tance southeast from the old workings; it appears to be upon the contact of the serpentine and a steatitic clay. Much water was encountered and the shaft abandoned. A tunnel is now being run by Mr. Cooper in a northwest direction, about 100 feet below the level of the old workings, toward the contact of the serpentine and slate.

The Keely Claim.

This claim, which is situated about 100 yards southeast from the Clyde, was relocated by J. Hawkins, in 1891. Here disjointed masses of auriferous rock were found upon the surface of the ground, but none beneath. The dirt on the surface of the claim prospects a few colors to the pan. A shaft has been sunk on this claim, apparently through decomposed serpentine, but nothing of importance was discovered.

A little below the Clyde Mine, a 5-foot Huntington mill was erected to work the ore on the Keely claim. About 150 tons of ore are said to have been worked, and about $700 to have been cleaned up. The writer was informed that the mill belongs to J. W. Brinn, of Bear Valley.

The Manzanita Mine.

This mine, which has been worked at intervals for nearly thirty years, was reopened in 1885 by the Manzanita Gold Mining Company, organized in New York. They erected a mill and commenced work upon the southern end of the claim. Their plant consists of three 5-foot Huntington mills, seven Victor concentrators, three 5-foot amalgamating pans, two 8-foot settlers, a No. 1 Gates crusher, and a sixty-five horsepower engine and boiler. The ore is crushed so as to pass a three-quarter round screen, and is pulverized so as to pass through a No. 8 slot screen. The richer ore, which averages $32 per ton, nearly all gold, with a very small amount of silver, is worked in the amalgamating pans. It is a free-milling ore, as described in the Bureau's report for 1888, but the gold is so exceedingly fine that the ore has to be ground until it will pass through a No. 80 mesh screen. There is also some bituminous matter with the ore, but it does not now seem to occasion any trouble. The lower grade ore, which runs from $1 to $2 per ton in free gold, is crushed and concentrated, and worked in the pans. The tailings from this ore seldom go over 25 cents per ton. The low-grade ore is worked principally in the summer, when it can be hauled the more easily to the mine. The richer ore is worked in winter.

The work on this mine hitherto has been largely that of development, and consequently much low-grade ore has been handled. The manager states that there is a large quantity of low-grade ore in sight, which can be profitably worked, and some strata that are rich.

As is well known, the Manzanita was first located as a quicksilver mine, and subsequently the gold value so exceeded that of the quicksilver that the mine was worked entirely for the gold. Under the present management an effort is being made to recover both metals. The ore from the part of the mine yielding the quicksilver is worked by the following method: It is first pulverized in the Huntington mill, then sized by a gravity sizer, designed by G. V. Northey, manager of the works, and then concentrated. Two concentrators work the coarse ore, two the medium, and one the slum. The concentrates average a gold value of from $100 to $200 per ton, and assay about 20 per cent in quicksilver.

The concentrates, which were being stored at the time of the writer's visit, will be retorted and the residues amalgamated. It is estimated that by this process ores which cannot be worked to a profit by any other method will show a fair margin of gain. The manager states that ore running as low as one tenth of 1 per cent in quicksilver can be worked so as to clear expenses, leaving the gold as a profit.

The sizer above referred to is a tank, fitted with a sloping floor. At the upper end, where the pulp and water are admitted, the tank is traversed by two partitions, which act as riffles to distribute the ore in the main body of the tank. A third partition, near the exit end of the tank, acts as a riffle and restrains the coarser particles, which escape through discharge pipes in the sides near the floor of the tank. The medium and fine particles are washed over into the last compartment, the fine escaping through a discharge pipe near the center of the end, and the medium through discharge pipes near the bottom.

The ore, which was being worked at the time of the writer's visit, was mined from the foot of the mountain immediately behind the works. An open cut was here being made in a bank of what appeared to be broken angular fragments of argillite, interspersing a loose, white, pulverulent material. The formation appeared to be a decomposed talus from the mountain, but the Superintendent said it would pay to work. Ascending the hill immediately behind the works, the formation resembles an altered argillite, white to bluish in color, varying from silicious to clayey, and having a strike of west of north by east of south. The whole mountain side is evidently altered by the action of mineral waters. The ore is found penetrating the rock and in seams, which have a trend still more to the east and west than the strike of the formation. Bituminous matter, as before mentioned, is frequently found associated with the rock, yielding sulphides of iron and mercury. As a general rule, the quicksilver rocks have a definite trend, but the gold occurs indiscriminately.

Much sulphur is found in some portions of these workings, occurring as crusts on the surface or as irregular masses in the rock.

At the height of something less than 200 feet above the creek the formation passes into an altered conglomerate, which in places shows some .cinnabar. Still higher up toward the top of the mountain the conglomerate gives place to sandstone, and considerable cinnabar has been found associated with a calcareous gangue. The strike of these calcareous veins is east of north by west of south. At several places in the higher portion of the mountain cinnabar can be found by washing alluvial soil. The summit of the mountain is about 2,000 feet above sea-level and probably 450 feet above Sulphur Creek. It commands an extensive view, showing the Elgin and the Clyde in range with the Manzanita, approximately northwest by southeast magnetic.

The Central Mine.

This claim was located by Messrs. Northey & York in 1891. It lies nearly parallel to and adjoins the Manzanita on the east. Four short tunnels have been run on this claim, the highest of which is situated about 600 feet above Sulphur Creek. These tunnels have been run in an altered serpentine, and two of them penetrate to unaltered serpentine, which appears to form the core of the mountain, cropping out at the

summit and a short distance below it. The loose and altered rock shows much cinnabar, an average sample of which, it is said, yielded 1 per cent, while high-grade ore has been found in silicious seams.

The Oriental Quicksilver Mine.

This mine was first located in 1863, and worked from time to time up to 1877. In 1891, croppings of pay ore were discovered by G. T. and J. W. Farris, who located the claim and took out some ore. They state that they took out several samples of ore of from 30 to 40 pounds each, and on reducing these in small retorts they came to the conclusion that the unassorted ore, from a 4-foot pay streak showing into the ledge, would assay over 5 per cent in quicksilver, and that the assorted would go very much higher. They state that they were compelled to suspend operations, because the mine was found to be on land held under a homestead patent by J. S. Braine, of Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County. When the property in question was visited by the writer, an open cut had been run in the mountain for about 20 feet, disclosing a vitreous and white pulverulent vein matter. The vein matter exposed appeared to be about 6 feet in width, the course being west of north by east of south. It is said that the vein matter shows well in the pan, and that some nuggets of rich ore have been found. Another tunnel was commenced about 40 feet below this working; it was run in a decomposed formation, and toward the end of it is said to prospect well.

The Sulphur Creek Quicksilver Mine.

This mine was located by W. E. York and T. Persons. It is situated on the south side of Sulphur Creek and on an elevation a little more than 200 feet above it. The strike of the formation is west of north by east of south magnetic, and the dip northeasterly at an angle of about 45°. The formation is soft and decomposed, and the ore is said to follow the white clayey seams which traverse it. The workings consist of a tunnel about 85 feet in length, and a soft, decomposed material in the breast of the workings is said to yield over 2 per cent of quicksilver.

The Empire Mine.

This mine is owned by W. E. York and T. Persons. It is situated on the south bank of Sulphur Creek, its southwest boundary being about 400 feet above that stream. The surface of the mountain on which this claim is located shows cinnabar by prospecting the alluvium and decomposed rock with a pan, especially at one point near the summit, where considerable vein matter is exposed. This claim extends to the south bank of Sulphur Creek, and joins the southeast corner of the Manzanita, where a tunnel has been run into the mountain for a distance of probably 150 feet, the direction being a little east of south magnetic. About 100 feet of this tunnel was run in 1873, and sufficient ore to obtain sixtythree flasks of quicksilver was reduced in a small retort belonging to the Buckeye Mine, which is distant about three quarters of a mile in a southeasterly direction.

This property was relocated in 1890 by W. E. York and T. Persons, who continued the tunnel about 50 feet. This tunnel has been run all the way in vein matter, and pay ore is said to have been taken out in many places.