BULLION PRODUCT OF THE COMSTOCK LODE.—The foregoing tables, from the Commercial Herald and Market Review, show the bullion product of the leading claims on the Comstock lode during the year 1867, as compared with 1866. The bullion product of the Yellow Jacket claim has been estimated for the last six months of 1867. The total product of the Comstock lode for the year ending December 31, 1867, is estimated by the most reliable authorities at $17,500,000. It is estimated that other districts in Nevada have yielded during the same period $2,500,000, making the total product of Nevada for the calendar year 1867, $20,000,000. The average percentage of gold and silver is shown in table 2, on the workings of the Hale and Norcross, being about 66 per cent. silver, and 34 per cent. gold. In the outside districts the proportion of gold is considerably less. ASSAY OFFICES, &c.-There are four assay offices in Virginia and three in Gold Hill; some few of the mining companies assay their own bullion. The amalgam is usually retorted at the mill and delivered to the assayer in the form of crude bullion." After melting and refining it is assayed by the ordinary process of cupellation with lead, the accuracy of these assays being checked from time to time by the humid method. The charge on bullion for transportation to San Francisco is one per cent., and on coin from San Francisco to Virginia one and one-eighth per cent., the latter being somewhat the highest, to cover the extra risks of loss and robbery. STAGE ROUTES CENTRING AT OR PASSING THROUGH VIRGINIA CITY. ROUTE NO. 1. Virginia to Sacramento, via the Central Pacific Railroad, with which it connects at Cisco depot. Two coaches daily each way. Fare, including railroad charges, from Virginia to Sacramento, $20; from Sacramento to Virginia, $25. This route crosses the Sierra by the Donner Lake Pass, the one selected by the C. P. R. R. The fall of snow during the winter is very heavy, and sleighs run from the terminus of the railroad to within 30 miles of Virginia. During the winter of 1866 and 1867 they ran for a short time into Virginia without changing. way. ROUTE NO. 2. Virginia to Sacramento, via Placerville and the Sacramento Valley railroad, passing through Gold Hill, Silver City, Empire, Carson, and Genoa, connecting with the railroad at Shingle Springs. One coach daily each This route crosses the Sierras at the south end of Lake Tahoe. Snow on the summits of the mountains heavy. During the severest portion of the winter sleighs run from the summit nearly down to Carson valley. Before the construction of the Central Pacific railroad, nearly the entire freighting business between California and Nevada passed over this route. At the present time the Donner Lake road takes probably three-fourths, and will gradually secure the balance as the railroad approaches Virginia. ROUTE NO. 3. Overland route, from the Atlantic to the Pacific States, passes through Virginia, one coach arriving and departing daily. Passengers complete the journey to Sacramento by either of the two previously mentioned routes. Fare to Austin from Virginia, about $15; to Salt Lake, $70; to the eastern railroad terminus, $100. ROUTE NO. 4. Virginia to Carson, passing through Gold Hill, Silver City, and Empire, one coach each way daily. ROUTE NO. 5. Virginia to Dayton, passing through Gold Hil and Silver City, one coach each way daily. ROUTE NO. 6. Virginia to Washoe and Ophir, one coach each way daily. ROUTE NO. 7. Virginia to Idaho Territory, passing through the Humboldt county settlements, one coach each way every other day. This line connects with the stages on route No. 1, at Hunter's crossing of the Truckee river, about 24 miles from Virginia. ROUTE NO. 8. each way daily. from Nevada to 381 Fast freight, via Donner Lake and the C. P. R. R., one coach Brings perishable freight to Nevada, carrying passengers only California, the amount of return freight being small. ROUTE NO. 9. Fast freight, via Placerville and the Sacramento Valley railroad, details the same as route No. 8. ROUTE NO. 10. Fast freight to Belmont, in Central Nevada, via Austin, one coach each way weekly. Carries freight and passengers both ways. ROUTE NO. 11. Fast freight to Belmont, one coach twice a week each way, carrying passengers and freight. ROUTE NO. 1. STAGE LINES CENTRING AT CARSON CITY. Carson to Dayton, via Empire, one coach each way daily. ROUTE NO. 2. Carson to Washoe, via Franktown and Ophir, one coach each way daily. ROUTE NO. 3. Carson to Aurora, via Genoa and Wellington's station, one coach each way every other day. The mines at Pinegrove lie a few miles to the east of Wellington's. At Genoa this route connects with stages for Silver mountain and Markleeville, and at Aurora with stages for Blind Springs, Fort Independence, Kearsarge, and Owen's River valley. The majority of these routes have been established for several years, and, as will be seen by the following table of postal routes, usually receive government aid, in the form of subsidies for carrying the United States mails. But few of them, especially those operating between distant settlements and through thinly settled countries, could exist without such assistance. Though suffering less severely from Indian depredations on this side of the Rocky mountains than on the eastern slope, these lines of travel, in some instances, absolutely require the presence of soldiers to make them safe modes of communication. SECTION XVIII. VIRGINIA AND ADJACENT DISTRICTS-FACILITIES FOR OBTAINING FUEL COAL.-No coal deposits which are likely to prove of permanent value have been found in the neighborhood of Virginia. Considerable prospecting has been done in the neighborhood of El Dorado cañon, a few miles from Dayton, where inferior lignite is found associated with triassic (?) limestones and shales, and at Crystal Peak, on the Truckee river, near the California State line, where lustrous black lignite is found in small quantities, in recent geological deposits. In the Palmyra mountains, a few miles from Como, a small vein of lignite is also found, but none of these localities can be relied upon for a supply sufficient to warrant an outlay of capital. Many other points have been located as coal lands, without any foundation whatever, the deceptive appearance of some metamorphic or igneous rocks having misled persons ignorant of geological formations into costly and useless expenditure of time and money. * The entire district is dependent on wood for fuel. When the mines on the Comstock lode were first discovered, the surrounding mountains were covered with a scanty growth of scrubby pines, (known as the piñon or pinenut,) and a variety of juniper, generally called cedar. This supply has been entirely exhausted, the nearest remaining timber of these kinds coming to the market from the mountains east and south of Dayton, and north of Virginia, both localities about 12 miles distant from the place of consumption. Even at these points the amount easily accessible is rapidly diminishing. The rugged character of the mountains compels * See article on coal deposits of Nevada, section 2, page 312. the lumbermen to pack the wood on mules, frequently two or three miles to places which are accessible to wagons. This and the distance from market make the price high, ranging from $14 to $16 per cord. The piñon is considered the most valuable firewood, being a hard, resinous, fine-grained variety, growing from 10 to 30 feet in height, and commands about $2 per cord more than the cedar. The whole district will ere long be entirely dependent on the practically inexhaustible forests of the Sierra Nevadas. Even now large quantities of firewood are brought from this source, though the fuel is considered inferior to the piñon. There are many mills working ore from the Comstock mines, located at the foot of the Sierras, and the teams hauling ore to these points bring return loads of firewood or lumber. Large quantities are floated down the Carson river yearly, a distance of 60 to 100 hundred miles from the forests at the head waters of the river to Empire City, in Eagle valley, and are shipped from that point to the mines and mills. The vicinity of Carson, Washoe valley and Galena also yield an abundant supply, but a wagon freight of 12 to 18 miles keeps the price at about the figures mentioned. CONSUMPTION OF FIREWOOD AND LUMBER.-The following table shows approximately the daily consumption of firewood in the district: By hoisting works on mines. By mills crushing ores Total.... Cords. 70 378 120 568 The average cost of this firewood will be about $10 per cord or $5,680 per day, giving a yearly total of over $2,000,000. Of this sum at least 60 per cent. is paid for hauling to the place of consumption. The consumption of lumber and mining timbers in the district will reach somewhere near 25,000,000 feet, (board measure,) of which about 17,900,000 feet are used in and around the mines on the Comstock lode. The total annual value of this branch of business will not fall far short of $800,000 per annum. OTHER MINERAL DEPOSITS.-The mining district under consideration may be called exclusively a silver region, its other mineral deposits being relatively of small value. GOLD occurs in small quantities in many of the ravines along the foot hills of the Sierras, and Gold cañon was worked as a placer mine before the discovery of silver; but both of these operations have been discontinued for some years. COPPER ORES are found in many localities, both east and west of Carson, but the difficulty of making copper mining remunerative in Nevada, with the existing high rates of labor, transportation, and supplies have prevented their development. IRON ORES are abundant in the mountains southwest of American Flat, and about four miles south of Virginia, but they are unfavorably situated for working, and not likely to be of value. LEAD ORES Containing a considerable percentage of silver occur frequently in the neighborhood of Galena, in Washoe county. The mines have been opened to some extent, passing into the hands of several different parties, who have failed to work them profitably, though admirably situated as regards both water power for concentration and fuel for smelting. The galena is associated with considerable quantities of mispickel, which renders careful sorting essential to the production of good marketable lead, but the manner of the association is such that no difficulty need arise on this account. PLUMBAGO of inferior quality is found extensively in the mountains east of the Carson river, a few miles from Empire, but has never been utilized. It also occurs between Virginia and Washoe, in the Washoe mountains, and at one time was used in the manufacture of crucibles. SULPHUR occurs at the Steamboat Springs, condensed in the earth from the rising vapors, but not in any large quantity. LIMESTONE of fine quality is plenty in the mountains east and south of Virginia. NUMBER OF MINING LOCATIONS CLAIMED AND OPENED.-The number of mining claims recorded on the books of the mining recorders of Virginia and Gold Hill does not fall far short of 5,000. If to these are added other claims throughout the district under consideration, the number will not fall far short of 8,000. When we compare this number with the claims on which work is being done at the present time, (probably not more than 50) we begin to realize the character of the wild mining fever which raged here from 1860 to 1863. It must not be supposed, however, that all claims at present lying untouched are worthless. Many of them developed ore, but too low in quality to pay a profit at the time they were abandoned. Still all the claims which may at any time in the future become valuable will not exceed a few hundred, a vast proportion of the 8,000 locations having no foundation whatever, and many of which could scarcely be pointed out even by the locators themselves. COST OF MATERIALS. The following table may be taken as a fair illustration. The few articles used in the mines not occurring in this table are added at the end, the average price being derived from the same source: Materials consumed at the Gould & Curry mill during the year ending November 30, 1866. POPULATION OF TOWNS.-In the absence of census tables it is extremely difficult to give accurate information on this head. The population of the different towns may be estimated at about the following figures, which will probably be found rather over than under the mark: Of this number about 1,500 are employed directly in the mines, and about 1,200 in the various mills, the remainder, whether engaged in farming, lumbering or in trade, being more or less dependent on the mining interest for their support. Were it not for its mining attractions, the district would in all probability have remained the desert it was in 1859, before the discovery of the Comstock. Previous to that time it supported only a scanty population, who made a livelihood out of the annual emigration over the plains. PRICE OF LABOR.-Miners receive from $3 50 to $4 per diem, and blacksmiths, carpenters, brakemen and engineers, from $5 to $8. Mill hands earn from $3 to $5, according to the responsibility of their positions. MODE AND COST OF LIVING.-The following list of prices current for articles of domestic consumption is taken from the daily papers: Green coffee, per pound, Rio. Salt, 3-pound sacks.. Eggs, per box 50 dozen.. 40 a 35 40 Mackerel, per barrel. 50 Trout, Lake Tahoe.. $0 25 5 00 a $6 00 4 00 a 6 00 1 25 a 1 50 1 20 a 1 50 624 5 00 .18 00 a20 00 20 a 25 Green coffee, per pound, Java. Salt, 10-pound sacks..... Salt, 5-pound sacks.. Salmon, smoked, per pound. Herrings, salt, per pound 20 a 25 Herrings, fresh, per pound 25 Potatoes, sweet, per pound .. Green peas, per pound.. Asparagus, per pound.. Onions, per pound. Even in the towns a large proportion of the population board at restaurants or hotels, at rates varying from $8 to $12 per week. Many mills are so situated that they are compelled to keep a boarding-house for the men employed, in which case they are usually paid so much a month including their board. This system is the inevitable result of the unsettled disposition of much of our population, who, in spite of oft-repeated warnings, are yet ready to believe that every new mining camp discovered is better than the one in which they are located, and rush to it accordingly, in the hope of making the "big strike" which shall bring them wealth and comfort in a day, instead of winning them by the old well-tried rule of patient industry and perseverance. There are many signs, however, of improvement in this respect; but the number of those who have come to look upon Nevada as a permanent home are very few, indeed. House servants receive from $30 to $40 a month. Many Chinamen are employed in this capacity at about the same wages. |