaugurate operations on a large scale. The means of reducing expenses are the following:

First, the cost of provisions and materials and the rate of wages have notably declined. Wages are now but $4 currency, where they were formerly $6; and so on, in proportion. A still further reduction is quite feasible. I need only point to the Red Mountain Company at Silver Peak, Nevada, where cheap labor ($2 per day, I believe) is successfully employed.

Second, the cost of transportation is to be reduced by the employment of a traction-engine, with a train of cars, which will take 80 or 100 tons at a load from the mines to Hyko.

Third, the cost of extraction is to be reduced by employing large numbers of men in the great stopes which the extraordinary width of the vein will now permit, and by opening additional ground by means of drift-tunnels from Silver Cañon.

Fourth, the cost of treatment is to be reduced by the employment of the Stetefeldt furnace instead of the reverberatories hitherto used for the preparatory roasting of the ore with salt.

Fifth, the proportional cost of administration is to be reduced, by enlarging the operations, so that the items of general cost now chargeable to a few tons of ore may be distributed upon a great many.

Sixth, the cost of taxes upon bullion product is to be reduced by working low-grade ores, which pay little or no taxes.

Seventh, the cost of sorting is to be, as far as possible, done away altogether.

It is impossible to say exactly what will be the saving per ton in the items enumerated; but the following comparison is probably not far from the truth. The first column gives the estimates, based upon Haber's report, and showing the former state of affairs. The second column comprises the figures to which each item of expense may reasonably be expected to be reduced:

But it must be borne in mind that even 16 tons daily of selected rich ore cannot probably be obtained, while the amount of low-grade ore that can be extracted is declared by all who have examined the various openings in the vein to be far beyond what I have assumed. The company declares its intention to work ultimately 390 tons per day. Single mines on the Comstock ledge have frequently done much more than even this.

With regard to the item of transportation, which I have put down at $3, I must add that I do not know what the traction-engine will be capable of performing; but I am satisfied that on a uniform downgrade, ore can be hauled twelve miles for $3 gold per ton. This figure is below the average of Eastern Nevada, I know; but a fair precedent may be found at Silver Peak, where the Red Mountain ores are hauled over six miles by mules, at a considerably smaller rate. Experiments are about to be made with the traction-engine, previous to its adoption by the company, and, in the absence of exact data concerning its performances, I have put down a sum which, if successful, it cer tainly ought not to exceed, and at which I am sure that mules could do the work, on a properly graded road. (See my report for 1868, page 116.)

The following table shows the saving by the use of the Stetefeldt furnace, and the present low wages:

The allowance of $14 30 per ton, which I have made for the mere crushing and amalgamation, is altogether higher than the probable cost. Indeed, Haber's own estimate, on the basis of high prices for everything, leaves only about $11 for crushing and amalgamation proper; but his estimate for fuel probably includes that of the steamengine.

To recapitulate. The progress achieved in Pahranagat amounts to

shis:

1. Explorations have determined which is the principal, permanent, and most promising lode of the district. This lode has been brought for a continuous distance of several miles under one ownership, and vigorous mining operations have been concentrated upon it, all distracting and wasteful outside ventures being for the present suspended.

2. It has been ascertained that this principal vein carries, between ne well-defined, smooth walls of a wide fissure, an immense mass of e, chiefly of low grade; that it cannot be properly sorted, and that it

must be beneficiated by reducing to a minimum the costs of extraction, handling, and reduction.

3. The fortunate decline in wages, and the introduction and success of the Stetefeldt furnace, have come to the assistance of this plan, and a system of operations has been proposed which promises success, not by reason of supposed extravagant richness of the ores, but, acknowledging the general low grade of ore, by reducing the costs of its utilization.

Accepting, therefore, the statements of those recent observers, from whose reports the foregoing information is derived, I am justified in regarding the prospects of this district as more truly promising than they have ever been before.

The total amount of bullion produced in the district during 1869 was small, probably not exceeding $80,000.

TEM PIUTE.

This district is situate in Pahranagat, Lincoln County, in the extreme southern part of the State. The country rock is dolomite and slates, which dip to the east, at an angle of about 550°. The "veins" discovered and located so far run north and south, and vary in thickness from one to ten feet. They dip with the country rock 55° east. Two veins, running across the stratification of the rock, and dipping 850 north, make an exception. One "vein," consisting of calespar, impregnated with chlorides throughout, and 50 feet wide, has been discovered in the district, and named the Inca. The Savage, Demerara, Masterpiece, Real del Monte, Santa Cruz, Silver Peak, Emerald, Wyandotte, Bank of California, Lady Bell, Thornburg, Rattler, Sunderland, Kinsey, Pride of the West, Defiance, Realito, Juniata, Belvidere, Titicaca, Arlington, Blue Bell, Valley Vein, Mountain Chief, Monarch, Little Giant, General Sarsfield, Brian Bohrome, Eureka, and Indian Dick, are all located in the district, and the specimens brought from most of them to Hamilton have all yielded by assay from $72 to over $3,000 per ton. The greatest drawback for the rapid development of the district is the want of water, which has to be brought to the mines from springs six miles distant. Timber abounds in the region.

SECTION III. OREGON.

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CHAPTER XXII.

GENERAL REMARKS.

The natural resources of this State, aside from mining, are set forth in the report of J. Ross Browne (1868) with comprehensive clearness. In climate, soil, navigable rivers and harbors, Oregon is highly favored, and creditable progress has been made by her citizens in the development and utilization of these advantages. The attractions of the State are indeed so great and so generally known, that a stream of immigration is constantly pouring into it, and would continue to do so, if there were no mines to be worked for gold and silver in that region. In many parts of Oregon, however, as elsewhere on the Pacific coast, mining has been the pioneer of settlement and civilization. It may confidently be expected that the growth of a diversified industry will react favorably on that branch which gave the first impetus.

Mr. Browne's report describes the great iron deposits of the State. I regret to say that the manufacture of iron is not yet successfully estab lished, though the quality and abundance of the ore leave nothing to be desired. The difficulty lies in the high price of labor, and can only be remedied by the employment of Chinese. The woolen manufacture, into which Chinese labor has already been introduced, is thriving and extending.

Coal is found in Columbia, Clatsop, Coos, Tillamook, Benton, Jackson, Douglas, and Clackamas Counties. A considerable export has sprung up, and coal-mining promises to become a stable and profitable business. The abundance and excellence of the lumber of Oregon are well known. The salmon fisheries of the Columbia are a source of considerable revenue. The gross receipts of the salmon catch of last season are estimated at not less than $275,000.

One of the prominent industries of the State is stock-raising. Oregon horses are highly prized throughout the Pacific States and Territories, and Oregon cattle are driven in great numbers south into less favored regions.

With this slight preliminary allusion to the frequently described natural resources of the State, I proceed to consider more at length its mineral wealth, especially with respect to gold and silver, principally the former.

The production of Oregon and Washington is usually reckoned together, as the shipments of the latter Territory are made to Portland. The treasure shipments of Wells, Fargo & Co., from their Portland office, have been as follows:

1864..

1965.

1566.

1807

$6,200,000 5,800,000 5, 400, 000 4, 000, 000