between four and five months, but varies with the length of the winter and the amount of snow that falls in the upper drainage area of the river. The wages paid for common white laborers is $2 50 per day; the Chinese laborers, who generally constitute half the number employed, receive $1 25 per day. The payroll has amounted to $1,200 a week, a large proportion of which is spent in Oroville; hence, the importance to the town of the success of these works. OTHER PROPERTIES. Lying back of the Golden Feather Company's ground is the old Miocene Hydraulic Mine, at present enjoined from work. It is located near Thomson Flat, at the foot of the basaltic table-land known as South Table Mountain, and covers valuable gravel deposits, which crop out under the lava in Morris Ravine. This ravine, which makes down to Feather River near the junction of the flume and canal, has been worked at different times through its entire length, and has paid well; it divides the South Table Mountain from the North Table Mountain. Two large hydraulic mines, the Hendricks and the Wagner, situated in this ravine, are under injunction of the law, but are trying to open out their properties by the drifting method. These basaltic rocks form the banks of the Feather River up to where the North Fork enters, when slates take their place. Passing up the main Feather River, on the west bank, is the Banner Mine, which is being handled by Col. F. McLaughlin; also the old Brown or Armstrong Mine, which is being developed by its owners, who are driving ahead in their tunnels. The quartz taken out is worked up in a Hinkle crusher and a 10-foot arrastra. THE GOLDEN BANNER MINE. This property is situated about 4 miles from Oroville, on the east side of Table Mountain. The vein shows itself at the head of Gregory Gulch, which proved rich when worked up to where the vein crossed. The vein courses from here 10° east of south toward the Feather River. The property, with the extension, includes 6,000 feet on the vein, with a width of 200 feet. The ground is patented. On the surface near the present works three veins present themselves, running parallel with one another. The veins are designated, commencing on the west side, the Little Banner, the Big Banner, and the Amoskeag. The Little Banner is incased in slate with diabase on the foot wall side, called, locally, "conglomerate." Sixty feet to the east is the Big Banner, in slate. Beyond this, 750 feet to the east, is the Amoskeag, in altered slate. Between the last two is a dike of diabase. The Little Banner is about 18 inches wide and pitches to the northeast. The Big Banner ranges from 2 to 4 feet, pitching to the southwest and coming together with the former at a depth of 200 feet. The Little Banner has a pitch of 7 feet in 100 feet, while the Big Banner pitches 10 feet in the same distance. Most of the former workings of this mine, which has been idle for a number of years, were on the Little Banner, which, down to a depth of 200 feet, has a recorded yield of $600,000. A perpendicular shaft has been sunk 325 feet to the east of 154 timthe Big Banner vein, 10 feet 4 inches by 5 feet 8 inches in the clear, bered throughout with sawed lumber, with two compartments. From this shaft crosscuts have been run at the 200-foot level 45 feet to the Little Banner vein, where the pay shoot was cut, and drifted on north for a distance of 200 feet (all in pay), and 75 feet to the south, but nothing was met with on that side. The pay shoot on the north dips in that direction rather flat. The crosscut on the 300-foot level reached the Little Banner in 38 feet, but did not strike the north pay shoot until 140 feet had been drifted. From there for a farther distance of 110 feet the drift was continued, mostly in pay. Beyond that the vein seems to break up in small feeders that branch out fan-shaped, but presumably come together again, as the vein is found solid on the surface farther north. Where the vein is split up the country rock is softer and appears to be broken up. The slate between the two Banner veins quarters on them and carries with the cleavage small seams of quartz, These seams, where they terminate containing more or less water. against the vein, usually form small pockets of gold. Of the two Banner veins the Little Banner, with her northeast dip, is undoubtedly the principal and true fissure, carrying as she does a distinct gouge for the whole distance explored. At the 300-foot level a crosscut was likewise run east a distance of 600 feet to the Amoskeag vein, and was carried through the vein into the slate beyond. The formation around this vein resembles greatly the so-called porphyry belt in El Dorado County, though not as thoroughly decomposed as that is. It is mineralized, carrying 2 per cent of sulphurets, and will some day prove a valuable low-grade proposition. For the present this part of the property has been abandoned, and as it furnishes the largest part of the water that has to be pumped from the mine, the connecting crosscut is being bulkheaded. The plant at the shaft comprises a double reel winding gear, with -inch steel rope, cages and water-hoisting tanks, a Rand air compressor to run two machine drills, and an air pump run by a fifty horse-power steam engine. The rock, hoisted in a self-dumping bucket, discharges into a car run by hand to a breaker, from whence an incline double track conveys the quartz to the mill. The mill, likewise run by steam, contains ten stamps of 750 pounds, supplied with Tullock feeders; also a 6-foot Huntington roller quartz mill. The battery frame is built for ten additional stamps. Concen- well as one of the most productive, is situated due north of Oroville. trators have not yet been erected, but the power to run them, also the space for erecting them, is prepared. Beneath the boarding house is a tunnel that will ultimately be con tinued to cut the shaft, which it will do at about 100 feet vertical. Con process. In the meantime, parts of the ground are made to yield several veniences for the men and officials, in the shape of boarding houses, thousand dollars a month by ground sluicing and the use of the rocker sleeping houses, offices, etc., are well and conveniently situated. As soon as the mine has been a little further exploited it is the purpose of the owners to reduce the cost of production by supplanting steam with electricity, for which purpose a dynamo would be erected on the river three quarters of a mile away, and the power transmitted to the mine At present use is made of electricity to fire the blasts in sinking the Company lies at the north end of Table Mountain, pitching with the shaft, which is being extended down another 200 feet, when it is expected bedrock, which is largely slate, intersected with dikes of diorite, coursing to find the vein crossing the shaft. northeast, and extending partly under the basaltic plateau. It was a About twenty-nine men are employed at present in and around the break in this gravel, at the head of Morris Ravine, that furnished the 156 latter with much of the gold for which it was famous in the past. A lava cap covers the channel, in places, from 80 to 100 feet in thickness; also a stratum of pipe clay that attains a depth of from 200 to 300 feet. A section through the channel shows on the bedrock a dark cement, above which is a blue gravel from 10 to 15 feet thick, which carries the greater quantity of gold. Overlaying this and formed apparently by SECTION THROUGH WALDEYER INCLINE UNDER 158 ton. THE RAINBOW AND THE CHRISTY. These mines are situated 24 miles to the northwest of Oroville, at an altitude of 1,875 feet; they average about 2 feet in width. The country rock is slate and serpentine. The ores are free-milling gold quartz, with iron sulphurets. The Rainbow has a five-stamp steam mill, with 750-pound stamps, which crush 14 tons to the stamp per day. The apron is silver-plated, 5x6 feet, and has a pitch of three fourths of an inch per foot. The quartz from the Christy Mine is said to average about $12 per Crossing Con Cow Valley and the west branch of Feather River, the spur of the Sierras, known as Dogtown Ridge, is encountered, running north and south, with the west branch of the Feather River on the This is a slate ridge, traversed in east and Butte Creek on the west. part by serpentine, more especially just north of Dogtown, where the serpentine crosses the ridge in a belt half a mile wide, coursing northwest and southeast, and forming on the east bank of the west branch of Feather River a conspicuous peak, just opposite the town, known as Sawmill Peak, 3,200 feet high. About 2 miles above town, on the right hand bank of the river, a tunnel has been driven under the ridge 400 feet, at a point where there is a lava capping 300 feet thick; the direction of the tunnel is about 70° west of north. At a distance of 100 feet from the mouth a 30-foot wide gravel channel, containing coarse gold (ounce pieces), was cut through. The tunnel was continued to reach the main channel that runs under the ridge; the water being handled by a syphon. Across the river at this point are two adjoining mines, known as THE WILLARD AND RED HILL MINES. The river, when running on a higher level than at present, caused a big eddy at and above this point, forming an extensive bench, where extremely large bowlders are found on the bedrock, with considerable coarse gold, some pieces weighing from 5 to 11 pounds avoirdupois stamp quartz mill was operating here on Little Butte Creek. The shaft from whence the ore was obtained was under the mill. Quarrels among the owners caused the property to be shut down, notwithstanding the ore at the time is stated to have been of a fair grade. Everything at present is rotting down. A couple of miles beyond, John Hupp is opening out a former channel, immediately adjacent to the present creek bed. A couple of miles to the southwest, where the gravel breaks out from under the lava, is THE INDIAN SPRINGS DRIFT GRAVEL MINE, Which has been worked continuously since 1860. The lava capping over the channel is 500 feet in thickness; the gravel deposit in the channel is 6 feet thick on an average; the channel courses southwest and northeast. The elevation of the top of the deposit at the mouth of the tunnel is 2,930 feet; that of the bedrock at the same point 2,400 feet. The tunnel starts in on the slate bedrock, running up stream 4,662 feet, costing to run on an average $6 per foot. It is ventilated by a fan run by water power. The breasts are 120 feet wide and 6 feet deep. The cobbles and bowlders average about 50 per cent. The usual stint for a miner is three carloads of gravel, weighing 1,500 pounds per car, to a shift. The carload of gravel is stated to yield about $7 or $8, the gold being worth $19 per ounce. The work is carried on the whole year; part of the season the water is free, but during the summer months 40 miner's inches is bought from the Cherokee ditch, costing 4 cents per inch. This water is delivered under a 20-foot head. The John Hupp Mine, mentioned above, is supposed to be on this same channel. Little Butte Creek, which runs through a good gravel country, heads at Powelton, and, after a 5-mile course, empties into Big Butte Creek. On the east side of Butte Creek all the channels drain themselves, while on the west side they sink. The lava capping is only on the west side of Little Butte Creek until the noted Perschbecker Mine is reached, when All the older channels in this section of country conthe lava crosses. There is a record of one piece having been found on the Willard ground tain granite wash, which is lacking in the younger channels. No granite that brought its owner $13,312. These mines are at an altitude of over in place is found nearer than 20 miles, and that is to the northeast, near At the Persch 2,000 feet, about 2 miles from Magalia or Dogtown, and are reached by the Plumas County line. The older channels, such as the Perschbecker, trail only. The country rock is clay slate and decomposed serpentine Indian Springs, etc., are cut through by the newer ones. The vein of the Willard has a northwest course, dipping at 42°, and becker Mine, which was idle at the beginning of the summer, but has with an average width of 2 feet. On account of lack of capital the work since started up and is maintaining its old-time reputation as a gold of opening up this mine proceeds but slowly. In former days the sur producer, they have followed the pitch of the bedrock about 200 feet face has been hydraulicked with paying results. Since then a shaft has below the present creek channel level, without having reached the bottom, been sunk to a depth of 56 feet, and a tunnel run 200 feet, connecting and yet within a distance of 400 feet on both sides the bedrock crops the two mines at the bottom. The prospects are favorable, and the out to the surface. The gold found here is very coarse channel gold. present owners would be glad to get capital interested under favorable conditions, to expedite the work. A number of other mines, more especially on the right bank of the THE BEST MINE, river going north, are driving tunnels under the lava to open out the Which was thoroughly described in the last report, has worked 200 feet gravel channels known to exist under the Dogtown Ridge, and some more of their 300-foot channel. them are meeting with good success. The workings of these mines were fully explained in the last report. Seven miles north of Magalia is the stage station Lovelocks, south west of which, 11⁄2 miles distant, is Todtown. In the early 70's a THE WOODS MINE, The rim of the Which is also on the east side of Butte Creek, on the Powelton Ridge, has granite and quartz wash, as well as very coarse gold. channel next the present Butte Creek is formed by a hard dike, which runs about northeast and southwest, and cuts off the slate next the river from the slate on the opposite side. Changing the dip and course, this dike, as well as the slate, is cut off again by a quartz vein 60 feet wide, on the opposite side of which runs a belt of serpentine, which is the same as that seen above Dogtown. THE ORO FINO MINE, fine sand 2 to 3 inches thick, filled with water, and above this again pipe clay. This company own their water during the winter season; the remainder of the year they buy 10 inches of water, at 5 cents per inch, from the Spring Valley ditch; the water is delivered under a 250-foot pressure. They employ eight men-three working on the main channel, three on the feeder, and two cleaning. It was stated they were making $100 to the man. The gold was worth $17 50 per ounce. On Sec. 3, T. 22 N., R. 3 E., runs a vein of iron ore from 2 to 100 feet wide in the serpentine bedrock, which is said to carry from 5 to 8 per cent of manganese, 60 per cent of iron, and a trace of chrome. In the same neighborhood, between the serpentine and slate, is a bunchy vein of crystalline limestone from 8 to 10 feet in width. Two hundred feet west in the slate are two quartz veins 500 feet apart, having the same course and dip as the slate and measuring from 4 to 10 feet in width. The Carrol Gulch and the Middle Butte Creek both cut through these ledges. Only a little prospecting has been done here, which does not harmonize with the assertion that the quartz assays $12 per ton. THE PORPHYRY POINT MINE. Situated on the Little Butte, northeast of the Best Mine, is a peculiar formation. The mine is 3 miles north of Magalia, but the formation extends from here in a southeasterly direction toward the Willard Mine. It lies against the serpentine, is entirely decomposed, resembling a very fine-grained sand and clay, and is traversed with fine seams of quartz and filled with cubical iron pyrites. On washing the material in the pan, some of it gives good gold prospects, the metallic particles being extremely fine. The fine quartz seams likewise contain gold. ground is worked with sand augers. The This formation has a width of over 200 feet. A tunnel 250 feet long has been run, reaching a vertical depth of 50 feet. Four feet a day is made in drifting; no stoping has been done. The pay shoot has been traced for 500 feet. feet in depth has been sunk, all in the same material. Hitherto the A circular shaft 50 owners, not having any mill, have run the material through a long ground sluice 200 feet, and then through sluices without any quicksilver, the quartz going over the dump. A large amount of sulphurets is obtained—the owners claim 3 per cent-which assay from 5 to 11 ounces of gold per ton. The mine is worked by the three owners; in their operations they use 100 inches of free water during the season, which is generally from December to the last of May. Outside of the tunnel is a cut run in a distance of 100 feet. THE PERRY MINE Situated in Helltown Mining District, not far from the Indian Springs Mine, on Butte Creek, has drifted through the bedrock 221 feet in a southeasterly course. The channel has been worked a distance of 1,800 Has been fully described in the last report, and is situated on the Little old back channel that courses north of northeast, and which connects with the Dogtown channel southwest of Magalia. is from 3 to 5 feet in depth, with a lava capping of 600 feet. The pa advanced 500 feet during the past year, without, however, tapping the The channel has a southwest is mostly on the serpentine bedrock. course, while a feeder comes into the main channel from the east. The breast is carried 40 feet wide. The proportion of gravel to bowlders is The rim is very steep; in the feeder, in a distance of 225 feet as 1 to 3. af the raise amounted to 70 feet above the main channel. Above the layer d gravel is a small streak of pipe clay from 6 to 8 inches, then a |