BANCROFT
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

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Document No. 9.

IX THE ASSEMBLY.] [SESSION 1854.

REPORT

ON THE

GEOLOGY OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS,

AND PART OF THE

SIERRA NEVADA

EMBRACING THEIR INDUSTRIAL

RESOURCES IN AGRICULTURE AND MINING,

BY DR. JOHN B. TRASK.

[B. B. REDDING, STATE PRINTER.

F <tr 6

T

BANCROFT

To His EXCELLENCE,

JOHN BIGLEB,

Governor of the State of California.

<*>

_ Pursuant to resolution of Assembly, passed Feb. ' — , 1854, I have the

^_honor herewith to submit the accompanying report on the Geology of

Xthat portion of the State, authorized by Joint Resolution of Senate and

Assembly of the fourth session, all of which, with accompanying plates,

is respectfully submitted.

Yours, &c.

JOHN B. TKASK.

•

To THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY

OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

Under the Joint Eesolution, passed May 6. 1853, by the Senate and
Assembly of the State of California, authorizing a farther Geological ex
amination of some parts of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Mountains, and
report the results of the same to the ensuing Legislature, I have the
honor of submitting the following report in relation thereto, and in con
formity to the above requisitions.

JOHN B. TRASK.

PREFACE.

The examinations authorized were entered upon soon after the passage
of the resolution, and continued until the 28th of November, comprising
a period in the field of about six months. The first five weeks were
occupied in examinations of the more elevated and western portions of
the Counties of Butte, Sierra, Yuba, Nevada and Placer, in determining,
as far as possible, the position of an ancient water course in this section
of the State, and its peculiarities — the description of which will be found
in the body of this report.

On the 23d June, the southern portion of the tour was commenced,
and carried on almost uninterruptedly for four months. The route south
was carried through the Counties of San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa
Cruz, Monterey, and the north part of Luis Obispo ; on the west, and
returning on the east, (or through that range denominated the Monte
Diablo Eange) by the west part of Tulare County, Mariposa, Tuolumne,
Alameda, Contra Costa and San Joaquin.

The range of country bounded on the north by the Straits Carquinez,
and south by the Nacismiento, was divided into four sections, formed
by lines running nearly east and west from the great valley to the
coast. On the first of October, the country north of the Straits Carqui
nez was entered, and preliminary examinations only were made in the
counties of Solano, Napa and Sonoma, From the County of Napa a
section was carried across the basin of the Sacramento, and connected
with, examinations made two years previous on its eastern edge. A sim
ilar section was also made, passing eighteen miles south of Monte Diablo
and continued across the San Joaquin.

The remainder of the months of October and November was employ
ed in investigations of the middle mining sections of the County of Ne
vada and those intermediate between the former and the middle and
western parts of Calaveras county. This range leads through that sec
tion in which the principal gold mines of the middle portions of the
State are located, and was selected, with the view of conducting those
examinations which will be found in the appendix of this report, under the
head of Quartz Mining. As those mines have of late presented many in
teresting facts connected with their ultimate prospects, a set of sketches

8 [APPENDIX

representing the positions of the views and investing rocks has been
given for illustrating their present features.

Doing the tour in the agricultural sections of the State, the modifica
tions of the soils in different sections has been noted, and the natural
productions arising as resultants, where they seemed of a general charac
ter, and extending over any considerable area. The " Saline lands "
have been observed, and the opportunities that were offered for their re
clamation, whed at any time demanded. The extent of cropping and re
sultant crops in some parts of the State, are of peculiar interest, and the
facts developed in this particular will prove of much value to our agri
cultural interests, being an exhibition of the capabilities of some our
soils for the production of the necessaries of life, unexcelled in the his
tory of the world.

The temperature of the mountainous and valley sections of both branches
of the coast mountains, was noted as far as the nature of attending cir
cumstances would permit, for the purpose of ascertaining as far as pos
sible the peculiar adaptation of the different sections to the culture of
exotic fruits and trees, and where no opportunity of personal examina
tion offered, a careful inquiry of persons long resident in different sec
tions, was made, by which many interesting facts have been obtained,
relating to this subject.

This report will embrace the examination of a district of countrv, in
cluded within 120° 16' and 122° 32' west longitude, and from the thirty-
fifth parallel to the thirty-ninth degree of north latitude, inclusive of the
coast mountains and mineral districts.

The coast mountains are watered by thirty-two streams, the most of
which are small, their names and the counties in which they are located
will be found below.

COUNTY. EIVER.

Sonoma, Sonoma, —

Napa, Napa. —

Contra Costa. Merced. —

Alameda. San Antonio. —

•»,*•» San Leandro. —

San Lorenzo. —
Alameda. —

Santa Clara, Coyote. —

Aguagos.
San Felipe. —
Gaudalupe. —
Los €ratos. —
Camels. —
Llagos.
Carnadero. —
Pescadero. —
La Brae. —

Santa Cruz. San Lorenzo.—

Lougell. —
Syante. —
San Augustine, —

Doc. No. 9.] 9

*
COUNTY. EIVER.

Corallitos.
Monterey. Pajaro.

San Benito.

Carmello. — •

Berjeles. —

San Antonio.

Salinas. —

Francisquito. —

San Luis Obispo. Nacismiento.

San Francisco. San Mateo.

San Francisquito. —

There are twenty-three of these streams which furnish a sufficient
quantity of water for milling purposes, and are marked with a dash, ( — )
the above list does not include many small arroyas that course through
these sections.

REPORT,

The coast range of mountains, and its included valleys, which form
the principle subject of this report, extend from the 42nd paralel north
latitude to the southern boundary of the State. Their general features
present much more diversity of character than is usually to be found in
the eastern chain of mountains, which forms the Sierra Nevada ; from
the occurrence of a greater variety of rocks constituting their mass, and
the much greater area of covered by the sedimentary formations, the
principle of which are sandstones, interspersed occasionally with calca
reous rocks, and more rarely slates ; this latter class of rocks forming
but a small proportion of the sedimentary formations, of which later ex
tensive portions of the coast line of mountains is composed.

The eastern belt of the coast range presents a repulsive aspect to the
traveller as he approaches it from either hand, from its naked and bar
ren appearance, producing but little of forest growth in any part of it,
while those portions of the coast line of hills proper, are covered to a
great extent with forest trees, consisting principally of the redwood, pine,
and spruce, with groves of oak near their base, all of which are well
adapted to the wants of the settler and usually easy of access.

This peculiarity in the two principal ridges of this chain was general
for near three hundred miles of their course, the eastern ridge presenting
no traces of timber except here and there an isolated patch of the pine
on some one of its higher points ; and for miles in extent even low shrubs
are almost entirely absent,

Notwithstanding the barren aspect of the eastern belt of the coast '
mountains, it is not to be inferred that their slopes or valleys are unpro
ductive, for it is found to be otherwise, being covered with a luxuriant
growth of native grains and grasses, with herbaceous plants, affording
extensive pasturage for flocks and herds. The lower foothills of the
range, and the immediate banks of the small streams that meander
through them, afford a few scattering oaks and other trees, but not suffi
cient in extent to furnish more than a very small local demand, to so
extensive a population as the valley sections at the base of these hills
must in a few years require. The oak groves found on the plains are

12 [APPENDIX

not adapted to any other uses than that of fencing and for fuel. The
western or coast line of mountains must become the principal source of
supply, in lumber for building purposes, except that which may be ob
tained by importation.

The coast range consists of two principal and distinct lines of ridges
for a distance of nearly two hundred miles of their length ; these are
separated from each other by wide and long valleys that continue almost
uninterrupted through their whole course, and should be considered as
distinct ranges of one system both from their geographical position as re
lates to the mountains in which they are situated. The valleys have
recieved different names, as the Santa Clara and Salinas ; and these again
are subdivided and recieve local names even on the same line of plain ;
they can be considered strictly but one valley, the lineo f continuity be
ing broken by the interposition of a range of hills, not exceeding in
altitude three hundred feet, and even below these figures.

This division of the Salinas from the Santa Clara is caused by a low
spur putting in from the Gabilan range, in a direction nearly north-west.
Across the northern part of this spur the PajaroEiver, an inconsiderable
stream, holds its course, discharging its waters into the Bay of Monterey.
The extend and geographical position of these two valleys would seem to
warrant a different arrangement than that at present existing in reference
to the coast range ; as they form a line as distinct and clear in the sepa
ration of the two principal ridges, as the valleys Sacramento and San
Joaquin in the separation of the coast range on the west from the Sierra
Nevada on the east.

The division of the coast range proposed will be bounded as follows :
commencing at a, point due east of Monte Diablo on the valley San Joa
quin, the latter and the Tulare valley to form the east line to the inter
section of both ranges with the San Bernardino Mountains, near the thirty-
fifth degree north latitude, thence running west to a point that shall cut
the west base of this range, and lying on the north-western border of the
Salinas, thence north along the west border of the latter, and also the
west border of the valley Santa Clara to the south-east terminus of the bay
San Francisco, following the east coast of that bay to the point San Pablo.
This range inclusive to be denominated the Monte Diabolo, and all moun
tains to the west of these lines to be still termed the " Coast Mountains."
This division in the mountains now bearing the latter name, will become
the more necessary when it is understood that much difficulty now exists
in localizing phenomena and transactions that have from time to time
occurred, as well also as another distinctive feature which marks them,
viz : their relative age, the one being of comparative recent date to the
other. The term "Coast Eange" implies a line of mountains following
the coast only, but which, as it is used at the present time, includes a
chain whose eastern base is as far removed from the coast, as the foot
hills of the Sierra Nevada are from Bodega Bay on a line cutting through
the City of Sacramento to the ocean. This chain, it will be seen, is se
parated by broad and long valleys, as distinct in their characteristics^ as
the Sacramento and San Joaquin, while their length, including the bay
San Francisco, equals the latter and has nearly half its average breadth.
The geological and mineral characteristics of the two ranges are equally

Doc. No. 9.] 13

«r

as marked and distinct as their geographical position and vegetable
productions, while the courses which both pursue are widely variant,
forming an angle of thirty-six degrees in ninety-one miles. For local
convenience of description this division should be made, if for no other
reason.

A division, or rather a new arrangement, is to be introduced in rela
tion to the entire mountain chains that lie upon the west side of the con
tinent, which will give more uniformity and a much better classification
than that now existing. It is not proposed however to change local
names in the arrangement, but to name those parts of the mountains,
which, as yet, have received none, except " Sierras," as they are termed.
Through Mr. Blake, of the U. S. E. E. Survey, I am informed that it is
now proposed to term the entire chain of mountains, extending through
to the northern part of Oregon, and running south into lower California,
" Cordilleras or Western America," and all those portions south of the
thirty-fifth parallel of north latitude, [which, as yet, have received no
name,] are to be termed the " Peninsula range" in order to separate them
from the coast mountains with which they are now often confounded,
and again as often termed Sierra Nevada, by persons who have occasion
to describe them, or any part of them.

The terms "Sierra Nevada," and "Cascade Eange," will thus be re
tained as local names, with their boundaries the same as before. The coast
mountains will comprise the entire chain lying to the west of the above,
and which are found to have an age more recent than the tertiary rocks,
which rest upon them, and such local changes as may be necessary will
be applied, but so far only as will be required in order to elucidate any
peculiar characteristics they may possess.

This arrangement is one much needed, and is founded on strictly sci
entific principles, and this proposition of Mr. Blake will meet the uni
versal concurrence of the country, as it will reduce the mountain chains
of the western part of the continent, to a more perfect system than they
have heretofore possessed.

A more specific classification of these mountains has before been pro
posed by different persons, among them that of Lieut. Wilkes, who pro
posed the term of " California Eange of the Cascades;" for the Sierra
Nevada being but a continuation of the former, all of them heretofore
have been objectionable on the ground that old and established names
would be changed by the arrangement ; notwithstanding those names con
veyed erroneous impressions. No such objection can be urged against
the present proposition of the gentleman above named, as it affords a
convenience of arrangement not heretofore suggested or presented to the
public for their consideration. With these remarks on this part of our
subject, we will proceed to the examination of the chain termed the
Monte Diabolo Eange.

GEOLOGY OF THE MONTE DIABOLO EANGE.

This chain of mountains forms the south shore of the Straits Carquinez
and part of the bay of Suissun. The rocks bordering the bay and straits

14 [APPENDIX

are mostly a sandstone, which belongs to a similar range occurring on
the opposite shore. On the western flank of this portion of these moun
tains, or on the east shores of the bay San Pablo, and north part of San
Francisco, a range of sharp Peaks are seen ; their slopes are abrupt from
the summit for a considerable way down toward their base, and in the
latter part of winter and through the spring are covered with wild oats
and grasses.

For several miles these mountains are made up of trapean rocks,
'which have forced themselves through the sedimentary rocks, and are in
all respects similar to the volcanic series that has protruded through the
older and also more recent formations in the Sierra Nevada. These rocks
are cut through and disturbed by a suite of igneous rocks of still more
recent origin, causing material change in the structure of the rocks that
preceded them, both sedimentary and plutonic. Among the latter we
find the pitchstone and obsidian, showing conclusively that they belong
to that class known as recent volcanic rocks. These rocks may be con
veniently observed in some of the lower hills about two miles east of the
house of Victor Castro, in the County of Alameda. The more recent
volcanic rocks form the first summit of the high ridge east of the bay,
and the frequently isolated conical peaks to which they give rise, and
which are known among the native inhabitants as (Picaches) stretch to
the north for six miles, when they are replaced by the older trap
rocks, and followed by the softer sandstones, which form the smooth
rounded summits of the hills to the Bay San Pablo and Straits of Car-
quinez.

The sandstones on the shores present many marks of disturbance and
change, by the intrusion of the late igneous rocks, and it is not unfre-
quent to find fine threads of quartz ramifying through them in every
direction; when this is the case, or when they are in contact with
the more recent of the igneous group, their former structure is usu
ally found materially changed, a conchoidal fracture in these rocks is
often the result of this contact either in large or small masses.

There are considerable areas of the sandstone in these mountains, that
present little or no traces of change, subsequent to their deposition, ex
cept that of uplift • thus proving that they must have been deposited on
the trap rocks after the latter had become firm, and parted with their
heat : but where the sedimentary rocks are found in close proximity
with the later igneous rocks the change indeed in them is clear and de
cisive : thus demonstrating the fact that volcanic action has occurred at
a date long subsequent to the period in which these rocks were deposited,
and probably after their emergence above the surface of the sea, in which
they had their origin. It was found, in examining the sandstones lying
upon the older trapean rocks of this part of the range, that the fine
threads of quartz before noticed, gradually increased in dimensions as
they approximated the inferior strata of the sedimentary rocks, and
where the igneous rocks were exposed to view beneath them, in favor
able situations, they often exhibited true well and defined, though small
veins of quartz passing through them.

These general characteristics continue south untill a point nearly east
of the town of Oakland is obtained, and here the trapean group of
rocks are interrupted to a certain extent. East of this town we find the

Doc. No. 9.] 15

m

primitive rocks occurring, and an outcrop of serpentine makes its ap
pearance, together with some of its subordinate members, among which
the Shales and some of the cherty rocks appear. These are flanked to
the east with rocks of the trapean group, forming the high ridge in that
direction, and are surmounted with the fbssiliferous sandstones. The ser
pentine rocks of this district contain considerable quantities of chromic
iron, but its extent is not accurately known. South of Oakland to San
Antonio, the country is of the same character as that immediately pre
ceding it. The mountains were not examined, but the creek was fol
lowed four or five miles, and its bed showed nothing to indicate a change
in the structure of the country from which it has its rise, with the
exception, perhaps, that the sandstone pebbles exhibited no marks of
fossils.

These features were general for the entire distance to the San Leandro,
being about eight miles : but after crossing this stream, the fossiliferous
rocks become more fully developed and continue to gradually increase
to the arroyo of the Alameda. The sedimentary rocks of this district
rest on the older trap formations, with frequent small threads of quartz
passing through them, but no material change of structure was observed
in these at the points of contact. The sandstone of these hills is
much coarser in its texture than that forming the shores of the Bay
San Pablo and Straits Carquinez, and its fossils exceedingly fragile and
imperfect.

Crossing the Alameda and entering the hills in which the Mission of
San Jose is situated, a distance of four miles, no change in the general
character of the rocks is noticeable, with the exception that the sedimen
tary rocks have suffered more from disintegration than at any point
north of the arryo Alameda, and the contour of the country being such
as to retain a large part of the detritus of these rocks, the result has been
the production of a soil, throughout the hilly and rolling districts, of
almost unequalled richness and fertility.

Following the west side of the Central Range we pass into the
county Santa Clara, a short distance south of the Mission San Jose.
The sedimentary rocks containing fossils continue to cap the summit of
the ridge for the distance of twenty -five miles south of this point, all
of which appear to be of the same age as those above described. South
of the Hot Springs (a point defining the boundary between the counties
Alameda and Santa Clara) the trachytes, crop out in two or three locali
ties, leaving but little room for doubt that the more recent of the volcanic
rocks underlie this entire section. At the distance of sixteen miles south
of the Spring, the chlorite slate flanks the west base of the ridge, and at
short intervals along this distance fragments of these rocks are frequently
met ; on the Rancho del Palo this rock again occurs at a distance of three
miles east of San Jose, here it crops out on the hills three hundred feet
above the valley, and appears to have been much disturbed and broken
up ; immediately west of this an alluminous slate appears dipping south
west and corresponding to the inclination of the chlorites.

In the hills of this district there is considerable quantities of quartz,
some of which has proved auriferous.

Traveling parallel with the ridge and south of the Pueblo San Jose,
the fossiliferous rocks become less developed, and at the distance of

16 [APPENDIX

i

thirteen miles very few sandstones containing fossils were to be seen. In
the arroya Caoti the first specimens of scoriaceous lava were met with,
this induced a more critical examination of the mountains to the east of
the valley than would otherwise have been made. The hills were entered
a short distance south of Laguna Seca, and followed thence southerly
for eighteen miles. Small patches of fossiliferous rocks are sparingly
distributed over the route, the predominating rocks being igneous and
composed principally of trachytes and lavas ; from Laguna Seca an
almost continuous dike of the latter extends along the western base of
the ridge for a distance of near twenty miles.

As you approach the Eancho Cantine it becomes more cellular than
farther north at any point where it was observed. In the vicinity of
Grilroy's it has been used for milling purposes, to which it seems admirably
adapted, being unequalled in hardness to the best French Buhr. I saw
at Gilroy's three sets of these stones which have been in use at that place
for several years in flouring wheat. These stones are capable of being
split out to the diameter of four feet and the requisite thickness that may
be required for the uses of the mill.

The principal rocks forming the east ridge of the Monte Diablo range,
and continuing southeasterly from Gilroy's, are composed of the more
recent volcanic series, and are but a part of those above alluded to. At
the distance of eight miles from this town, the ridge attains an elevation
near three thousand feet, and shoots up into a series of jagged, conical
peaks, which maintain this character for sixteen miles south of San
Felipe; the pass known as "Pacheco Pass," leading from the Valley
Santa Clara to the San Joaquin, is situated among these latter hills and
near their northern terminus.

Nine miles northeast from San Filipe is the well known landmark
known as " Pacheco's Peak ;" it is visible for a long distance from the
east, west and south, but not from the north owing to the hills between
having a considerable altitude and their close proximity on the principle
line of travel ; it is formed of trachyte and scoriaceous lavas, and is evi
dently the remains of an extinct volcano.

The Santa Anna mountains stretch in a south-east direction from San
Felipe a distance of twelve miles, and from this point sink gradually into
an uneven ridge having an altitude varying from one thousand to fifteen
hundred feet, but far more rugged than its equivalent north of the
Alameda Creek. The section inclusive from the vicinty of Pacheco's to
the extreme southeast part of the Santa Anna mountains, has been one
of the grand centres of the more recent volcanic disturbances which has
imparted to the mountains their present contour ; the greatest amount of
local disturbance is confined within a line of distance comprising about
eight miles north and south, exerting a considerable elevatory force on
the sedimentary rocks of recent date to the west and south-west.

The disturbance among the latter rocks is manifested in a striking
manner on the south-east portion of the "Loma Muertas," (a range, of
hills extending from the south-east part of the Santa Clara Yalley across
its upper end, dividing this from the Yalley San Juan) which extends
also to the fossiliferous rocks near the Mission San Juan, they all
have a dip to the west, which is continuous for miles,

The Eancho Tres Pinos, eight miles south-west of Santa Anna, may

Doc. No. 9.] 17

be said to be the southern terminus of the Yalley Santa Clara, though
south of the "Loma Muertas " it is called San Juan; at this point it nar
rows to a canon and continues thus forty miles to the south-east ; after
passing the Tres Finos it becomes rough and irregular, though attaining
ho great altitude for most of this distance, and from the appearance of the
Canada beyond, obtained from an elevation of eight hundred feet, it is
probably connected with the Tulare plain some forty miles south, and
from its appearance the elevation must be very moderate, as no hills
were visible along the axis of the canon to obstruct the view to a horizon
beyond.

The stream that courses this Canada is termed San Benito as far south
as the Arroya los Muertas, and eight miles south of the Rancho Tres
Pinos, after which it takes the name of San Juan ; it discharges its
waters into the Pajaro fourteen miles north of the Eancho Santa Anna;
the latter river forming the boundary of the counties Santa Clara, Santa
Cruz and Monterey.

The pass Santa Anna is situated in the Monte Diablo Range and enters
these mountains from the west, two leagues south of the Tres Pinos, and
from the Canada San Benito ; it was extremely rocky so far as examined
though attaining no great altitude, the mean of its course was fifteen
degrees north of east. This canon appears to have formeol the banks of
an ancient stream, and it is not improbable that the San Joaquin might
have flowed through this section, and discharged its waters into the bay
of Monterey ; I did not pass through the entire length of the canon and
am therefore unable to form an opinion on this point that would be sat
isfactory in this particular. The features observed on which this suppo
sition is founded, are that a series of outliers, or rather narrow terraces
are traceable for nine or ten miles up the Canada, such as occur on streams
whose beds have been drained from successive elevations from subter
ranean forces. These peculiar features are not uncommon in the more
elevated portions of the Sierra Nevada or Coast Mountains, and in the
middle and northern parts of the former they may be traced for long-
distances.

The Monte Diablo Range is connected with the line of mountains
which separate the Tulare and Salinas Valleys ; and constitute in fact but
one range, having their terminus within the thirty-fourth parallel, when
they are intercepted by the San Bernardino mountains, which it appears
from the U. S. R. R. Survey, pursue a course nearly at right angles to
the trend of the former ; while the low mountains forming the east
border of the Salinas from the Mission San Miguel on the south to the
Pajaro River on the north, can be considered nothing but a spur of the
Monte Diablo Range.

The principle partis of this spur of granitic and other primitive rocks,
on which the tertiaries rest; the granite is first developed in and about
the Cinega del Grabilan, this mountain being made up for the most part
of these rocks ; at the next highest peak twelve miles south of the above
known as, the Chupedero, the granite .passes into a coarse sienite much
disintegrated and loose on the surface ; the sienite continues to the Canada
Solza a distance of six miles, beyond which it was not examined for
twenty miles. It is doubtful if the granite rocks extend to any consider
able distance beyond this localitv, as the general aspect of the country
3

18 [APPENDIX

changes materially after passing this point, and the magnesian rocks begin
to be gradually developed.

The mountains were again entered fourteen miles above the Canada
Solza, and followed for eleven miles, the magnesian rocks were met at
short intervals throughout the entire distance. Chlorite and talcose slates
with beds of impure serpentine occur, containing actinolite, and in the
ravines fragments of chromic iron ; at one locality this mineral was found
in considerable quantities. No chromic iron was found in place in any of
these rocks, but the detached masses in the ravines indicate deposits to a
considerable extent.

The Panoches were visible from this point and distant about seven miles,
bearing per compass south-east by east, and the entire range of hills inter
vening leads to the belief that the same class of rocks as those above
alluded to, compose the principal rock of this section. This opinion was
subsequently corroborated by the results of an exploring party from the
Mission San Juan, who were out in search of what had been supposed an
argentiferous vein, up the Canada of that San Juan, the ore brought in by
this company proved to be an excellent quality of the chromic mineral,
containing considerable quantities of the emerald nickel, which is far
more valuable than the mineral with which it is associated.

A line from tie Canada Solza carried east to the Arroya San Juan ter
minates at a point four miles north of a sandstone formation lying upon
the east declivity of these mountains which contains marine fossils ; those
that were sufficiently firm for examination were found to be of present
existing species of the Pacific Coast, consisting of Mytilus and Cytherea ;
in one part of these tertairy sandstones some fragments of Purpura were
found, which are identical with those on the Arroya Pescadero, county of
Santa Clara, and the litteral sea beaches on the Straits Carquinez. This
was the only deposit of sedimentary rocks found on this spur of the Monte
Diablo Eange, and points to a period remote, when the waters of the ocean
washed those shores, and furnishes corroborative testimony of the reces
sion of the sea from those places by uplift from volcanic agencies below
the surface.

On the west flank of the Gfabilan (which is the most prominent peak on
this spur) a bed of primitive limestone occurs, extending from the Canada
Yergeles on* the north nearly to the Sierra Chapadero on the south, a dis
tance of twelve miles ; it was observed on the lower hills of this part of
these mountains only, and at no elevation exceeding five hundred feet
above the level of the Salinas Plains.

At one locality these rocks have been cut through by two dikes of trap,
and also a heavy dike of quartz is found on its eastern edge, which runs
parallel with the course of the calcareous rocks ; the quartz has cut both
the granite and limestone, and thrown both to the west, it is heavily
charged with iron, and contains in addition the blue and green carbonate
of copper with a little gold. The limestone passes under the Salinas
Valley and has a considerable inclination in contact with the intrusive
veins above noted ; it contains silver and lead (Argentiferous Galena) in
small veins in several places. As the calcareous formation does not show
itself on the opposite side of the valley, opposite this locality, the pre
sumption is that it underlies the plain at a considerable depth, and should

Doc. No. 9.] 19

B

it carry those veins throughout which is found upon its surface it is not
improbable that valuable deposits of ores may be found within it

SALINAS VALLEY. •

This extensive plain will follow as next in order, in the description of
its general features, previous to the consideration of the Coast Mountains.

The valley is about ninety miles in length, and has a varying breadth
from eight to fourteen miles ; it is> situated between the Coast Mountains
and those denominated the Monte Diablo Eange, and is bounded on the
east by that spur of this range in which the Grabilan is situated.

The Salinas River flows through this plain from the Cadesal Pass in
which it has its rise, to the bay of Monterey. The stream for fifty miles
of its course follows the western margin of the valley, and crosses the
plain for the first time eight miles south-east of the Mission Solidad,
after which it becomes more irregular. Three observations were taken
at different points, by which it was estimated that the river had a fall of
eighteen inches in one and three-fourths of a mile for seventy miles of
its course. The bed of the stream is composed of a loose micaceous
sand, derived from the granite rocks to the east, and also from the
tertiary rocks on its western border, the latter, however, do not enter
largely into its composition.

The plain of the Salinas consists of three terraces running through
nearly its entire length, thus making three different positions which the
river ha*s occupied since the formation of the valley, and its recession
from the eastern to its western border wrhere it at present holds its course.
These terraces are very regular in their general outline, and impart to
the mind an idea that the plain has a uniform grade for its entire breadth,
when the point viewed is one or two miles distant. Commencing on the
western side of the valley, the lower terrace is found to occupy a breadth
of about four miles, and is composed of a rich alluvium ; at this point
the second terrace rises abruptly to the height of eleven feet, its average
width being nearly that of the former ; this is also composed of a similar
soil as the first, though not in so fine a state of disintegration, or con
taining so large an amount of vegetable mould. Both terraces support
a dense growth of indigenous grasses and plants, thus furnishing an
abundant supply of pasturage for stock of all kinds.

The third and upper terrace rises nearly as abrupt as the second, and
has a varying breadth from one to six miles, it is more irregular upon
its surface than the two former, and attains a higher grading as it ap
proaches the hills to the east ; the irregularities of the surface are not
sufficient to produce any sensible effect in destroying that uniformity
which a view of four miles will give on any part of the plain, and would
not be noticeable except in passing over it.

South of the Alisal Ranch, and situated on this upper terrace, are a
series of little elevations that continue at intervals of half a mile or a
mile through a distance of twenty-seven miles, on the eastern side of
the valley. They are symmetrical in form and rise on every side to
heights varying from six to ten feet above the level on which they stand ;
their surfac^ is smooth and even, covering an area from fifty to one

20 [APPENDIX

hundred yards square. They appear to be composed of the valley and
neither rocks or small stones were to be found on any part of them.
The first impression received by the traveler on coming up to them, is
that they were the work of art, perhaps thrown up by the aborigines to
secure themselves from -inundation ; but when we consider their extent
and number, it will be found rather inconsistent with the habits of these
people to erect works of this extent ; there are no traditions among the
Indian's of this part of the country respecting the origin of these singu
larly formed hills.

The causes of their production must remain a secret which future
time alone, and the art of man, will eventually unravel. Their irregu
lar dispersion and general uniformity of character indicates an origin
from natural causes than otherwise, though it must be confessed that the
agents that are active in producing them are not very apparent.

The upper terrace or " Mesa " of the Salinas, exhibits more distinctly
the sources from which the superficial covering of the plain has been
derived ; the soil is harsh and gravelly, and retains moisture but a short
time after the rains cease ; it much resembles the soils derived from the
granitic rocks of some parts of the mining counties ; but notwithstand
ing the sterile features of this "Mesa," it produces the wild oat in suffi
cient abundance to furnish extensive grazing land, and in the "Encinals"
the natural crop is heavy.

The slopes of the hills on the eastern side produce the same grain,
but here it is frequently replaced by the indigenious grasses ; these latter
do not become so general until after passing above the limestone range,
and these rocks seem to favor in an eminent degree the growth of the
cereal to that of the grasses in this section and south beyond the Chupe-
dero ; beyond this the grasses form the principle covering of the hills on
the east side of the plain to the southern extremity of the range.

The Salinas has an inclination of eight degrees' in twelve miles trans
versely to its course. The line was projected from the Chupedero and
carried through the Carmel Mountains to the sea, and connected with
another line which was carried through the Monte Diablo Eange and
Canada San Juan at a distance of two miles south of Los Muertas, there
by obtaining a sectional profile from the western edge of the San Joaquin
to the ocean.

The section thus formed will give the following series, and the order
in which they occur. First, alluvium of the San Joaquin, tertiary
sandstone containing no fossils, and resting on trachytes; 1200 feet
on east ridge, the trap rocks are found, same altitude on west ridge,
porous and compact lavas, on the west slope 400 feet above the level of
the Arroya San Juan, mountain limestone. Yalley .half a mile in
breadth flanked by calcareous rocks, resting on granite, 1600 feet through
to the Chupedero granitic and trapean rocks, 400 feet above Salinas
"Valley crystatine limestone, valley twelve miles in breadth, ascend one
high plateau of sixty -four feet of gravelly alluvium, thence over a high
ridge trapean rocks, which are followed by coarse granitic rocks to the
sea. The highest ridge is the granitic mountains toward the ocean, and
the highest point crossed 2900 feet.

Doc. No. 9.] 21

FKOM POINT PIISTOS TO THE NACISMIENTO EIVEK.

The Coast Mountains extending from Point Pinos, Monterey, to the
northern line of Luis Obispo are mostly primitive ; the character of the
rocks which form the principle basis of these mountains are best observ
ed about Point Pinos and the town of Monterey ; they -are composed of
a coarse-grained but apparently firm granite, having a bluish grey color
where the solid masses have been recently fractured. In some places
this granite contains imbedded translucent crystals of felspar, (Adularia)
in others it is close grained, and contains but little mica, its disintegra
tion forming a fine white sand but little discolored by iron, and from its
brilliancy below the surface of the ocean, produces a most pleasing effect
on its waters at considerable distance from the shore. The light-house
at Point Pinos is constructed of this rock, and from the appearance of
the stone when properly dressed, it is highly probable that if the ledges
were properly opened, a good material for building purposes may be ob
tained and in sufficient quantities to supply all the local demands of this
country.

The granite shows itself as an underlying rock for four miles into the
interior, from the coast, where it becomes covered with the debris of the
sedementary rocks resting upon it and alluvium, but there is but little
difficulty in tracing its course for forty-five miles easterly of Monterey ;
it becomes more largely developed after crossing the Carmello and enter
ing the mountains on its southern side.

The trend of the Coast Mountains south of Monterey for fifty miles is
south 50 degrees east, while the strike of the granite rocks is at an angle
of nearly 18 degrees to the line of trend, or in other words cutting the
course of the ridge at an angle of eighteen degrees. The granite rocks
at Point Pinos are of the same series as those occurring in the vicinity
of the Eancho Piojo, and south of the Estella, thirty miles distant from
the latter in a southerly direction ; the texture of these rocks in these
southern localities is more compact than in the vicinity of Monterey, and
in some cases are hornblendic in their character. On the east the granite
is flanked by an extensive group of the Serpentine formations, which
continue south as far as the Mission San Antonio ; they constitute the
principle part of a ridge running parallel with the granite, and situated
between the latter and the Salinas Valley. The country over which the
magnesian rocks predominate is easily distinguished from that in which
granitic or trapean group is found, by the vegetation incident to both —
the serpentine hills being generally destitute of the larger forest trees,
and covered with a thick " Chamisal" and stunted varieties of the oak ;
this peculiarity of these hills is very striking, and cannot fail to arrest
the attention of the traveler, either among the Coast Mountains or Sierra
Nevada, in passing over them. The talcose and chlorits slates of these
mountains were found to be auriferous in several localities, and mining
to a considerable extent was conducted in some parts of these mountains
during the past summer.

The magnesian rocks cross the Nacismiento Eiver fourteen miles above
its junction with the Salinas ; on the banks of this stream they appear
in the form of massive Serpentine, but assume a schistose structure three

22 [APPENDIX

miles beyond to the south, and at the distance of six miles the chlorite
slates abound. These mountains were not followed beyond this point to
the south, but it became evident that the trapean rocks prevailed at the
distance of ten or twelve miles farther on, the sharp outline of the higher
hills corresponding with those of a similar character observed in other
localities.

To the south-east and south-west the mountains were less rugged in
their appearance, a considerable extent of a white micaceous granite was
found, OR which detached masses of sandstone were met with, containing
marine shells, also a conglomerate apparently of the same age. The fos-
siliferous rocks were much disintegrated, anci their fossils very imperfect;
the species observed were Pectinea and Terredina, and evidently were of
the same age as those in the immediate vicinity of Monte Diablo ; all the
other shells were so imperfect that nothing reliable was to be obtained
from their examination, being merely fragmentary in their character.

To return again to the northern part of this range of mountains, and
in the vicinity of Monterey, we shall find that the fossiliferous sandstones
of this district do not compare in any degree with those above noticed,
but, to the contrary, all of the marine fossils of the northern part of the
range are found to differ in their character and relative age. On the
Carmello this interesting fact may be conveniently observed ; the fossils
are found in an argilaceous sandstone, about nine feet in thickness, and
rests alike on both serpentine and granitic, and has a dip of seven de
grees west. It is found at intervals through eleven miles of distance on
a course east southeast, and for a breadth of about four miles ; this for
mation, which must be regarded as the Post Pliocene of this country con
tains imbeded fossils of the genus cancer, with' casts of Cytherea, mactra
and tellina, all of living species in the adjoining Bay and Bay of Mon
terey.

From the delicacy of the preservation of these small animals, and the
character of the rock in which they are imbeded, it appears evident that
it must have been deposited in still water, and was probably an estero
into which the tide ebbed and flowed regularly, with sufficient protec
tion to break the violence of the surf upon the coast. After its deposi
tion it had been gradually elevated above the surface of the waters, and
subsequently tilted from its horizontal position by the intrusion of igne
ous rocks in its vicinity.

The cause of its disturbance and inclination is found in the intrusion
of a trapean dike which has cut through the granite and clay state, which
latter passes into a micaceous schist, and near the contact of the igneous
intrusion small but imperfect garnets are found imbeded. The fossilife
rous rocks are regularly stratified, and cleave easily in one direction ;
they are much twisted and contorted nearest the points at which the tra
pean mass broke through, but become much less curved as the distance
increases from that centre. A clay of fine texture and creamy color is
found resting on the argilaceous sandstone, and covers a large extent of
country stretching to the east of Monterey as far as the Toro Hills ; this
clay is composed almost exclusively of infusoria, apparently of marine
origin ; five distinct species have been observed, four of which are dis
coid. It is probable that they have been described either by Professor
Bayley, of W est Point, or Ehrenberg, as both these gentlemen have had

Doc. No. 9.] 23

opportunities for the examination of the infusorial formations of this
State — and until access may be had to their descriptions, it will be im-

gossible to determine this fact. Specimens have been secured for the
tate collection, and will be described at the earliest opportunity.

My route next followed a northeast direction across the Toro Hills
and Canada ; the first range of high hills on the north side of the Car-
mello, and which divide the Toro from the Carmel valley, have an alti
tude of about seven hundred feet ; they are composed of a coarse sand
stone, containing a few indistinct impressions of shells of marine species ;
an out-crop of trap was observed among the latter rocks, flanked by
granite of the same specific character as that found at Point Pinos, and
may be seen four miles southwest of the Toro Eanch. On the south
side of the valley an extensive bed of calcareous travertine occurs, and
also a brecia of the same character, they cover about one mile of area;
no limestone rocks were found in situ in. this vicinity ; the travertine
here observed, evidently had its origin from springs highly charged with
calcareous matter, and which were undoubtedly formed in the limestone
described on the east side of the Salinas valley, and which dip under the
same as described in the preceding pages. From the intrusion of the
more recent volcanic rocks in the immediate vicinity of those springs, it
is probable they were diverted into another channel, and thus ceased to
flow in places in which the calcareous tula is now found. Similar springs
now exist a short distance from Santa Cruz, around which the calcareous
deposits are very extensive.

Crossing the Toro Yalley or Canada, and following the course of the
bay of Monterey, there is little else to be seen than the tertiary rocks
for fifty miles, and extending easterly in elevated plateaus and hills for
eighteen miles from the coast ; among the Chamisal hills frequent intru
sions of trapean rocks are met, and in nearly every case where this occurs
the granite is also seen broken through by the same igneous intrusions.
The sandstone is generally of a buff colour, and yellow-brown, having a
greater or less abundance of fossils, in some instances, firm and compact,
and again loose and friable ; it is almost continuous in a northwest direc
tion, being broken through only by small streams, and is found north
of the mission of Santa Cruz, from whence it gradually narrows out,
being found immediately on the coast at the base of the mountains.

Beyond this point the principal rocks on the coast are primitive and
volcanic, forming sharp, high hills and low mountains with a bold coast
line.

SANTA CKUZ MOUNTAINS.

These mountains approach the coast a short distance northwest of the
Mission and town of Santa Cruz. They extend from the head of the
Santa Clara Yalley and Pajaro river to Mount Bruno and Presidio Point
west of the city of San Francisco; they are separated from the moan-
tain forming the coast line to the northern terminus of the State, by the
Golden Gate or entrance to the bay of San Francisco. The greatest
altitude attained in these mountains, is the Black Hill, (Loma Prieto or

24 [APPENDIX

Umhumin,) the latter being the original Indian name applied to this
hill.

The entire range is composed, principally of the primitive rocks, among
which the serpentine formations play an important part ; this suite was
traced from near the Rancho La Brae on both flanks of the mountains,
to the Francisquito on the east side, and Anno Nuevo on the west, and
belong to ths same series as those occuring at Point Lobos and the Pre
sidio. In several instances throughout the range, the trapean rocks have
broken through, as detailed of the mountains south of Monterey.

On the west flank of these mountains, and in the central and northern
parts of the .County of Santa Cruz, there are views of quartz cutting
through the serpentine and other rocks in other places ; and is particu
larly observable on the upper portions of the arroyas Sogell, Syant, and
Bio San Augustine. The general rule heretofore laid down respecting
the contact of these two groups of rocks in this country is found good
in the present case. " That when the two series are found in contact,
either as dikes of great length, or smaller views, one, or both is always
auriferous." And such has proved to be the fact in the case before us ;
from all appearances the quartz has been one of the most recent disturb
ing agents here, as well as elsewhere.

The mineral characteristics of these mountains will be noticed more in
detail when speaking of that subject hereafter.

The south-east spur of these mountains terminates at the Pajaro River,
thirty-six miles east of Santa Cruz, and fourteen from Watson ville. On
the southern extremity are found - extensive beds of fossils finely pre
served. The arroyo Peseadero and la Brae cut their way through these
hills, and their beds abound with boulders containing these organic re
mains. The fossil sandstone at this point rests on the Serpentine and
trapean intrusions, being changed in its texture near the" points of contact
with the latter rocks. . On these streams are to be found several bitumi
nous springs, which discharge large quantities of the fluid bitumen, at
times covering several acres of ground. The occurrence of these springs
has led to the belief that bituminous coal existed in this section, such, I
think, is not the fact in the present case, though it might be a tenable sup
position in parts of the world where coal measures exist, or where any of
the superior groups of the secondary rocks may be found.

The position of these springs, geologically considered, would render it
impossible for coal to abound, as -they make their appearance among a
mass of rocks having an igneous origin, where not even a lignite is likely
tp exist. There is but a possibility that the tertiary rocks in the vicinity
may overlie some members of the secondary group, from which these
springs have their origin, but no outcrop or other indications are to be
found which will warrant such a conclusion. There is every evidence
that the tertiaries above rest on the primitive and volcanic rocks with no
intermediate series between them. The origin of bituminous springs is
but little understood ; in the present state of our knowledge they are
found to arise from the newer as well as the older formations, and alone
are not reliable evidences of the existence of coal, except when found
among. the carbouiferou-s rocks.

Following the east flank of the Santa Cruz mountains, we find small
patches of the tertiary sandstones among the lower portions' of the hills,

Doc. No. 9.J 25

0

from La Brae to the Llagos Creek ; after which they are not again seen
for several miles. Near the last named creek, the more recent volcanic
rocks make their appearance and continue, at short intervals, for sixteen
miles, when we again pass into the primitive formations, which become
more metaliferous and particularly in the region about New Almaden in
the county of Santa Clara,

North of Almaden, and near the Los Gatos Creek, a bed of recent con
glomerate, loose and friable in texture, is found occupying an elevation of
four hundred feet above the level of the valley, and having a thickness of
about seventy feet, it occurs on both sides of the Los Gatos, and is found,
at short intervals, for ten miles, crossing Camels Creek and following its
banks for two or three miles ; it has been considerably disturbed and large
masses have been thrown down. West of McCartyville the mountain
limestone occurs in large masses and is continuous for several miles to the
west, north and north-west. Extensive operations are now conducted in
the manufacture of lime for the market, for which purpose it is admirably
adapted. This group of calcareous rocks cannot be less than thirty miles
in length from east to west, and has a strike transverse to the line of the
mountain range, appearing on the coast at Santa Cruz, at this point it is
highly crystaline. These rocks extend north of Camel's Creek about
four miles ; and a calcareous rock of an amorphous character is found as
far north as Sanchez Eanch, in the County of San Francisco. The west
flank of the mountains, lying between the San Mateo and a point nearly
west of Mission Dolores, was not examined personally, but from the spe
cimens of rocks from that section, which I have seen, their geological cha
racters appear identical with the rocks at the Presidio, which are mostly
serpentine.

On Presidio point are to be found beds of a Jaspery rock having a
riband-like appearance, and colors from a greenish hue through red-
brown to red and yellow ; this rock has been considered by Mr. Dana as
a variety of the Prasoid rocks, and as he says — "the graduation of prase
into jaspery rocks exhibits a close relation of both." These transitions
were met with in other parts of the country over which he had travelled.
In relation to this subject he further says — "From the transitions that
occur, it also appears that the jasper and prase rocks are closely connected
with the talcose series, and that the translucent jasper and bloodstones of
this section are only different varieties of its condition." The jaspery
rocks of San Francisco are worthy of description ; the green, red and
yellow varieties occur in the same vicinity, they form a series of layers
averaging two inches in thickness, and varying from half an inch to four
inches ; the layers are distinct and separted by open seams, and on the
front of bluffs or ledges the rock has a riband-like appearance, the layers
coalesce and sub-divide without regularity though uniformly parallel,
they are often twisted, and thus change at short intervals from a vertical
position to a dip of twenty degrees."

The colors red and yellow are often mingled and sometimes appear as
parallel bands ; in some instances, the surface is red while the rock is
yellow beneath, this may have resulted from the burning of a tree on the
spot, for by heat the yellow varieties readily change to red ; a small spe
cimen had an agate-like structure as though formed from an aqueous
solution.
4

26 [APPENDIX

An impure talcose rock occurs at Point Lobos, which extends east for
one and a half miles. The works of the "Mountain Lake Water Com
pany" have been carried through a portion of these rocks, and the masses
of serpentine that have been elevated to the surface from the depth of
one hundred and sixty feet have exhibited an interesting feature in the
history of these rocks. It was found, on examination, that the strong
odor given off from these stones was composed of free Bromine and
Iodine ; it is very persistent, and specimens which have been exposed
to the air for nearly three months have not lost their odor.

From the Presidio on the bluffs near the bay, slates and sandstones
are found in a much disturbed condition from intrusions of trap ; the
strata are much contorted and twisted, and tilted in every direction, the
inclination varying fron five degrees to vertically in very short distances.
These rocks, as yet, have presented no fossils in the immediate vicinity
of the city, but pass into tertiary sandstone, containing organinc remains
one mile west of Montgomery Street, San Francisco, where they may be
found forming the west point of the North Beach.

South of the city and near Rincon Point, the trachytes appear with
small veins of quartz running through them and the adjoining slates ;
the latter having suffered considerable change in structure near the point
-of contact with the igneous rocks. Traces of carbonate of copper are
observable in this vicinity.

Crossing the Bay of San Francisco from Presidio Point, the rocks on
the Saucelito side correspond with the primitive formations above de
scribed. The serpentine series continue for several miles up the bay,
varying in its mineral characters at short distances. At San Quentin
the rocks are schistose, and half a mile beyond, again passes into a mas
sive form, and contains actinolite in fan-like groups of crystals ; a mile
beyond this, the rock becomes hornblendic, and thence gradually pas
ses into a trap formation, containing well defined crystals of the latter
mineral.

On reaching the northern shores of the Bay San Pablo the hills to the
north appeared rugged and conical, indicating a preponderance of the
volcanic rocks.

The route traveled next, lay through the Counties of Solano and
Napa. It has been before remarked that the sand-stone on one side of
the Straits Carquinez was identical with that on the other, and the line
of dip in both will be found to correspond. These rocks are permeated
by minute threads of quartz, and contain considerable quantities of mag
netic sand ; in some cases the quartz viens acquire a thickness of one or
two inches, and have in several instances been found to contain gold,
while the sand-stone itself possessed this character in a limited degree ;
it is contained mechanically in these latter rocks, and in general will be
found as a local deposit only. Small quantities of this metal have been
found in the stone used for building in San Francisco, which were taken
from the quarries in the vicinity of Benecia. It is doubtful whether
these rocks would ever warrant mining explorations, except in those
locations where the quartz has intruded to a considerable extent. In
this case they would prove of sufficient value probably, for mining in
the rocks below the sand-stope, and would be governed by the same

Doc. No. 9.] 27

natural laws that are found to prevail in other parts of the country in
relation to auriferous veins.

These sand-stones are found to extend into the interior in a northwest
direction, a distance of about eight [miles, when they are succeeded by
volcanic rocks of recent date for thirty miles in the same direction ; the
points of contact in the igneous and sedimentary rocks exhibit distinct
and striking marks of change in structure among the latter in many
places, and it is not uncommon to find trachytic injections into the
sand-stone along the line of coast on the bay and straits.

Where these veins are large, the sandstone in contact is often nearly
as hard as the trepan rockf' itself, a true conchodial fracture, having q_uite
sharp or roughened edges, with a semi-earthy surface, is the result of
this metamorphosis. Above this sandstone and resting directly upon it,
is a littoral sea-beach, having an elevation of about thirty feet above
high tides, and extending for several miles along the coast of the bay.
It is composed of fragmentary and entire shells, mixed with a little sand
and clay ; its thickness varies from one to three feet. Its position is im
mediately below the alluvium.

It forms a distant white line along the bay coast of San Pablo on its
north side for eight miles, and may be seen at the town of Benicia in
the vicinity of the sandstone quarries at that place. The shells of which
this beach is composed consist of a small species of ostrea, purpura, and
other small shells now inhabiting these waters. The elevation of this
beach points to a period comparatively recent, when subterranean forces
were in operation in elevating the lands adjoining the coasts and bays,
which part of our subject will be considered more in detail when re
viewing the geological changes which have occurred in the different por
tions of the coast-line followed.

Among the sandstones of this region is a bed of limestone having an
average thickness of two feet ; it is found one mile north of the town.
This limestone was traced in a northeast direction for two miles, and is
probably the same range as observed by Mr. Tyson on the east side of
the hills on Suisun Bay.

The foot of the ridge lying between Suisun and Napa Valleys, was
followed for twenty miles. At this distance from the bays it attains an
altitude of about twelve hundred feet. The rocks composing this ridge
are mostly volcanic, with sandstone on their eastern flanks dipping east
towards the Sacramento Valley ; a few very imperfect casts of marine
shells were observed, but none sufficiently perfect for preservation.

The ridge on the west border of Napa Valley presents much the same
characteristics as those on the east. These two ridges unite about eight
een miles north of Napa City, at which place they become extremely
rugged and elevated.

The highest and most conspicuous peak in this range is Mount Helen ;
its sharply defined outline and truncated summit shows most conclusive
ly its volcanic origin. A section cutting Napa Valley nine miles south
of the town was made, and carried across the Sacramento Valley to the
foot-hills on its eastern side, by which the grade of both valleys and the
altitude of the hills were obtained.

Before reviewing the geological changes that have occurred in the
Sierra Nevada, Monte Diablo and Coast Mountains, a view of that part

28 APPENDIX

of the great basin separating the Coast Mountains from the Sierras will
be given ; and in speaking of the Sacramento Valley, that of the San
Joaquin will also be included, and the physical characters of both brief
ly explained.

STKUCTUKE OF THE VALLEYS OF SACKAMENTO AND

SAN JOAQUIN.

These valleys forma "single geographical formation,"* stretching
from the terminal spurs of the Cascade Mountains at the north, to the
junction of the Sierra Nevada with the southern terminus of the Monte
Diablo range with the thirty -fourth parallel of north latitude. The
length of the valley is about three hundred arid eighty miles in length
on an air line, with a breadth of fifty miles at its widest point.

The general appearance of the valley is that of an extended plain
composed of alluvium, and this opinion would obtain in the mind of
any person whose line of travel should lead him over the lower terra
ces of the plain, or what is denominated its bottom lands. It is only
by making a transverse section of this plain that we should be able to
arrive at any correct conclusions of its structure, and peculiarities of its
formation ; by pursuing this course, very distinctive and marked fea
tures are observable of different periods of elevation to which this por
tion of the country has been subjected subsequent to its emergence
above the level of the sea.

To arrive at a correct understanding of the formation of the " Cali
fornia Basin, "f we must first observe the rocks which form its borders,
their character, position and relative age ; and in doing this it will be
necessary to pass beyond either of its margins to ascertain the facts on
which an opinion may be founded.

On the east side of the basin and at the distance of fourteen miles from
its border, we find the first out-crop of the primitive rocks, (granite) on
hills attaining an elevation of about one thousand feet above the sea.
Resting upon this, we find detached masses of sand-stone, which increase
to a well defined formation a few miles to the west ; immediately below
the latter a bed of slate makes its appearance, having a dip varying from
thirty degrees to nearly a vertical position, but as the lower hills are ap
proached, the inclination of these rocks become much less. Below the
slate, a conglomerate having an argelaceous cement is found, firm in its
texture, with a dip corresponding to the other rocks with which it is
associated ; the pebbles composing the conglomerate are quartz, jasper,
granite and trap ; at times this rock is highly ferruginous. The compo
nents of the rock are made up from rocks* found in the mountains to the
east, and must have been formed subsequent to the appearance of the older
trapean formations of this part of the country.

Succeeding the conglomerate,^ which by way of distinction, we will
denominate Eocene, another bed of fissile cla}^ slate and aluminous clay

* Col. J. C. Fremont.

f Being similar to the London and Paris Basins, this name will be adopted.
\ This suite of rocks are often confounded with another group, of the same character which
appear of more recent date, and are found south of Consumnes river only.

Doc. No. 9.]

29

occurs, having a thickness of about one hundred feet ; these rocks com
port in position with the other sedimentary rocks above them, and are
found resting directly on the granite, and other igneous rocks far into
the interior ; in the lower hills their structure is fissile, cleaving with
ease over considerable surfaces, while in the eastern parts of the moun
tains they have often acquired a crystaliiie structure from contact with
other and more recent volcanic rocks, and such as have broken through
and disturbed the primitive formation.

On the western side of the valley or basin, the series do not follow in
precisely the same order as occurs on the east ; the sandstone and slate
of the same age is found, but the conglomerate is wanting ; if it exists,
it is completely obscured from view, except on the west slope of the
coast mountains towards the sea, and its occurrence there is a reason for
the supposition that it does exist below the other stratified rocks on their
eastern slope. Above all the others, the miocene rocks are found dis
turbed and cut through by the recent volcanic intrusions of that period.

The following then will be the arrangement of the rocks from below
upward :

EAST OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER,

Primary Rocks.

Sedimentary.

I

Granite.

Slates.

Conglomerate.
Slates.
Sandstone.

WEST OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER,
Primary Rocks. Granite.

Slates.

Uncertain. Conglomerate.

Sedimentary. Sandstone, Eocene.
Sandstone Miocene.
Recent volcanic cuting the latter.

"With this arrangement of the stratified rocks which pass under the
California Basin, it is obvious, that the waters flowing at the line of
junction between the sandstone and the slate-rocks below them, muss
pass under the sides and central parts of the valley, varying in depth at
the distance from either of its borders increases.

It must be remembered that the dip of the sedimentary rocks on
which the alluvium of the valley reposes, will increase or diminish the
distance that may be necessary to bore for obtaining water, as the incli
nation of these rocks is greater or less ; and with the view to demonstrate
if possible, (or at least approximately) the depth that it might be neces
sary to sink in order to obtain a plentiful supply of water for agricul
ture or other purposes, an examination of both borders of the basin was
made of fifty miles in length, and the mean of all the dips taken.

It was found by measurement that the surface of the basin rises at
the average rate of six feet per mile from the river to either of its bor
ders. Taking the grade of the surface with the lowest average dip of
the rocks where they pass under it, (being equal to twelve degrees,) and
assuming that the sedimentary rocks decrease in inclination, as the dis
tance increases, which is probably the case, it will be found necessary to

30

[APPENDIX

reach, the depth of 775 feet at the City of Sacramento, in order to obtain
a permanent supply of water.

This presumytion is based upon the fact that a constant source does
not exist above the conglomerate, and this point is selected more for the
purpose of exhibiting the greatest probable depth at which a permanent
supply of water wiuld be found ; the probabilities of obtaining water at
much less depths is strong, and amounts to almost a certainty, that water
would be found immediately below the sandstone, and above the first
slates ; in that case the depth would be diminished about two hundred
and fifty feet.

If a correct idea of the inclination of the sedimentary rocks is pre
sented in the diagram, we shall have the following depths at different
distances from the centre of the basin, on both sides.

ON THE WEST SIDE OF TPIE RIVER, j ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE RIVER.

11 miles, 700 feet.

15 " 650 "

22 " ..550 "

Sacramento City, 775 feet.

12 miles, 700 "

17 " 650 "

20 " ..625 "

At the distance of twenty miles the rolling hills are entered in which
springs usually abound.

The rocks on both sides of the valley are arranged in the order in
which they occur, as observed by the outcrop.

Sandstone,

EOCENE,

Fosil Sandstone,

Trap,

Granite,

Sandstones and upper Slates,
Conglomerate, EOCENE.
Lower clay Slates.
Granite.

These rocks included within the Eocene lines are classed by Mr. Dana,
as the early sandstone, slates, and conglomerates, to distinguish them
from the more recent tertiaries among the Coast Mountains.

The geological structure of this basin was noticed by Mr. Tyson in
1849. He examined it with a view to ascertain whether a deposit of
coal might not exist below the surface; and also whether its structure
would indicate the means of supplying water for agricultural and me
chanical purposes.

In regard to the first question he says : " The first query is answered
by the fact of finding the comparatively recent strata of a formation, not
older tjaan the eocene and miocene periods, resting immediately on the met-
amorphic or hypogene rocks of ancient origin, the remaining members
with all the sedimentary rocks of older date being entirely wanting,
and the the coal formation, which belongs to the lower of the second
ary series." A coal formation under the basin is therefore out of the

Doc. No. 9.] 31

•»

question, unless deeply seated, and entirely covered, edges and all, by
the sedimentary rocks above noticed^

The character of the soil in many parts of this valley will render it
of little importance as an agricultural district, unless water in ample
quantities for irrigation can be obtained. (These remarks apply partic
ularly to the upper terrace of the valley on each side of the river.) And
we hope that attention may be called to this very important subject of
making the extensive areas of the arid districts of the basin available
for market and agricultural purposes."

Experience has demonstrated the almost certainty of obtaining water
and in sufficient quantities for agricultural and other purposes, in all val
leys resting upon sedimentary formations and having a basin-shaped
structure, and where the different beds have a degree of uniformity or
regularity in their position, and are of a texture that will admit the free
percolation of water through the superior beds and sufficiently firm to
prevent its escape in those below.

These conditions are all fulfilled in the basin of the Sacramento, and
from the united testimony of different observers, we have ample evi
dence that the sedimentary formations of one side are the same as those
upon the other, with the exception, perhaps, of the conglomerate.

The absence of the conglomerate on the west side of the basin, will
not affect the result of obtaining water by the means proposed. The
clays and clay-slate, below the sandstone, appear on both sides and are
sufficiently impervious and firm to prevent the escape of any water that
may rest upon them.*"

EEYIEW OF THE GEOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE COAST
MOUNTAINS AND MONTE DIABLO EANGE.

Having briefly detailed the more general characteristics of the geology
of the above mountains, it will become necessary to review in a mea
sure the geological changes that have been instrumental in producing
the peculiar features noticed in the preceeding pages ; in doing this the
same lines will be followed as in the outset.

Starting from the Straits of Carquinez, it has been stated that the
rocks forming the borders of those Straits and part of the adjoining
bays, were composed of a recent sandstone ; in following up these in a
southerly direction for a few miles, we find the sedimentary rocks thin-
ing out, and are succeeded by high hills and low mountains of volcanic
rocks, composed of trochytes and other intrusive rocks of recent date.
'These are followed by the primitive rocks, composed of the older trap,
in the vicinity of Oakland, consist in a great measure of serpen
tine.

The latter rocks form the western side of this part of the

* Since October last, there have been three Artesian borings, carried to depths within one
hundred feet, on the valley of Santa Clara, and in the vicinity of San Jose. The result of
each has been successful, and a head of water from four to nine feet has been obtained.
These indications of water so near the surface and in such quantities, will much enhance the
value ot agricultural land throughout this valley and render available much that would
otherwise have laid unocupied and unimproved for years.

32 [APPENDIX

Diablo Range for thirty-five miles, where a district of the recent volcanic
rocks is again entered, which continue to the head of the Canada San
Benito and San Juan, for a distance of about eighty miles.

Re turning 'on the Grabilan spur of these mountains, and which form
the eastern boundary of the Salinas Plains, the primitive rocks are met
with for twenty-eight miles, flank^il on the east by the recent igneous
rocks of the same age as those appearing at the Santa Anna peaks,
twelve miles to the east ; (during one of the convulsions that agitated this
part of the country, about four hundred feet of the Galiban Peak, on
its northeast side, was fractured and thrown down into a deep ravine
at its base,) intrusive dikes have had the effect to change the sedi
mentary rocks when found in contact with the same.

In the Coast Mountains to the west, the granite and serpentine series
are. predominant, and on these rest the sedimentary rocks, of early and
recent date, unchanged generally, except in local position.

Crossing the Pajaro Valley and entering the Santa Cruz Mountains,
the main ridge is composed of the granite and serpentine rocks on which
rest the fossififerous formations as those above mentioned. The primi
tive series extend north into the County of San Francisco, but unlike
the formations in the County of Santa Cruz ; no tertiaries, containing
fossils, are to be found, except in the sandstone forming the point to the
west of the North Beach, and here the Pholas and some other shells of
present existing species are found. South of the city the trachytes
have intruded through the slates, producing considerable disturbance
both by uplift and change of structure in the latter ; on the north side
of the city, similar features are to be seen, but on a more extensive
scale ; among the deep excavations which have been made about Clark's
Point, it is found that the stratified rocks have been tilted from the hori
zontal position, and in some cases twisted and contorted into every con
ceivable position ; at one time presenting a wave-like form, and in the
distance of a few yards, passing from this to high angles or vertical ity.

Northwest of the Telegraph Hill the active causes of this diversity in
the appearance of the rocks is seen. Nearly on a line with Dupont
street, and fronting the bay, is a dike of the trap rock, passing up
through the sedimentary rocks above. A change of structure in the
sandstone in contact with the dike is observed.

This class of rocks (the volcanic) occur at frequent intervals along the
bay coast on the west side, and thence into the valley of the Santa Clara.
At the distance of four miles south of San Jose they form the low hills
that protrude into this valley from the western side, and which are con
tinued at intervals to the arroga Llagos, a distance of thirty miles beyond.

In none of the lower hills on this side of the valley are the volcanic •
rocks found in contact with the sedimentary formations, until after pas
sing the above arroya, and then only after first breaking through fissures
in the primitive rocks after reaching the Pescadero.

The intrusion of these rocks among the primitive series is marked by
a discoloration of the rock through which the dike has passed, some
times of several inches in breadth on each side of the volcanic vein ;
this is more particularly observable where the disturbed rock is of the
granite class ; in that case it usually presents a brown, or reddish brown
color, and is decidedly more given to decomposition than at a short dis •

Doc. No. 9. j 33

tance from the intrusive material. The slates and sandstones when thus
acted upon assume either a sub-crystaline or completely metamorphosed
structure, and comport themselves in this particular much in the same
manner as similar formations on the west sloue of the Sierra Nevada.

The area covered by the metamorphic rocks in the Coast Mountains is
not as extensive as those of the mining sections, but the changes, when
they do occur, are equally as perfect and complete. The most extensive
change of this character noticed among these mountains was that on the
Alameda Creek in Sunol Valley, eight miles north-east of the Mission
San Jose, and again after crossing this valley on the road to Livermore's.
The slates on the creek were changed into a hard, compact rock, for
the distance of one mile, and three-fourths of a mile beyond they had
assumed a porphyritic character.

Following this series to the right of the road, among the hills which
divide Sunol's from Livermore's Valley, the greenstone-trap became
largely developed, with basaltic fragments among the drift of the arro-
yas. On the east side of Livermore's valley the fossiliferous rocks again
made their appearance, and continued south for eight miles, beyond
which to the south the mountains were not examined.

The classification of the rocks in these mountains according to their
relative ages will follow as next in order.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE EOCKS OF THE COAST MOUN
TAINS AND MONTE DIABLO KANGE.

Our most northern point in this case will be Bodega Head and a line
forty-three miles north of Napa City, and in this case shall avail myself
of that part of Mr. Tyson's report on this part of the country, and which
is contained in Senate Doc. No 47, 1st Sess. 31st Cong., this being the
most northern geological section yet made.

By reference to his section, we find that the primitive rocks occur as
far north in the Coast Mountains as the above locality named, and that
the rocks of sedimentary origin are found to rest directly on the primi
tive rocks for a considerable distance east from the coast line.

After reaching eight or nine miles from the coast, the recent volcanic
group succeeds the primitive, when the latter is again replaced in the
hills bordering the western edge of the basin ; from this view of the
case it appears that all the rocks of this section are similar in their posi
tions with those detailed farther south.

Commencing with the lowest in order we find :

FIRST. — The granite series and serpentines ; on these rest the older
sedimentary rocks.

SECOND. — The more recent volcanic rocks. These are more largely
distributed through the Monte Diablo Range. They consist of trachytes
and lavas, and have protruded through all other formations that preced
ed them. These rocks form at least three-fourths of the mountain range
extending from Point San Pablo to the head of the Canada San Juan,
5

34 [APPENDIX

beyond which the primitive rocks again occur, and continue to the ex
treme southern point visited.

THIRD. — THE TERTIARIES. These complete the formations found in
these mountains. For convenience of description, this class will be
sub-divided into the different periods to which they belong. They will
occur as follows :

PERIOD.
Eocene.

Miocene,

Pliocene.
Post Pliocene.

GROUP.

Middle.

Lower.

WHERE FOUND.

Calaveras County, at Murphy's, and other local
ities.

Bones of extinct animals, <fec.

North and south of San Francisco in the Coast
and Monte Diablo Mountains.

Consisting of marine shells with most of the spe
cies extinct.

Coast Mountains and Gabilan Spur. Also in cav
ern deposits in Calaveras County.

Southwest of Monterey.

Marine shells, all of existing species.

POSITION AND KELATION OF THE VOLCANIC KOCKS TO

THE TEETIAEIES.

Before entering upon a description of the relations of the recent vol
canic group with the primitive rocks, it is thought best to examine their
positions and effects, among the sedimentary formations, both ancient
and modern ; in order to elucidate more distinctly the difference in age,
of another group of the volcanic series, which have been described as
having been cotemporaneous with those under consideration, and of
which there is some question.

The examination of the Coast Mountains has shown us the fact, that
those forces on the west side of the basin, which have been instrumental
in elevating the range, have had the effect to produce a series of contin
uous and nearly parallel ridges, throughout the greatest portion of their
length ; this peculiarity will force itself upon the observation of the
traveler if they are crossed at almost any point transversely to their
course.

In many parts of this range, the ridges are narrow, and the decliv
ities steep, and the higher isolated peaks are conical. On the summits
of these ridges, there are often to be found nothing btit bare vblcanic
rocks which are mostly of a trachytic character ; on the sides of some
of the hills, which are less abrupt, are to be met beds of sandstones and
at times a few slates which from their nature modify and soften the
rugged contour of the surrounding country, by their easy disintegra
tion from natural causes.

The. sedimentary rocks, as far as observed in this part of the State,
are, without exception, of marine origin — the fossils they contain being

Doc. No. 9.] 35

of that character exclusively.* In some parts of the country^they form
beds of considerable thickness, and are rich in organic remains. In
some parts of the mountains, the shells are of present existing species,
not found upon the coast at the present time ; these consist of three or
four species of the Area, and one or two of the Pectinea ; these rocks
are commonly found resting upon the primitive series, though at times
on some of the more recent igneous intrusions. It is considered very
doubtful by our conchologists in this part of the world, whether the
living shells of the above species now inhabit these waters ; and yet
these imbeded remains are found in abundance on the summits of our
hills, removed many miles inland from the element they formerly in
habited.

The fossils of this part of the Coast Mountains, and which now ap
pear to be extinct, consist of three species of the gryphae, two at least,
of Pectinea, Astarte and Cytherea, the species of which will be noticed
more in detail in another part of this report.

The position of the miocene rocks in the northern part of these moun
tains, appears to be directly succeeding the primitive ; yet it is found
often that they rest upon the trachytes; in all cases that have met my
observation, the latter rocks when thus found in contact with the sedi
mentary group of this period, have broken through fissures in the prim
itive formations, subsequent to the elevations which occurred during
the miocene and middle pliocene periods, or perhaps during the deposi
tion of the latter. The trachytic rocks north of Napa, where they
leave the sedimentary group, gradually pass into vesicular lavas, and
in these sections considerable quantities of obsidian are to be met with ;
the Indians in the vicinity of Clear Lake use it for the manufacture of
their arrow-heads.

Again, on the shores of Suisun and San Pablo bays, and on the
Straits Carquinez, these igneous rocks are found injected into the seams
of the sandstone, contorting the strata to a considerable degree. West
of these bays tjie primitive rocks occur at intervals for several miles,
and the fossilifemus rocks are found holding the same position as those
further north. These alternate intrusions of the trachytic rocks con
tinue south among the mountains on the east side of the Bay San Fran
cisco, and for thirty -five miles beyond its southern extremity ; after this
they pass into porus lava, and compact masses, ceasing to present any
traces of fossiliferous deposits resting upon them for forty miles on this
western ridge ; after this they again (the fossiliferous) make their ap
pearance in small detached masses, which gradually increase to a well
defined formation beyond.

These rocks in many instances are found to rest upon the recent vol
canic series direct, and in these cases we find, as may be expected, a
corresponding change in their structure, often to an extent that has ob
literated every trace of organic remains ; while in other cases, where
the fossiliferous group has been protected from the more direct influence
of the later igneous series by the intervention of any of the primitive

** The lacustrine deposits discovered during the past summer by Mr. "W. P. Blake, on the
desesrt of the Colorado are the first fresh-water formations found in this country.

36 [APPENDIX

formation, the fossils remain very entire and no change in structure is
observable, except where the trachitic masses have broken through both.

Among the hills south of Monterey, other evidences of recent eleva
tion from the intrusion of recent igneous rocks are found ; and these
occur among that group of sedimentary formations which have been
denominated as the post ' Pliocene ; (see Table,) these are found on the
Carmello Creek, three miles above Meadow's Ranch, where the fine
grained sandstone, containing impressions of existing Crustacea are found
resting upon the granite, but tilted from their former horizontal position
by intrusion of recent trap rocks from beneath. This same feature is
noticeable north of Montere}^, and into the Santa Cruz Mountains, where
the marine formations of the Pliocene period are found elevated to dif
ferent heights above the sea, for miles interior from the present coast
line. With these facts before us, it will be impossible to arrive at any
other conclusion than that the volcanic series of which we have been
speaking, has been continued into a period comparatively recent, arid
was the active agent in producing those disturbances so manifest through-
throughout those portions of these mountains under our consideration.

An interesting feature in the geology of the eastern part of the
Monte Diablo range has been developed during the past season, by the
officers of the United States Land Survey, which is worthy of note, as
illustrating the mutations which have been going on in different parts of
the country, and has served also to fix the age of districts hundreds of
miles remote from each other ; the marine shells brought into the Sur
vey office by Mr. Yon Schmidtz, f.-orn the hills bordering the west side
of the Tulare Lake are fpund to be indentical with those obtained from
the Buttes on the Sacramento Valley ; among the fossils are found the
Area, of which there are three species, with two species of Cardium,
differing from any found in our waters at the present time.

The surveys of the United States Bail Road Exploring Expedition,
under command -of Lieutenant Stoneman and Williamson, on the desert
of the Colorado has been the means of eliciting much valuable informa
tion of that almost unknown and desert waste. The personal and atten
tive examinations of Mr. W. P. Blake, geologist of the exploring party
has opened a new field for investigation in addition to those already-
existing in other parts of the State. The old water line of the Gulf of
California has been traced with unerring certainty for a long distance
into the interior, and the fossil remains of marine animals and shells are
found promiscuously mingled with those of fresh-water origin, which
subsequently occupied the place where the waters of the Pacinc formerly
held undisputed sway. The discovery and demonstrations of those in
teresting changes in the elevation of the interior of this part of the
State above the level of the sea, with its recession from natural
causes, reflects much credit on the discrimination, and careful judg
ment of Mr. Blake, and must be regarded as a great acquisition to
our very limited stock of knowledge respecting the absolute condi
tion of that extensive portion of the interior. Among all those who
have preceded him in crossing this "Jornada" at different points,
not a word of information has been elicited from which not even a pro
bability of its true condition could be gleaned ; until the present time it
was* a blank in the geological history of this part qf our continent ; how

Doc. No. 9.J 37

far beyond the line of travel to the east, of where this expedition left it,
it may extend, is equally as uncertain as was that portion of the ancient
sea-beach, and bottom, over which the United States exploring party
traveled the past season. The facts which have been gleaned from this
interesting region will appear in the forthcoming report of the expedi
tion, and from what little is now known of their operations, the parties
in charge of its several departments have manifested a determination of
purpose and assiduity in collating reliable testimony of this hitherto un
explored and unknown waste.

Our present information of this remote section of the State, exhibits
in a still stronger light, the mutations to which the surface of the coun
try has been subjected, and which are probably persistent at the present
time ; to what period the changes of this district are particularly refera
ble will not be known probably until the following year, but enough has
already been developed which leads to the inference that the sea has
receded since the commencement of the tertiary era.

VOLCANIC EOCKS PRECEDING- THE TERTIARY

On a preceding page it was observed that a suite of rocks which are
often confounded with the recent volcanic group, existed in the Coast
Mountains, these rocks and their peculiar position will be noticed at the
present time.

Following the west side of the Valley of Santa Clara, from the arroya
Francisquito in a southerly direction, a range of low hills, generally
barren in their appearance, is found, which protrude themselves into the
valley nearly at right angles to its course. The range of hills were ex
amined for the distance of forty miles, and in no instance, I believe, was
there a trace of any one of the sedimentary formations to be found upon
them. In this particular they differ much from the other volcanic series,,
either north or south of them, with the exception of those of the Santa
Anna range.

Their naked and rugged aspect on the west side ' of these hills with
their peculiar local position leaves but little room for doubt, but that
they are the remains of the summit of ancient craters, elevated above
the surface of the then existing sea, prior to the deposition of the ma
rine formations which occur in other parts of the mountain range.

This suite of rocks have evidently found their way to the surface
through the primitive rocks of this district, as it is found that they cut
the latter in several places in the form of dikes, while the debris of both
are found to enter largely into the components of the valley in which
they are situated. Another evidence, which lends confirmation to this
belief, is the fact, that had the emergence occurred at any time subse
quent to the tertiary era, we should have seen some traces of such a fact
in the elevation of those rocks of aqueous origin. The gradiency of the
entire northern portion of the valley Santa Clara will also be found in
commensurate with such an extensive series of disturbance as must have
occurred at the period when these hills were elevated above the surface.
The narrow limits within which thev are situated, would have - received
an inclination much greater than that which the surface now presents,

38 [APPENDIX

had their intrusion corresponded with those of a similar character found
among the sedimentary rocks on every side of them. Our evidence that
these rocks hold an age anterior to the tertian es, rests in part on this
fact ; that if the change of position, Avhich the latter rocks have suffered
in adjoining districts bear any testimony of the maximum of .disturbance
among them, we should find some corresponding changes of similar cha
racter had this volcanic group been of the same age.

In all other parts of the coast mountains, wherever volcanic rocks
occur, in masses or dikes, cutting either sedimentary or primitive groups,
the evidences of uplift are conspicuous, and either a high uniform grade,
distinct undulations, or a terraced form of the valley sections, mark the
extent and character of the forces exerted over such areas ; while in the
case before us, we find the valley adjoining these igneous outbursts main-
taininglts level to the very base of these volcanic hills. Were there
any differences observable in the inclination of the surface of the plain,
taken from its northern to its extreme southern point, there would be
some reason to suppose that the group under consideration was more
recent than the tertiary era.

Passing to the west of these hills, we find the same undisturbed con
dition of the surface, extending to the base of the Santa Cruz, and you
meet with nothing that would in the least indicate any subsequent alte
ration in the general level until you reach their eastern base ; and here,
for the first time, a narrow terrace is found, its face rising rather abruptly
for tw elve feet, and then very gradually for eight feet more, being nearly
level from thence to the mountains, a distance of one-fourth of a mile. So
little disturbance is manifest in the half formed conglomerate, of which
it is formed, that it must be looked upon as having been gradually ele
vated by forces that have acted equally, and at the same time, on both
the older igneous, and recent formations of this section, and the forces
that thus gradually operated in producing these phenomena are unques
tionably persistent at the present time.

MOST RECENT VOLCANIC ROCKS OF THE COAST
MOUNTAINS.

• Under this head, a brief description of a class of rocks differing essen
tially in relative position, lithological character, and general effects on
the surrounding country in which they are situated, from those noticed
in the preceding chapter, will be given. The section of the country
though which they may be observed, has been stated to extend through
about forty miles in length of the Monte Diablo Range, and make their
appearance in the Santa Anna Pi caches, on the south-east border of the
Santa Clara valley.

In examining this group it was found, that they consisted principally
of compact and vessicular lavas, having different degrees of firmness
and texture.

A conspicuous and striking feature of these rocks is found in their
connection with other formations, both igneous and sedimentary, and in
the case of the latter class they are seen to have acted directly upon
them, elevating the same to different altitudes above the sea level The

Doc. No. 9.] 39

former rocks form the principal ridge, separating the Pass of Pachco from
that of Santa Anna Pass, (or Canada Las Muertas), and present a very
rugged and conical outline at a short distance. They were probably
the grand centre of those recent volcanic disturbances that were in action
during the elevation of this part of that mountain range. The higher
peaks are composed of trachytic masses, while the lower hills contain
immense quantities of the vesicular lavas above noted ; from the position
which the latter occupy to the former, it appears that during the later
periods, when these fires were in action, fissures had been formed in the
sides of the two principal craters, through which has flowed large quan
tities of the fluid masses : one of these dikes cannot be less than eight
miles in length and Ian in a northerly direction.

At the Santa Annei peaks, the principal crater has, apparently, fallen
in during some period of its eruption, and subsequent to this, a large
fissure has been fornjed, probably from the effects of an eaartnquake,
and, perhaps, at the time when the north side of the Grabilan was pre
cipitated into the de$p ravine at its base.

North of the latter mountains at the distance of eight or nine miles,
is the elevated peak known as " Pacheco Peak," which is a true volcanic
cone, and in the rayines to the north of this crater, the Indians of this
section of the countiy obtain absidian for the manufacture of their ar
row heads ; to the north-east of the mountain a large dike of lava, similar
to that noticed above is found, which appears to have flowed through
a fissure very nearly; down to the base.

South of the Sarita Anna, the tertiary sandstones of recent date ap
pear, resting directly on this class of volcanic rocks, and bear every
evidence of having suffered their principal disturbance from these
agencies ; the almost complete metamorphosis of the sedimentary group
is a proof of this ; and the evidences of comparative recent action is
found in the fact, tljat the organic remains found imbedded in these
rocks contain a large per centage of present existing species on the
coast.

It will be apparen
in the preceding cb
ifest, from the fact t
rocks have been disl
the former group o:
observable. The vc
and the trapean ch
would place each in
group have every i
trapean rocks " foui
could not have held
Eocene, as they are
that period.
The tertiary grou
pliocene, and post-
absent as far as yet
do not extend on th
Santa Cruz, and tha
This fact then once

; that a difference in the age of that group found
pter, and the one under consideration will be man-
at in the present case the most recent of the aqueous
arbed and elevated since their formation, while in
igneous origin, no features of this character are
sicular character of the group under consideration
iracter of the others, is also a distinctive point that
a different period as regards their age ; the older
Dpearance of what has been termed the "primitive
d in some parts of the Sierra Nevada, and which
an age but little posterior to the older rocks of the
found not to have disturbed the middle group of

>s of the Coast Mountains consist of the miocene,
lioctene periods; the eocene rocks being entirely
xamined ; it is also found that the miocene rocks
coast line beyond a point sixteen miles north of
south of this point the pliocene series predominate,
established affords a clue by which we are able to

40 [APPENDIX

determine to a certain extent the age of the volcanic series which has
disturbed them, and fixes that age posterior to the formation of the latest
of the groups.

CHANGES OF LEVEL AND KIYEK TEERACES.

The valley sections of this State present a general uniformity of char
acter in their superficial structure, wherever found ; their surfaces are
distinctly marked by a regular series of minor elevations, which give
them the terraced form so peculiar to those sections. The face of these
terraces'are of different heights, and the surface of each is found to have
a gent|e inclination toward the streams that flow through them. In some
parts of the " great valley " there are to be seen a range of hills having
flat summits, which on examination are proved to have been the shores
of an inland sea; these usually arise from the higher portions of the
upper terraces, and where they are found near the borders of the plain,
they present often trifling evidences of excessive subterranean action.
These "tables" when found on the immediate borders of the plains, do
not appear to have participated in the more violent disturbing forces
found in the interior ; they are usually from four to five hundred feet in
height, while those farther to the east attain an altitude frequently of
more than two thousand.

Immediately succeeding these, the first terraces of the valleys appear,
and from the observations of different travelers, we learn that they are
continuous into the Territory of Oregon, and probably beyond that
point ; while south of California their existence is known to the northern
boundary of the Province of Sinaloa in the Republic of Mexico. In
these we see the evidences of gradual and probably persistent elevation
over an extent of country nearly two thousand mibs in length, and in
the present state of our knowledge, must be regarded as part of one of
those great continental elevations that has occurred during the compara
tively "recent history of the world. This State is situated nearly in the
centre of this line, and from its position must partake to a greater or
less extent in all the general changes of level that nay occur on either
side of it; and all -observations which have been made within the last
ten years have only tended to confirm this fact.

Mr. Dana who has given more attention to the foimations of the valley
sections of the Pacific Coast, and who probably hac better opportunities
for observation from San. Francisco to the north, in speaking of them,
says : " We traced these terraces from the Cowlitzto the mouth of the
Sacramento, along many of the smaller streams as well as the rivers.
There appears to be but two ways of accounting for these terraces, either
lakes have existed along the rivers% which have birst their barriers, or
the rivers have excavated the country in conseqrance of an elevation.
The existence of lakes throughout a whole courtry, connected with
all its rivers, is highly improbable, and required for its proof the strong
est evidence. Rivers cut out their channels by a gradual process, as a
country is raised above the ocean, forming with few exception a complete
drainage for the land. Lakes could not exist, therefore, to the universal

Doc. No. 0.} 41

9

extent implied by the facts, except, perhaps, as a sudden rise of the land
from the ocean.

" The formation of such lakes by an abrupt elevation in a region hav
ing the ranges of heights parallel with the coast, is certainly a possibility.
But the water to .make • the alluvial accumulations, must be running-
water, and be in operation in its channels a long period. And how long
would, such lakes exist after an elevation? If the violence attending a
change of level did not open for them at once a passage, the accumula-:
tionof water during a single flood would break a passage through such
soft sandstone beds as occur at the mouth .-of the Sacramento."

These terraces occur on the Sacramento to the distance of one hun
dred and fifty miles from the sea and at this point they wer^e^as high
above the level of t1Ke river as at any point lower dow^i, and have
nearly the same elevation in all parts examined above the 'existing level
of the stream.

The flats are several miles in width, and until reaching Carquinez
Straits, no other place for a barrier could have existed. In this place a
permanent barrier of at least four hundred feet in height would have
been required, to set the water back so as to cover the upper terrace
one hundred and fifty miles above the mouth of the river, and in the
second place, the lake should have a surface slope like the present bed
of the river, for this is the fact with the land of the terrace — of course
an impossibility. Wherever the bed of the stream was four hundred
feet above the level of the sea, there the terrace should disappear ; in
place of which they attain an altitude of seven hundred feet at the dis
tance of two hundred and twelve miles from the head of Suisun Bay.*

It is therefore impossible that one or many lakes should accomplish
the results we have before us ; it is the proper effect of river floods, and
the terraces must be received as indicating a change of level in the
country.

Was this change of level an abrupt one, or was it slow and gradual?
This seems at first, a question easily answered. We may best under
stand it by considering the changes that would take place during the
elevation of a region of alluvial flats. If a country rise abruptly, the
river will commence to work itself to a lower level, and proceed with
rapidity, ending finally the very gradual slope of ordinary rivers, hav
ing a descent of one or two feet per mile. At the same time, in the
season of floods the river would wear into the former alluvium (now its
banks) and widen its surface ; and this widening would go on at each
succeeding freshet till the river had a new lower plain on its borders.

But Avould not the effect be the same during a gradual rise. As the
country rose slowly, the excavation of the livers bed, and latteral widen
ing during freshets would go on gradually with the same results, pro
ducing a deeper bed and a new lower flat, both of which would change
as the change of level progressed, and in case the lower flat resisted
removal in any part, the portion left standing would form a subordinate

* I have in my possession at this time, specimens from this highest terrace, which is found
on Weaver Creek, Trinity County. They were taken from different depths of a shaft which
has been sunk through the alluvial deposit eight hundred feet ; the different strata found though
are composed of clay, gravel and sand, in nearly all of which, gold has been found through
out.

6

42 [APPENDIX

** ** t A %^tf& t ' v <

terrace between the upper level, or that of the plain before the rise
$l%an.

A terrace slope may thus be formed by a gradual elevation, and also
without any intermission in the process, there might be intermediate ter
races in some parts of, the same region. A river terrace then, in an
alluvial district cannot be considered an evidence of abrupt elevation of
country in which it is found, the more especially if a uniform slope is
found upon its surface.

The district south of San Francisco in which extensive valleys are to
be found comport themselves in all general features with those found on
the Sacramento and thence into Oregon. On the .south part of the San
ta Clara Valley, beyond the ranch of Cruz Cervantes, the terraced' form
of the. valley is clear and distinct; in this place there were but two of
these flats observable — that through which the-rSan Benito flowed, had
a rise of nine feet above the level of the creek, while the higher terrace
to the east rose very abruptly eighty -five feet above the former. The
surface level had an inclination of twelve degrees vfrom the base of the
Santa Anna Mountains towa/ds the west ; the river flowed upon the
western side of the valley entirely.

tTwo successive terraces were foimd on the Pajaro, the upper one still
retains the marks of tide water upon its surface.

The Salinas Valley exhibits the terraced form in a marked degree,
and its inclination of surface from the east toward the west corresponds
very closely with that just noticed as occurring on the south part of the
Santa Clara and San Juan. The number of terraces on this valley are
three, and have a varying width of three to five miles, the slope of each
surface is gentle and smooth' throughout the entire length of the plain.
It differs from the Sacramento or San Joaquin in having but one' line of
-inclination or dip, the others "nave a dip from each border toward; their
centre, thus giving them their basin-shaped structure. The slope of the
Salinas appears to have been acquired from the recent volcanic agency
that formed the Santa Anna Mountains, and those to the north as far as
Pacheco's Peak ; on examination it is found that the dip of all the sedi
mentary or stratified rocks of this part of the country correspond in
direction, and that the dip decreases as the distance from that centre in
creases. The Post Pliocene rocks of the Carmello were disturbed at
this time, and the entire range of sedimentary rocks of recent date,
throughout the Coast Mountains in this section of the country have suf
fered in a similar manner, and undoubtedly from the same cause. •

From the peculiar features manifested in the formation composing the
Coast Mountains, as noted in the preceding pages, and the more recent
causes of disturbance whicti have acted in this part of the range, as is
found in the modifications of level extending through the valleys above
noted, and the intervening mountains between these valleys ; it will ap
pear very doubtful that any formation containing mineral coal will be
found. The forces that have acted on this part of the county and have
elevated the different rocks found on the mountain sides, have as yet
developed no member of the secondary series, in which the coal forma
tions are found ; but like the mountains to the north, both in the Sierra
Nevada and Coast Mountains, nothing above the primitive is to be seen,

Doc. No. 9.] 43

except the tertiaries, in which no coal beds of extent have yet been
discovered.

From a careful examination of this part of the country, with this
object in view, I feel no hesitation in saying that coal will riot be found
in any part of the Coast Mountains south of the thirty-fifth parallel
of north latitude ; what there may be south of this point, I know nothing
having never visited it.

It is not unfrequeiit in passing over the country to hear of beds of min
eral coal ; during the past season I have visited four such localities, and,
as was anticipated, each of them proved to be merely small beds of lig
nite, and two of them hardly deserving that name. One of these deposits
proved to be but a bed of leaves, having a thickness of about three
inches|>resting upon a tertiary sandstone containing marine shells, and
covered with twelve feet of a sandy alluvium. This is 'one of those coal
beds which has figured so largely in the public prints of the State during
the past year, and has induced several gentlemen to pay the locality a
visit, and to return as deeply disappointed as their previous anticipations
were elevated.

The report of coal veins in the Coast Mountains must be received with
many grains of allowance, and at the best, none but tertiary deposits
will be found, and these, even should they exist, would be capable of
supplying but a limited demand, and that usually of an inferior quality.

SOILS OF THE VALLEY SANTA CLARA AND SHORES OF
THE BAY SAN FRANCISCO.

The character of mountains on the borders of valleys, afford a good
criterion to judge of the capabilities of the soils found at their base. It
is therefore not difficult to form a correct opinion of the constituents of
a soil, once knowing the nature of the rocks in adjoining sections, and
consequently their adaptation to the various purposes of agriculture.

The more rapid disintegration of some classes of rocks compared to
others, will form a striking feature in the productiveness of the soil with
which they enter as a component part, their chemical constituents, adapt
ing them to agricultural employment, or rendering them totally unfit for
these purposes, without the addition of some agent not found as an inte
gral of their composition. It is therefore not surprising that in passing
over a range of valley, or mountainous district, to find so many and
diversified features presenting themselves often in adjoining localities;
it is not unfrequent to find a perfect transition in the indigenous pro
ductions of the soil, occurring in the distance of a few hundred yards.

These peculiar features are best exhibited among the native grains and
grasses, and occur alike, on the valley bottoms or on ascending a hill
side. Thus, on ascending a hill, at whose base may be found a calcare
ous rock, resting on any one of the plutonic series, the native product
at the base, and within the direct range of the limestone, may be the
wild oat, almost as soon as these rocks are passed, and you enter the
granite or trapean group, the cereal ceases to grow, and is replaced by
the native grasses in some of their varieties, or if the rocks succeeding

44 [APPENDIX

the former, should belong to the serpentine group, a useless shrub will
often be the resulting growth.

Equally as perfect and marked are the phases presented on the valley
bottoms alone; passing through, the same transitions as above, and on
an examination of the sources from "which the soil has been derived, it
will be found that the mineral constituents of both sections presenting
those changes', will differ in a material degree. Take the upper terrace
- of any one of. our large valleys, and by following this to a lower terrace,
the first principal change occurring will be found near the junction of
the former, with the latter, and this as it recedes from the' former, will
be found productive of a widely different and greater variety of plants
than the hill-side or upper terrace preceding it, and the native nroduc-
tions of these, not unfrequently disappear entirely. **

Another feature equally interesting and instructive, is found iri transi
tions of the varieties of production on- the same line of valjey, which
has derived its soils from the same suite of rocks, this might easily be
mistaken for a change in the mineral constituents of such sbil, which is
not the case, but the modification of growths in this instance a£e attribu
table to the more uniform and equal distribution and communication of
the material composing the soil, thus rendering its chemical constituents
better adapted to assimilation, and the consequent production of variety
as well as quality and quantity.

The soils on the Bay San Francisco differ much on its eastern and
western sides ; both borders of the Bay present the tertiary series, but
both do not present the trapean rocks to the same degree of develop
ment ; this, then, of course, will cause a distinctive and marked differ
ence in the productive capabilities of either shore. It will be found
that in all the soils which have been .derived, in whole, or in part, from
rocks more recent than the tertiary group, that a more extensive and va
ried adaptation to agricultural purposes will be present ; this will be
particularly manifest in those sections where the tertiaries, containing
organic remains, enter somewhat largely into the -components of "the soil
produced from such sources.

We often meet an extensive and even tract of country lying atothe
base of a range of hills of the character named above, which "are found
not to possess so high a degree of fertility as an adjoining section, yet
both have derived their soil from the same sources ; it becomes not only
interesting but important to ascertain the cause of such a discrepancy,
and an attentive examination will often point out a natural obstruction
of a mechanical nature wjhich has thus been the cause of the impover
ishment which may be present. In this case a barrier will often be
found among the foothills which has prevented the uniform distribution
of the ' disintegrated rocks above, rendering the plain within its line less
productive, rather than the introduction of any new agent, except, per
haps, that derived from the rocks forming that barrier, the amount of
which would be inconsiderable, compared to the mass of alluvium beyond.

In illustration of this a single case only will be mentioned. On the
Valley- Santa Clara a few miles east of San Jose, the mountains are cap
ped with fossiliferous sandstone for miles in extent, north and south. —
On examining the slopes of these hills and the broad ravines among
them, a rich and deep soil wafc found to cover the whole, and the ve'ge-

Doc. No. 9.] 45

tation growing upon them, bore a just relation to the character of the
ground on which they flourished. Passing to the westward toward the
valley it was found that the same character of soil continued to the first
hills rising from the plain, these bearing an altitude of one hundred feet
above its level. On reaching the summit of these hills, the rich, mellow
soil to the east instantly gave out, and in its place a heavy, clayey cov
ering was found upon the surface for a considerable distance into the
valley ; this transition occurred within so short a distance that I was led
to examine more particularly the cause producing it, and accordingly
followed the line of these hills until an outcrop of these rocks were
found. ; they consisted of aluminous and chlontic slates, having a high
inclination and dipping to the west ; from their position they presented
a perfect barrier to the passage of the richer soil of the hills passing on
to the valley in any other junction than north and south. As far as this ,
line of slates extended, the valley beyond partook, in a greater or less de
gree, of the character that would be produced by their disintegration,
and ill adapted generally to purposes of agriculture unless by artificial
application of reclaiming agents and tillage. As soon as the slates began
to disappear in the foothills, the character of the soil on the plain be
yond assumed a different appearance, and a marked and corresponding
change in its vegetable productions.

A mechanical impediment simply is the cause of unproductiveness in
such cases, and in instances of this kind, the remedy usually abounds in
abundant quantities and at short distances from the points where it may
be required.

On the south-east shores of the Bay San Francisco, there are large
areas of land that at the present time are considered useless for agricul
tural purposes, from their low position and semi-argilaceous character ;
they have often been denominated " mud flats," and heretofore have
been considered unadapted even to grazing for sheep. These flats gen
erally extend (toward the bay) one or two miles from what are consid
ered available and good agricultural lands. Their general appearance
to the passer-by is such as would not be likely to impress a person very
strongly in their favor, as lands retaining much fertility, but from their
superficial appearance would be regarded as a poor representation only
of a salt meadow, productive of little else than the common samphire.
But such is not the fact and if experience and experiment have any val
ue or weight, they will be thrown in the balance to the favor of those
lands ; experiments have been made during the past season on these
sections, which cannot fail to convince us of the fact, that the opinions
heretofore entertained respecting the available character of a large por
tion of these districts, are entirely erroneous. A single experiment illus
trating their capacity for production if properly tilled, will be giverj^

Near Uniontown, in the County of Alameda, several acres of land,
producing the samphire on their flats, was broken up and planted to
corn ; in one case it was sowed in drills ; the corn continued to flourish
until September which was the last time I saw it ; and at this time the
stalk of that in the drills had acquired an average heighth of about nine
feet. On the south side of the arroya Alameda another field was plant
ed in hills, which AY us equal, if not superior in heighth. The soil,
when broken up, is rich and highly productive in other grains, notwith-

46 [APPENDIX

standing the meagre appearance it presents prior to tillage, and will in
a few yeaTs be as successfully and largely cultivated as any other of the
valley sections. The saline lands of the interior sections are also of the
same character, to a certain extent, and if properly tilled are equally
productive. Near ' the rancho San Felipe, Santa Clara County, a simi
lar circumstance was met with ; the corn grown upon these lands was
being harvested in September and produced* a full and well-formed ear,
proving not only adaptation of soil, but' climate' — for the production of
this staple in California. The latter case, the lands were 225 feet above
the sea> and the field on ever}' side except the south-east was covered
with a thick growth of the salt grasses and other kindred plants (sam
phire) and when free from water the lands were covered with a saline
incrustation.

Under a proper course of treatment these lands will be made availa
ble for the purposes of the agriculturalist, and bur already large do
main of arable lands thus much increased. The situation of these lands
in the interior is such, that they may be easily reclaimed should they
ever fall within the jurisdiction of the State, which undoubtedly they
will under the law regulating "saline lands." In the counties of San
Francisco, Santa Clara and Alameda the wet land that may be made
available by drainage is about seventy square miles, exclusive of the
" saline lands " at the southern part of the County of Santa Clara.

Most of the valley sections of this range of country is arable land,
and that which' is not can easily be made so when required ; the agents
for bringing this about being found in the adjoining hills to the east.—
The character of -the soil and climate adapts it to all the productions of
temperate climates, and where local position modified the climate of any
section, it is found capable of producing plants of the tropical latitudes.

The extreme south-eastern part of this valley would be adapted to
the growth of foreign fruits and other products, but it must be beyond
the influence of the cold sea- wind that passes inland across the range of
lower hills which divide the Salinas, Pajaro, and Santa Clara Valleys,
the effect of which would be to blight the fruit, though the plant or
tree might continue to thrive.

The low hills that flank the east side of the valley contain all the ele
ments required for the culture of tropical plants and fruits ; the climate
and soil will be found adapted, and the only agent that appears in the
least to be wanting is water sufficient to supply the demands of those
plants. From the appearance of small lagoons and rivulets at different
•elevations it is presumable that a sufficient quantity of this agent may
be found a short distance below the surface.

As a ,geiieral rule the mountains lying upon ,the east border of the
vsdey Santa Clara are covered with a soil superior to that of the plains,
and of much greater depth. I have measured the depths of these soils
in many places, and where it is well developed have found it varying
from four to eleven feet for miles continuous; its extreme fertility pro
duces heavy crops of the native grains and grasses which annually con
tribute to its increase by their decomposition.

• Although these lands 'are situated within the reach of the sea-breeze
from the Bay of San Francisco, they are protected from its cold by the

Doc. No. 9.] 47

jj

slope of the hills and the modifications of its temperature acquired in
its passage down the bay before reaching the northern portion of the
valley. So much is the temperature increased that an addition of ten
degrees is often acquireM in its transit from San .'Francisco to .the head
of the valley, a 'distance little rising fifty miles. This increase of tem
perature in the air is accompanied with an increase in its capacity for
moisture, hence it is usual to find a slight aqueous haze, which results
from the condensation of its moisture, hanging about this entire range
of hills during the summer months, and is usually seen early in the
morning.

At this time and for a short time after sun-rise the leaves of plants in
these hills are covered with moisture, when no trace of this deposit is
observable on the plains. The foreign horticulturist seems to • have
siezed upon the natural advantages which these mountains present for
the culture of the vine and other fruits, prefering these elevated situa
tions to the lower plain lands, the climate and soil being more congenial
to their growth. The altitude at which the first qualities of the grape
will flourish in these mountains (Monte Diablo Eange) is seventeen hun
dred feet above the sea, the fruit produced equals that grown in lower
situations ; the temperature at this elevation through the night is higher
than on the plains at their base and sufficiently comfortable to sleep with
out shelter.

But a very few years will elapse before these "barren" mountains
will yield a handsome income to the planter, and a large revenue to the
State, from the taxable property that will be found in these mountains,
arising from the prodution of the vine alone ; some idea of the extent
to which it is now being propagated may be obtained when it is stated
that nearly two hundred thousand sets have been put into the ground
during the past year, and on one ranch alone over* twelve thousand new
sets were placed in the grdund last season, in addition to those already
in bearing condition on the same farm.

The absence of timber in these mountains is one of the most serious
objections to the settler, if this objection can be removed there is no
reason to doubt but that large tracts of this fertile district would com
mand a population that would soon approximate that on the plains. It
would riot be difficult to produce a forest growth of trees upon these
mountains, one that would prove useful as well as ornamental, conduc
ing to health, comfort and luxury, as well as profit. The history of the
Guava furnishes us with some facts on this point that are well worthy of
notice ; the trci1 is of rapid growth, spreading itself over large districts
in a very few years. In Mexico it attains a height of forty feet, and
grows at elevations of five thousand feet ; its wood is used for fuel and
many other purposes, and from its fruit the guava jelly is manufactured,
and forms an extensive article of commerce.

Fifty years ago this tree was introduced at the Sandwich and Society
Islands ; it has in that short period of time formed one of the principal
forest trees of those islands, and reaches the summit of their highest
hills. A tree of this kind introduced into our timberless hill$ would in
a short time render the barren aspect they now present, more pleasing
and profitable as well as useful. There can be but little doubt that this
tree will flourish in this country, as it is found so to do in a climate

48 [APPENDIX

equally cool as' that in which it would be required here. Other varieties
of fruit bearing trees Qf foreign climates will flourish in these mountain;
among them may b^ mentioned the date, prune and fig, and in this
country we possess an advantage in the preparation of the two latter
fruits for the market, which is seldom found even in countries where they
flourish best, viz : a clear, dry air, or containing but a small degree of
moisture, a most essential requisite in forming a -good commercial article.
Often the entire fruit crop is ruined in the drying process in countries
where these fruits abound, (and where all conditions for their propaga
tion are not more fully developed than in this country,) from the pres
ence' of too great a quantity of moisture in the air, a circumstance that
cannot exist in this country south of the county of San Francisco.

We have the most ample proofs of the capabilities of our soils in the
interior, in the production of the foreign fruits. In addition to the
above, the olive and the almond flourish and produce plentifully, and
though the latter is not indigenous, the luxuriance with which it grows
and its plentiful production of fruit, must be received only as another
evidence of the fact above stated. The value of these fruits as regards
their quality, suifers no deterioration from having been naturalized to
our climate, but in the case of the latter named fruit, it is found to be
materially benefitted by the change, for as it loses none of its flavor it
becomes the more valuable from its increase of size, being nearly double
that of the ordinary fruit of the msarket.

Respecting the main body* of lands on the valley and shores of the
bay, but very little of which is not adapted to agricultural purposes, it
may be -said to cover an area little short of six hundred square miles,
nearly all of which is well adapted to the cultivation of the cereals and
root crops. The higher table of the valley produces excellent corn, and
the season though dry permits this crop to mature well. I observed
several corn fields on the high terrace of the valley last season, flourish
ing , well at altitudes of three hundred and sixty to four hundred and
ten feet, and in localities where it would hardly be -supposed from its
external appearance, that moisture sufficient to rear a blade of grass
could be found. The cause of this productivness in these localities, is
in a great measure attributable to the existence of a small quantity of
sulphate of lime in these apparently dry soils, derived from a limestone
formation in these mountains, and which extends south beyond the
Almaden district. The detritus of this rock is found mingled with
fragments 'of other rocks containing ferruginous pyrites in a decompos
ing state, hence'the key to its appearance in this locality, and in the case
before it serves the purpose of an absorbent of moisture, thus materially
facilitating the growth of crops in these sections.

VALLEY OF THE SALINAS.

This valley is situated south of the Pajaro River, and is separated
from the Santa Clara by a spur of the 'Monte Diablo Range which sink
into a range of low hills forming a divide between the former and the
Pajaro Yalley also. The leagth of the Salinas is about ninety-five miles.
The main course of the valley is about south-east by east ; and is coursed

Doc. No. 9. 49

by one river (the Salinas) for its entire length. The stream is situated
on the west side of the valley for the first fifty miles of its course, after
which it crosses the valley a short distance above the Soledad Mission,
at an angle of forty degrees to the main axis of the plain. The physical
appearance of thislarge plain differs much from that of the Santa Clara
or the Pajaro ; when viewed from its centre it has a gentle slope from
the east toward the west ; but more minute examination exhibits a ter
raced form to the plain, similar to those observed on the Sacramento,
and are three in number, and each possessing a soil of different degrees
of fertility and value. The river has a fall of about two feet to the mile,
and has acquired its present position within a very recent period, run
ning as it does amongst the most recent tertiary rocks, and alluvium in
its more northern portions. Near its sources there are several small
streams putting into it, which furnish water throughout the year. The
bed of the stream is composed of a fine whitish quicksand, which ren
ders it dangerous to ford at times, and it is seldom attempted, except at
localities which are used for this purposo. A large portion of the valley,
within eight or ten miles of the coast, and on its south-east border and
centre, is made up of low wet lands, covered with willows and tule,
these terminate in lagoons and sloughs as they approach the coast, and
contain a sufficient depth df water to float a medium sized vessel to the
Bay of Monterey. The only obstacle that renders these waters innavi
gable for some distance into the interior of the valley, are the bars of
drift sand which are thrown up by the surf on the coast : a good and
substantial breakwater, constructed at some one of these points, would
render navigation safe, and materially enhance the value of the public
and private property of this section of country, and be the means of
affording not only much needed facilities of transportation in the pro
ductions of the interior to market, but afford inducements for the per
manent settlement of this immense tract of country (now almost, it might
be said, uninhabited and unimproved,) which this, or some other equally
efficient measure would be the means of consummating in a short period
of time. The extent of land in the interior that would be affected by a
measure of this kind would be very great ; it being not less than one
hundred and fifty miles in length, and possessing capacities for agricul
tural production equal to any in the State. This will appear the more
evident and necessary, when we find that the lower bottoms above the
Salinas Valley are capable of producing a wheat crop, (at thirty -two
bushels per acre) sufficient to meet the demands of a population num
bering three times that of the present within this State : — say nine hun
dred thousand.

A district of our State presenting capacity and advantages of this
character, and crippled as it is for the means of transporting its pro
ductions to our markets, should command some attention, and such, at
least, as would have a tendency to induce an early and permanent set
tlement of such lands, if nothing more ; and this the more especially as
a considerable area of the over-flowed and saline lands of these plains
must ultimately fall Avithin the jurisdiction of the State.

'

50 [APPENDIX

SOILS OF THE SALINAS. ? ; :

The soils of this valley have been derived from the primitive forma
tions on both sides of the plains : that derived from the granite series
on the coast side is coarse and easily permeable to water ; this obtains
more particularly in the vicinity ofthe Grabilan mountains, and this va
riety of soil does not extend beyond the high "mesa" on the eastern
side. The trapean rocks and limestone of this range exert an important
influence in modifying the sterility usually attendant on soils derived
from the detritus of the granites, and in this case they exist in sufficient
quantities to render those soils productive on the upper terrace of the
valley. The productions of each of these terraces differs in a material
degree, arising principally from two immediate causes ; the first mois
ture, the second, the finer disintegration of the material composing the
soils ; to these may be added a third, which sometimes exerts a wide
influence on the lower bottom. The upper terrace produces the native
wild oat for the most part?, or a wirj- tough grass ; the oat flourishes to
the exclusion of the latter on a brown red soil composed of loam mixed
with the harsher material derived from the granite, and wherever this
loamy matter is found to diminish in quantity, a corresponding increase
in the native wire grass is found. This rule was found to hold good in
the entire length of the plain on its eastern border. .

Passing to the second terrace, plants of a different character are found.
The oat is found to a considerable extent on some parts of this, but is
usually succeeded by another variety of grass which seems much better
adapted for feed to animals, and usually grows very thick and matted ;
among this the common bargrass, which increases in quantity as the low
er terrace is approached, and which animals are extremely fond of eat
ing, in preference to the oat when placed side by side ; on the western
edge of the second terrace, the wild mustard abounds, covering thou
sands of acres, and growing to the height of ten to fourteen feet, form
ing an impenetrable jungle to man or beast for miles in extent; wherev
er the settler has succeeded in eradicating this article from the soil, it has
been found to produce abundant crops of grains or roots, and if anything
superior in some cases to the lands of the lower bottom, The lower
part of the terrace on which the mustard is usually found in greatest
quantities, is sufficiently moist for the propagation of any crops that
may be necessary to be placed upon them. Water is obtainable within
a few feet of the surface on any part of it.

- Passing to the lower terrace, we find the principal native productions
to be the burgrass and a variety of the rumex, mingled with a much
greater variety of others than is to be found on any other part of these
bottoms. On the higher positions the mustard also abounds in conside
rable quantities. Some parts of this terrace are arenaceous, being cov
ered to the depth of two feet with a loosej fine sand, usually the result
of a heavy freshet , and not otherwise. In this is found a third cause
for the varieties which these bottoms produce. An interesting exhibi
tion of this occurred from the freshet of last winter, on the Castro Eanch,
adjoining the Wacional. At this place about three hundred acres were
covered with this sand to the depth of two and a-half feet ; on a portion

Doe. No. 9.] 51

of it a fine field of corn had been raised the previous year, also wheat
and barley. The land formerly produced a heavy growth of mustard,
but was- reclaimed- from this in part by tillage. The effect of the over
flow was to destroy every vestige of former vegetation, and in its place
a thick growth of willows had sprung up that were equally impenetra
ble with the mustard on the plains. At the time I visited them they
had attained a height of about four feet. This immense deposit of sand
on the arable land of this part the lower bottom is covered by the obstruc
tions on the beach of the coast to the free egress of the waters from
the interior during freshets, and until they shall be removed, some of
the best lands of this valley will be constantly subjected to this ruinous
result in all coming time.

The amount of land liable to be thus buried beneath this arenaceous
deposit is great, and as it comprises a large part of the most valuable
property in this section of country, it demands consideration.

The quantity of arable lands contained within the Salina Plains, is es
timated at about seven hundred and eighty square miles, this being com
prised in the lower terraces only ; the upper terrace cannot strictly be
considered as available for agriculture, but it more properly a grazing
country with very few exceptions. The above quantities are divided as
follows : the lower terrace or river bottom contains three hundred, twenty
miles, and the second terrace about four hundred and sixty, and enjoy ing
a climate in its different sections which will be found adapted to the
growths of the extremes of temperate zones.

PAJAEO VALLEY. .

This valley is situated on the coast, and is bounded on the north and
east by the southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and on the south
by the low hills forming spur of the Gabilan Range, and which divide
it from the Salinas Plains. The valley is about eight miles in length,
and about four in breadth on an average, exclusive of the foot hills, or
low, table hills, on its west border; the Pajaro River forming the bound
ary of the counties Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, has its rise near
San Felipe, and flows in a westerly direction through the low hills at the
base of the mountains, thence along the northwest border of the valley
for about two miles, where crosses the latter within about a quarter of a
mile of the town of Watsonville, and reaches the sea at a point south ten
degrees west of the latter locality, four miles distant.

This plain is of comparatively recent formation, and formerly was a
well-sheltered bay of the sea ; the sandstone formation in the hills to
the north and east are of the same age as that now forming the coast
line between it and the town of, Santa Cruz, the fossils of which of pre
sent existing species ; the forces that were instrumental in elevating
this section have been gradual, as is evinced in the highly disturbed po
sition of the sedimentary rocks along the coast for thirty-five miles ; in
these localities, it is difficult, in some instances to detect any inclination
of the strata whatever, and it is only in the mountain sections that this
disturbance becomes markedly manifest ; the uplift of this entire sec
tion has taken place since the rocks on which the tertiaries rest assumed

52 [APPENIHX

assumed the solid state, as no instance of change in the structure of any
of these rocks is. apparent at the points of contact. The under-lying
rock is primitive and of the granite class, and this continues for eight
een miles north of Santa Cruz. In this valley and also in the vicinity
of Santa Cruz the soils are made up of a mixture of the primitive and
sedimentary formations, thus rendering them fertile and easily tilled. In
the lower lands the soils are much better developed, yet the hilly lands
are capable of producing abundant root crops and grains. The cause
that render these hill-sides adapted to agriculture is the same as that
found on the high terrace of the Santa Clara, viz.: a quantity of sulphate
of lime acting as an absorbent, and retaining sufficient moisture to sup
port a healthy nutrition in the plant.

The entire range of hills lying between the Pajaro and south part of
the Santa Clara, and also a large portion of that range between the Sa
linas and Pajaro are well adapted to cropping, particularly for winter
grains, and. in some instances they are preferable to the valley lands,
and would, if brought under cultivation, produce better crops than the
plains ; they are also much/ better adapted to the culture of fruit-trees
than valley sections, possessing all the elements of which the valleys are
composed, and which render them fertile, they possess the advantage of
sheltering the young tree from the effects of the strong winds that pass
over these sections from the sea, and also its chilling effects on the young
blossoms and fruit.

There is no part of this State that I have visited, which possesses the
same natural advantages for fruit culture as are to be found in the dis
trict above alluded to ; while artificial irrigation is necessary in other
parts of the State, in order to sustain the vitality of the tree ; this is fur
nished regularly each night by aqueous exhalation from ;the ocean, and
extending some thirty miles into the interior; during the months of
July and August, last summer, an opportunity to observe this part was
offered, and I found that over this entire section a sufficient amount of
moisture was deposited each night to wet the leaves of plants very sen
sibly, and during the heavier fogs, a quantity sufficient to keep the
ground wet under medium sized trees until near mid-day ; a person en
tering this section of country in the morning would suppose from the
appearance of the ground that a light rain had occurred during the
night, and it was not unfrequent that I was obliged to dry my blankets
in the morning previous to saddling my horse.

The soil is equally Adapted to their propagation being of texture that
will permit the expansion of the roots oelow the surface without the ne
cessity of sinking deep into the earth, as is the case in many parts o fthe
country, where even the most hardy indigenous trees are found to send
their roots to great depths in order to obtain nourishment and support
for the trunk. It is surprising that with the advantages presented for
the cultivation of American fruit-trees in this section of the State, that
so little attention has been given to this subject in this vicinity; heavy
losses have been sustained by individuals in attempting to rear trees in
many parts of the country, and this has, in a great measure, prevented
others from embarking in this enterprize ; but in most of those cases
where failures have followed the attempt, it has been from a soil ill-

Doc. No. 9,] 53

adapted to their propagation, or in localities where floods have had the
effect to destroy them.

These injurious influences are absent here, and there is every thing
that can be desired to invite the pomologist in this ornamental and use
ful enterprize. . .

Fruit culture is to form an important branch in the industrial pursuits
of this country ; the lands best adapted these purposes in other localities
than those mentioned, are to be found in the south and middle portions
of the County San Francisco, from the San Mateo to the Francisquito
and toward the foot of the mountains to the west. North of San Fran
cisco, the upper portions of Napa Valley and Sonoma are equally as
good as those of some parts of the county of Santa Cruz, affording much
the same general characteristics as those of the latter county.

LIVERMOKE VALLEY.

This valley is situated in the central portion of mountains lying east
of the bay San Francisco and valley Santa Clara ; it divides these moun
tains into two distinct lines of ridges, and runs rather obtusely to their
course. The different names that are applied to this valley convey the
idea that there are as many distinct valleys, but such is .not the case, as
no hills intervene to destroy the general level throughout its entire
extent. From its extreme north to its extreme southern terminus the
valley is about sixteen miles in length and from five to seven in breadth.
On the north it is bounded by Monte Diablo and its adjoining hills,
separating it from Pacheco Valley ; on the east by a single high ridge
separating it from the plains of the San Joaquin ; on the south by the
hills near the northern part of the Canada Corall, and on the west by
the high ridge separating it from the Bay San Francisco. A large por
tion of the northern centre of this valley is occupied by a lagoon filled
with tule, and the latter extend for a considerable distance from its
borders.

The soil of the valley is generally good on the borders, but toward the
centre it is either wet and heavy and withal somewhat saline, on the
higher parts dry and gravelly. The entire district appears much better
adapted to grazing lands than to agriculture, unless water for irrigation
is obtained through artesian borings, and from the appearance of the
valley there is but little question that an abundant supply is obtainable
from these sources. The altitude of the valley is four hundred and
thirty feet above the sea ; and derives the principal portion of its sup:
plies of water from the slopes connecting with Monte Diablo. On the
south and southwest sides, among the hills, considerable masses of the
metamorphic rocks are to be seen, and the appearance of quartz veins is
more frequent in this vicinity than , in any other section of these moun
tains that were observed.

On all the hills that surround this basin, are to be found fossiliferous
sond&ones, and among the alluvium, in some localities, are to be found
considerable quantities of fragmentary shells, among which a large Gry-
phea has heretofore existed in considerable quantities. Some specimens
of the latter fossil are to be found in the office of the U. S. Land Survey,

52 [

assumed the solid state, as no instance of change in the structure of any
of these rocks is. apparent at the points of contact. The under-lying
rock is primitive and of the granite class, and this continues for eight
een miles north of Santa Cruz. In this valley and also in the vicinity
of Santa Cruz the soils are made up of a mixture of the primitive and
sedimentary formations, thus rendering them fertile and easily tilled. In
the lower lands the soils are much better developed, yet the hilly lands
are capable of producing abundant root crops and grains. The cause
that 'render these hill-sides adapted to agriculture is the same as that
found on the high terrace of the Santa Clara, viz.: a quantity of sulphate
of lime acting as an absorbent, and retaining sufficient moisture to sup
port a healthy nutrition in the plant.

The entire range of hills lying between the Pajaro and south part of
the Santa Clara, and also a large portion of that range between the Sa
linas and Pajaro are well adapted to cropping, particularly for winter
grains, and in some instances they are preferable to the valley lands,
and would, if brought under cultivation, produce better crops than the
plains ; they are also much/ better adapted to the culture of fruit-trees
than valley sections, possessing all the elements of which the valleys are
composed, and which render them fertile, they possess the advantage of
sheltering the young tree from the effects of the strong winds that pass
over these sections from the sea, and also its chilling effects on the young
blossoms and fruit.

There is no part of this State that I have visited, which possesses the
same natural advantages for fruit culture as are to be found in the dis
trict above alluded to ; while artificial irrigation is necessary in other
parts of the State, in order to sustain the vitality of the tree ; this is fur
nished regularly each night by aqueous exhalation from .the ocean, and
extending some thirty miles into the interior ; during the months of
July and August, last summer, an opportunity to observe this part was
offered, and I found that over this entire section a sufficient amount of
moisture was deposited each night to wet the leaves of plants very sen
sibly, and during the heavier fogs, a quantity sufficient to keep the
ground wet under medium sized trees until near mid-day ; a person en
tering this section of country in the morning would suppose from the
appearance of the ground that a light rain had occurred during the
night, and it was not unfrequent that I was obliged to dry my blankets
in the morning previous to saddling my horse.

The soil is equally Adapted to their propagation being of texture that
will permit the expansion of the roots oelow the surface without the ne
cessity of sinking deep into the earth, as is the case in many parts o fthe
country, where even the most hardy indigenous trees are found to send
their roots to great depths in order to obtain nourishment and support
for the trunk. It is surprising that with the advantages presented for
the cultivation of American fruit-trees in this section of the State, that
so little attention has been given to this subject in this vicinity; heavy
losses have been sustained by individuals in attempting to rear trees in
many parts of the country, and this has, in a great measure, prevented
others from embarking in this enterprize ; but in most of those cases
where failures have followed the attempt, it has been from a soil ill-

Doc. No. 9.] 53

adapted to their propagation, or in localities where floods have had the
effect to destroy them.

These injurious influences are absent here, and there is every thino-
that can be desired to invite the pomologist in this ornamental and use
ful enterprize.

Fruit culture is to form an important branch in the industrial pursuits
of this country ; the lands best adapted these purposes in other localities
than those mentioned, are to be found in the south and middle portions
of the County San Francisco, from the San Mateo to the Francisquito
and toward the foot of the mountains to the west. North of San Fran
cisco, the upper portions of JSTapa Valley and Sonoma are equally as
good as those of some parts of the county of Santa Cruz, affording much
the same general characteristics as those of the latter county.

LIVEKMOKE VALLEY.

This valley is situated in the central portion of mountains lying east
of the bay San Francisco and valley Santa Clara ; it divides these moun
tains into two distinct lines of ridges, and runs rather obtusely to their
course. The different names that are applied to this valley convey the
idea that there are as many distinct valleys, but such is .not the case, as
no hills intervene to destroy the general level throughout its entire
extent. From its extreme north to its extreme southern terminus the
valley is about sixteen miles in length and from five to seven in breadth.
On the north it is bounded by Monte Diablo and its adjoining hills,
separating it from Pacheco Valley ; on the east by a single high ridge
separating it from the plains of the San Joaquin ; on the south by the
hills near the northern part of the Canada Corall, and on the west by
the high ridge separating it from the Bay San Francisco. A large por
tion of the northern centre of this valley is occupied by a lagoon filled
with tule, and the latter extend for a considerable distance from its
borders.

The soil of the valley is generally good on the borders, but toward the
centre it is either wet and heavy and withal somewhat saline, on the
higher parts drv and gravelly. 'The entire district appears much better
adapted to grazing lands than to agriculture, unless water for irrigation
is obtained through artesian borings, and from the appearance of the
valley there is but little question that an abundant supply is obtainable
from these sources. The altitude of the valley is four hundred and
thirty feet above the sea ; and derives the principal portion of its sup:
plies of water from the slopes connecting with Monte Diablo. On the
south and southwest sides, among the hills, considerable masses of the
metamorphic rocks are to be seen, and the appearance of quartz veins is
more frequent in this vicinity than . in any other section of these moun
tains that were observed.

On all the - hills that surround this basin, are to be found fossiliferous
sond$tones, and among the alluvium, in some localities, are to be found
considerable quantities of fragmentary shells, among which a large Gry-
phea has heretofore existed in considerable quantities. Some specimens
of the latter fossil are to be found in the office of the U. S. Land Survey,

54 [APPENDIX

*

but none that were sufficiently perfect for cabinet specimens could be
obtained at the time I visited! the locality from which the above speci
mens were taken. These monstrous bivalves retain the animal in a pet
rified state most perfectly preserved, and it is evident from their distri
bution and appearance that they must have been elevated above the
surface of the waters during life ; the evidence of this exists in the fact
that nearly every shell contains the animal, which if they had been
raised above the surface after life had been destroyed the probabilities
are that very few animals would be found.

The route from this valley to the San Joaquin plains lays through a
narrow pass emerging from the southwestern side of the valley- The
pass retains the name of the valley into which it enters, and is about
sixteen miles (inclusive of that part of the valley . through which it
passes,) in length : at this point you enter the San Joaquin Valley at a
point .known as the. Elk Horn. The house at this place is two hundred
and twenty feet above the sea. A gentle rise of the land occurs here for
about half a mile, and then the valley slopes gently towards the river.
The road to the river follows the course of the tule bottoms for about
twelve miles, and then enters an Encinal of oaks, which continue to the
river.

One of the chief points of interest in this vicinity is the extensive
area covered by tule ; they commence near the junction of the river and
Suisun bay, and extend to a point about eighteen miles south of Castoria
on the west sicj.e of the river; having an average breadth of about,
twelve miles. From the appearance of the country in which they are
situated, I had formed an opinion that a large proportion of these lands
might be easily reclaimed, and if so, they must ultimately become valu
able property. With this view the altitude above the sea was taken in
several places, on my return to the mountains to the west, and the aver
age of those results gave the sum of eighty feet above tide level.
Should it prove that this level is maintained to any considerable distance
and the general character of those lands favor this presumtion, or should
there be a depression to the amount of twenty -five feet from their border
to their centre, which is rather improbable, there will still remain fifty-
five feet fall to reclaim them by drainage.

If properly drained, these lands could be applied to the culture of rice
or other vegetable productions, and judging from the character of the
soils immediately about them, they would prove highly prolific. And
here in passing I will mention one incident in relation to the capacity of
the soil for production, that may prove not only interesting but useful,
in illustration of erroneous opinions heretofore expressed relative to
lands on the San Joaquin Valley, and which perhaps has exerted as
great an influence in preventing the permanent settlement of these plains
as perhaps anything that has been urged against them. Toward the
foot-hills of the mountains to the west, is a low table of the valley ap
parently destitute of water, either for the support of vegetation or
animal life, in some parts this land^has a slight gravelly appearance, but
this is not general ; on one ranch situated on this plateau there ha* been
two full crops of barley harvested from the same piece- of ground, and
when I visited this place in October the third crop was then being har-

Doc. No. 9.] 55

rowed in; the whole having occurred within the term of two-hundr d
and seventy -three days.

As soon as this fact became known, settlers were soon found to be oil
their way thither, and at that time there was not a farm to be found
vacant for a considerable distance . around. There is no reason for the
supposition that land on the west side of the river and toward the moun
tains is unsuited for cultivation, for the fact before us is a sufficient proof
to the contrary.

Having noticed the more general characteristics of the geology of that
part of the country embraced in the examinations of the past season,
and also their more general adaptation to the industrial departments of
agriculture, it now remains to speak of their resources and the uses to
which they may be applied.

MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS'.

The minerals of these mountains are widely dispersed throughout
their entire extent ; they consist principally of copper, iron, lead, silver,
gold, rnickel, and antimony, with agates, calcedony, and many others
too numerous to mention here, but will be found under their proper
head.

The metallic minerals are widely distributed ; the ores of copper are
found in the form of carbonate, sulphuret, and silicate, among the Santa
Cruz Mountains ; in the vicinity of Rincon Point, south of San Francisco,
it is found sparingly disseminated among the trap and metamorphosed
rocks of that section. In the mountains, south of Monterey, it is also
found over a limited area, and again in the lower hills on the east side
of the Salinas Valley, near the Rancho Alisal. At this locality it occurs
in an extensive quartz dike that has forced its way through all the other
rocks both igneous and sedimentary ; the forms in which it appears are
the blue and green carbonate, in crystals, the sulphuret, the latter found
in small masses detached from the gangiie. In the same rocks is to be
found considerable quantities of iron p<yrites, generally disseminated and
containing a small quantity of gold. The above ores of copper are often
met with in these mountains, their occurrence over so wide a range and
the trapean rocks with which they are so often associated leads to the
belief that at a future day they may be found in sufficient quantity to be
profitably worked.

SILVER. — In the county Monterey, this metal occurs in the form of
argentiferous galena (or lead and silver) this mineral is found in the
primitive and transition limestone abounding in this section; it is found
in small veins and disseminated ; the range in which it occurs, extends
from the Gabilan Peak to the Chapedero on the south, a distance of
twelve miles inclusive. The limestone in whicfi it is found, and the
granitic rocks adjoining have been disturbed by the intrusion of trapean
rocks to the east, and from the opportunity that was offered for its ex
amination it dips under the valley of the west at a considerable angle.
A cross-cut has been driven from the west side of the hill for the pur
pose of intersecting the line of the view, but was abandoned before

reaching the limestone.* A shaft has also been sunk on the vein to the
depth of fifty -five feet, -and 'at the bottom the granite had been reached,
an opportunity was presented in the level from the bottom of the shaft
to make an examination on its line of strike, and from all that could be
seen, (as there had been much caving in of the walls) it is evident that
the metallic vein is confined to the calcareous rock, as no vestige of -it
was to be found in any part of the granite below it.

' At one point the decomposed vein showed a power of four or five
inches for two feet in depth, this was followed down to the granite, and
at its junction all traces of the vein ceased to exist. It is not -improba
ble that a well defined sett may be found under the valley, but it will
require much exploration and expenditure of capital to determine that
point, as mining operations cannot be entered upon with small means
and ultimate prospects of success. . .

Traces of this mineral are to be met with for several miles north and
south of this locality, and its distribution over so wide a range of coun
try induces a belief that a profitable vien may yet be found in these
mountains.

IKON. — This metal is found in almost every variety of form, from one
end of the Coast Mountains to the other, the prevailing mineral how
ever, is the. peroxide and protoxide of this metal; the latter is often
found in the form of hydrate, and when occuring in proximity to serpen
tine rocks often found to be more or less auriferous. This mineral is
largely developed in some parts of the auriferous district of Mariposa
county, and from one of the most valuable receptacles of gold among
the gold-bearing rocks of that section.

SULPHATE IKON. — This article known in commerce under the name
of " Copperas," is found native in large quantities near the town of
Santa Cruz. Its principle had occurred a short distance west of the
house of Mr. Medor in a gulch running from the mountains through
the low hills to the coast. I followed the course of the ravine from
where it enters the high hill near the crossing of the road north-west of
the town to near the sea, the average depth of its banks varies from
fifteen to thirty feet, its length from the hill to the coast being about
two miles.

The copperas formed an efflorescence- on the sides and bottom of the
ravine covering entirely the earth and stones, on which a great quantity
had crystalized ; it was not difficult to scoop up a pound or more, at any
one of these places ; the banks of the ravine above the water were cov
ered with the effloresced salt to such a thickness that a white and green
color was given for several yards in length, the- ground being entirely
obscured. The depth of the earth tfyat was thoroughly impregnate*:!
with the salt, would average ten feet for the -whole length of the ravine
the depth to which thfs descends below the surface is unknown, but it' is
probably considerable ; the rocks at the bottom are a micaceous schist
and were broken into for two or three feet and at that depth seemed as
strongly charged with the ferruginous salt as at the surface. A small
stream of -water runs through the gulch which is permanent throughout
the year, and carries a sufficient quantity to answer all the purposes of

Doc. No. 9.] 57 -.x

an extensive manufacture of this article for commerce. It would be
difficult to iind a loccality that combines the same advantages" that this
does for the manufacture of sulphate of iron; all that is necessary to be
done has been performed by nature, and to extract the salt it is only
necessary to erect vats upon the coast and shovel the earth, to be leached,
directly into them. An area of several square miles is highly charged
with the mineral and the day is not far distant when Santa Cruz will be
come as celebrated for the manufacture of this article as it has been here
tofore for its vegetable productions.

MAGNETIC IRON. — At the distance of two mites north-west of the
above locality, an extensive bed of magnetic iron occurs, running down
to the coast, at which point it crops out arid exhibits a depth of several
feet. Toward the mountains I have been informed that it t again shows
itself above the surface in several places ; there is every reason to be
lieve that it underlies an extensive district, as much difficulty has been
experienced in obtaining correct courses by the compass ; in one instance
the needle was deflected to thirty-one degrees on approaching its south
ern edge.

GYPSUM. — Sulphate of lime is reported to abound in the northern paft
of Santa Cruz, and in the vicinity of the Palo de los Yeska, some six
miles from the Mission; it was frequently spoken of by the inhabitants
of this place but I was unable to learn its precise locality. It is not im
probable that it does abound in this vicinity, as ample material for its
formation exists in this section of country. An extensive bed of moun
tain limestone occurs in close proximity to the native sulphate of iron
alluded to in the former paragraph.

CINNABAR — Has also been reported to have occurred in this vicinity.
I found one small piece east of the San Lorenzo on the side of a hill,
but it is not impossible that it might have been carried there by human
means, as no other mineral of the same character was observed ; the
occurrence of small detached pieces of cinnabar in these places is not
sufficient evidence to found a, belief that it occurs in situ, or that a de
posit may occur there.

* — The ores of this metal are found from Contra Costa on the
north to the utmost southern limit reached in the Coast Mountains. •? It
occurs in the primitive rocks, associated with chronic iron in almost every
case where the latter may be obtained. It appears vas a bright green
mineral on the fractured surface of the other ores, and is known in tech
nical language as " nicked green." The scarcity of this metal renders
the discovery of its ores in this country an object of some importance,
and its wide distribution leads to the belief that it exists in sufficient
quantities to. warrant investment for its extraction from other ores, at no
distant day. It is extensively used in the manufacture of German Sil
ver for wares and household utensils. When reduced, the metal is
white, much resembling silver in in its general appearance, and for
which it has been mistaken in this country. The principal localities
where it has been observed this season are at Contra Costa, in the ser-

8

..,,„..

58 [APPENDIX

pentine rocks south of Tulecita and near San Antonia in the county
Monterey, among the large beds of chronic iron from the San Benito,
and the Panoches, of the Gabilan range. These localities afford the
largest amounts yet found in this State, and it is to be hoped that those
explorations which are now in progress in this part of the country may
result in the development of this mineral to a much greater extent than
yet known.

GOLD.-— This metal has been found in the Coast Mountains, from the
County San Francisco on the north to Luis Obispo on the south. The
slates and serpentine formations which have been noticed in the preceding
pages of this report are found to be receptacles of gold here as in the
Sierra ^Nevada ; these rocks are extensive in the Coast Mountains, often
comprising an entire ridge for miles, they are usually flanked by the gran
ite. During the past summer, the placers in the County Santa Cruz were
much worked ; the gold found here was principally on the San Lorenzo
and its tributaries ; it was fine, and much resembled that found in the Caoti
Hill, near Nevada; under the glass it had all the appearance of having
suifered but little from attrition by water, the surface of the grains being
rough, as though just detached from their ' original matrix. The slates
and serpentine rocks occur on both sides of this creek, with small veins
of quartz running through them, and from what we know of auriferous
districts of this and other countries, the presumption that gold in situ
exists here, amounts nearly to a certainty.

On the upper portions of the Carmello, in the county' Montery, gold
is also found, in the immediate vicinity of the Eancho Tulecita. far
ther to the southeast, near the head waters of the creek, it is also found
on the tributaries of the main stream, that flow from the western ridge
of these mountains. On the Francisquito, a tributary of the Carmello,
coming from the southwest, and twelve miles from the coast it is also
found near the house of Barondo. Three or four Mexicans were work
ing with the battaya at the time I passed that ranche. The serpentine
rocks are largely developed on the east flanks of -the granite ridges, and
from their course they may be considered as forming the northern part
of a series which occurs at the- Mission San Antonio fifty miles south.

I was informed by Mr. Meadows, who has traversed the interior of
these mountains probably more than any' other man in this part of the
country, that the same class of rocks are -found throughout the distance
inclusive between the Carmello and 'the above Mission. Near San An
tonio there were several persons at work during the past summer, in the
placers in this vicinity. This was no new discovery, for the existence
of gold at this locality has been known since 1850. Those at work at
this place were mostly Mexicans, and while traveling on the Salinas I
frequently met companies of five or six, with their camp material and
tools, wending their way to this section.

Qn the Pescadero Creek, a tributary of the Pajaro Eiver, gold was
found -during the past summer; it was first observed a short distance
above the bituminous springs lying on the north bank of this stream ; the
serpentine rocks abound in this vicinity, and also some of its subordinate
members ; at this place the Magnesian Group of the Santa Cruz Moun
tains, which run north into San Francisco, have their southern terminus.

Doc. No. 9.] 59

On the Rancho La Brae, near the Pescadero, and into the very^ edge of
the Valley Santa Clara the talcose series and gold is found ; on crossing
the Pajaro, these rocks and with, them the gold closes ; not a trace of
this metal, or rock that would indicate its existence was to be found in
any of the hills east of the Gabilan.

The district of country in the Coast Mountains in which the aurifer-
erous deposits are now known to occur is about eighty miles in length,
and thus far is confined to the counties of Santa Clara, Monterey and
the north part of Luis Obispo. This is a material addition to the al
ready known area in which this metal is found, and its location in what
has heretofore been considered the agricultural districts of the State,
will in time exert a beneficial influence in the permanent settlement of
those sections.

ANTIMONY. — The common sulphuret of this metal fs Very abundant
in the Monte Diablo Eange ; at Mount Oso it is found in large masses,
also at various other points throughout these mountains ; it occurs in
considerable quantities in some parts- of the County of Santa Barbara.
This mineral is deserving of attention as it often contains a notable
quantity of silver, though as yet no specimens which have been found
in this country contain a large per centage of this metal. That variety
of the antimonial ores which is argentiferous, has a lively steel-gray
color, cuts easily with the knife and is brittle, while the common gray
antimony, which is the principal yet found, has a lead-gray color, its
fractured surface, easily tarnishes and scales of the mineral are slightly
flexible. *

BITUMEN. — Bituminous springs abound through the Coast Moun
tains, and in some places is much used in the construction of buildings,
and walks in front of buildings ; for the latter purposes it is admirably
adapted in situations where the sun will not have too powerful an effect
upon it, as in such cases it is apt to become soft. In the counties of
Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey, several of these springs occur,
and further south are found more abundant. Information has been re
ceived of an extensive deposit of bitumen in Contra Costa, some six
miles from the scores of the bay, but at what point I have as yet been
unable to learn. This article has been used of late in the manufacture
of gas, for illumination, and it possesses some advantages over the com
mon oil or resin gas in general use ; a sufficient quantity for the illumin
ation of the country may be easily obtained and at low rates when re
quired for this purpose.

CINNABAR.— This mineral is well known, and the principal mine now
opened in this country is at New Almaden in the County of Santa Clara
and situated twelve miles from San Jose. The town of Almaden is sit
uated four hundred and eighty feet above the sea and the mine is eight
hundred and sixty feet above the town, making the elevation of the
mine thirteen hundred forty -five above tide level. The ore_at this mine
is found in bunches or deposits in a clay highly charged with peroxide
iron. The cinnabar contains considerable arsenic generally disseminated
through the ore, small veins of calcareous spar are found running

62 [APPENDIX

of about four miles, with, an elevation of four thousand feet above the
sea for the greatest part of its length.'

From the examinations that were made upon this range, there are
abundant evidences that an ancient stream,, flowed through this section,
of the country, and in a direction parallel with its then existing moun
tain ridges, and the extensive mining operations conducted in/the south
east part of Sierra county 011 this range, has been the means of demon
strating this fact, which -had heretofore been strongly suspected only.
The outliers of its banks are very definitely marked throughout the
entire length of the formation under consideration, and its former bed
filled in many places, with a volcanic sand and ashes, which probably
accompanied its displacement.

Iir the county Sierra these peculiarities ar-e best observed ; in the"
viqinity, and foy ten miles west of Downieville, the hills are covered
with a volcanic brecia and tufa, which may be conveniently studied be
tween the Negro Tent and Galloway's Banch, also on 'all the hills and
ravines surrounding Yumanna on Oregoia Creek. On the creek the
tufaceous deposit is found to the depth of sixty feet. L

The exact point from which these immense quantities of volcanic
materials were ejected, is somewhat obscure ; yet there are reasons for
the supposition that they had their origin in the truncated cones which
lie a few miles to the north-east, and of which the Pilot Peak forms one
of the principal points or centres of this rugged and forbidding district.
This presumption is based on the grounds that between Uilot Peak and
Yumana there are ample evidences of a direct connection with these
larger centres of disturbance ; an extensive dike of black scoriaceous
and vesicular, lava is traceable throughout the entire distance between
Yumana and the Pilot Peak, passing through the hill north-west of
Downieville, and within two hundred yards of the town, it crosses the
river at this point and appears at Durgan's Flat on the opposite side of
the stream, from thence it is again met near Galloway's Ranch, and con
tinues from there t9 the high bluff which overhangs the town of
Yumana, on Oregon Creek. There are no other true volcanic cones in
this section that would seem commensurate with so large a scale of oper
ations, except those above noted, though the minor peaks undoubtedly
added much to the general result.

The displacement of this ancient stream and the subsequent filling of
its bed has opened a new and rich field for scientific research. in this
State, but its more direct and economical bearings are that it affords an
equally new and extensive field for the operations of the placer miner,
and that thus far has proved itself equal to that of any range yet discov
ered in this country. Besides being equally abundant in its produce of
gold as far as opened, with the best placers of the State, it possesses the
advantage of being the most extensive of any one system which has yet
been found. The peculiarities which characterize this formation and
which distinguishes it from all others in the State, are the following : —
the boulders found throughout its entire extent are very uniform -in their
characters, and are composed of quartz exclusively, (or nearly so) this
has a bluish- watery color in the mass, highly trans lucent and vitreous
when fractured, constituting ninety-seven per cent, of all the stones found
in^lie deeper diggings, they are invested by a dull but deep blue earthy

Doc. No. !).] 63

material highly charged with pyrites, which in most cases is «s firm as
the rocks themselves, making it extremely laborious and difficult in
driving shafts or adits. The gold is contained in this matrix for a dis
tance of six or eight feet above the "bed-rock," and resting directly on
the latter, it is coarse and generally rough, and its external appearance
is that of a poor quality, thougLdt assays high and brings the first prices ;
its pale and dirty appearance is due to a small quantity of arsenical
pyrites which adheres to its surface and which is found in considerable
quantities in the matrix containing the gold.

The underlying rocks are serpentine and talcose slates ; on Oregon
Creek they are found to contain small veins of mundic (arsenical pyrites)
one or two inches in thickness, this has a clear and lively grayish- w^hite
color, when recently fractured, but soon tarnishes on exposure, becoming
a dirty lead gray, and even quite dark ; this mineral is rich in gold, it is
difficult to find a small piece that does not present this metal to the
naked eye on some part of its sufface.

The mineral was first observed in the, Johnson Shaft, half a mile north
of the town of Yumanna, and occurs at a depth of fifty feet below the
level of the creek, at the edge of which the shaft was driven, the strike
of these veins was north-west by west, and is found on both sides of the
stream on that line. There were four other shafts in this vicinity in
which the mundic was found under the same circumstances ; and there
can be scarcely a question but that it exists in true veins among the
serpentine rocks throughout this part of the country. These veins have
been found to penetrate the rocks in which they occur to the depth of
six feet from the surface, and should it ultimately be found that the
area is in any way considerable through which they, run, .they offer suf
ficient inducement to erect works for the reduction of this ore.

The blue color of the drift in this range has been found to pervade all
parts of this peculiar deposit wherever it occurs, its boulders maintain
their character and per centage, its extent over so large a district, its
dissimilarity in these respects with all other placers vet known, has sug
gested the propriety of adopting a name which shall at once seperate it
from other sections, in order to designate more particularly its course
and extent in the future ; by this means we shall in a short time be able
to acquire additional information relative to its extent that we do not
now possess, and as its developements at the present time are of so flat
tering a nature, that any information of its present undiscovered boun
daries, would add but another link to the great chain of our mineral
resources, equally as important and productive as the best now known.

I would, therefore, suggest, that tjie term " Eastern Blue Range" be
applied to this district ; this will separate it from tho* lower down, hav
ing the same color, but not possessing any one of its other peculiarities.

To define more particularly the position of this formation, both geo
graphically and geologically, we will follow more particularly the out
line of the ancient stream, and some few of the localities now situated
upon it. On the south fork of Feather River, opposite to Sailor Bar,
and east of this locality for three miles it is found in fche form of small
flats on the sides- of hills declining to the east ; passing to the south,it is
met with a short distance from Goody e'arfe Bar, again at Yumanna, on
Oregon Creek, still farther south at Minesota, at Chipseg's, Smith's and

64 [APPENDIX

Kanaka Flats ; crossing the Middle Yuba, it is found at Orleans Flat,
Moore's Flat, New Flats, thence across the south Yuba, by the towns of
Eureka, Washington, and Poor Man's Creek, and at Mule Springs. This
vicinity has presented an area of nine miles in which this formation has
been found. Crossing Bear River, it is again met at each side of the
American Forks, and is particularly well developed in the vicinity of
Sarahsville, extending from thence to Georgetown. South of this, but
very little is known of its location.

Within the extremes of north and south named above, the banks of
an ancient stream are distinctly marked out, and can be as easily traced
as if the waters were still flowing in their original bed. It must have
existed at a date when the adjacent country maintained a much less ele
vation than that now existing ; this is proven from the fact that, even at
this time a terraced form is observable in many places, in 'each of which
the same peculiarities aboiind. The organic matters deposited are per
fect in their forms, the most delicate parts of leaves are truthfully pre
served to nature ; the material in which they are imbedded is that
usually found suspended in waters that were but slightly disturbed, and
when disintegrated yields an almost impalpable powder — not a pebble,
nor even coarse sand is to be found in any part of it. In fact every fea
ture that would indicate a quiet state of waters is fulfilled in the section
under consideration. Had it been otherwise, the leaves and other ten
der parts of plants would have exhibited a different appearance from
that they now present.

The remains of plants found in these localities are extinct on this part
of the coast at the present date, the fruit, leaf, and structure of the sap-
vessels, differ from those of every other section of the country, either
fossil or living. I have been enabled to obtain six varieties of leaves,
and two varieties of fruits, which will be described as soon as opportuni
ty &|iall offer. The depth at which these specimens were obtained from
the surface was one hundred seventy feet, and near the end of an adit
whose length was five hundred eighty feet, the principal bed was found
in the Arcana Tunnel, at the town of Minesota.

The position of this formation has been stated in the preceding pages,
to be below the tertiary groups and diluvial drift of the other placers.
It will be unnecessary to roam over the entire State to illustrate or prove
this point, as we have an adjacent district where both may be studied
with ease and facility in an hour's ride between them. This locality is
.found at Chipseg's arid Smith's Flats, about midway between Minesota
and Oregon Creek. The ^different formations will be given as they occur
at Smith's Flat and Minesota, which will fully illustrate the existing dif
ferences

A_t Minesota we find the following in the descending order : First,
volcanic tufa ; second, diluvial drift, -containing no gold and having a
depth of seventy feet ; below this is found a bed of clay and imperfectly
formed slates beneath which a boulder formation of thirty-eight feet
composed almost exclusively of quartz ; succeeding this the formation
in question, containing tne silicified woods, and leaves and fruits, the lat
ter in the form of lignites, and in abundance. Following a direct line
from this locality to Smith's Flat and at the distance of half a mile from
the latter we meet an outcrop of the slates, above these slates the drift

Doc. No. 9.] 65

and gold of this latter locality is found, and contains petrifactions of
present existing species of plants and trees, which still flourish in the
adjoining neighborhood ; among these the pine and oak are very prom
inent. The structure of these silicified woods are as perfectly delineated
as in the trees of similar character growing above them. The drift de
posit at this locality is composed of every variety of rock found in the
adjoining countries, being composed of trap, granite, porphyries and
quartz, forming no well defined order of position.

The drift deposit of Minesota being almost exclusively of quartz, such
as has been described as occuring at Yumanna, forms a wide contrast
with the above, and beneath the boulder formation the lignites, consist
ing of six species none of which are identical with any living species, or
with the deposits of the section north of this locality. It will be seen
from the peculiarities thus briefly enumerated in relation to the main
features of both deposits, the widely dissimilar character of the mine
rals composing both, their relative position, and the difference in the
organic deposits found in both, there is sufficient reason for assigning to
each a different age.

How correct this conclusion may be, it yet remains to be proved, if
additional testimony is required ; and this can only be known when this
particular section shall have been more fully explored. Certain it is,
however, that its present appearance favors this classification ; and should
it prove as productive in its auriferous deposits as the partial explora
tions upon it now indicate, the amount of gold which it capable of pro
ducing would be unequalled in any district heretofore or at present
known. There is not an instance known, where the lead in this range
has been found, but that large sums of gold have been the result ; this
might be saying more, perhaps, than prudence would dictate, but such
are the facts in the case, let opinion be* what .they may.

QUAKTZ MINING.

For two years past this branch of industry has engrossed much of
public attention, and speculation on the future success and prospects of
these mines has been as diversified and fluctuating as upon any subject
ever presented to public consideration ; this has resulted from an incor
rect appreciation of their intrinsic value, and want of information res
pecting their position, geologically considered, coupled with disappoint
ments resulting in too high anticipations of abundant products from these
sources in too short periods of time ; the hasty and inconsiderate man
ner in which persons entered into these speculations in the country here
tofore, and the natural results which must necessarily flow from such a
course of action, has had the effect to cast a shadow of doubt for the
time being, on the future prospects of these sources of wealth, while the
pecuniary losses that followed in the the train of these causes were con
strued by alarmists abroad as indexes of certain failure, and thus ren
dered ike doubt that existed an apparent certainty.

All this however, has had a beneficial effect in its ultimate results, by
checking that abnormal cause of action incident to the first outbreak of
all speculative movements of this kind. Had that cool discretion and

9

66 [APPENDIX

judgment which has marked the subsequent career of these undertak
ings — that firm determination to surmount all natural obstacles and test
the truth or falsity of the claim advanced of the value of these veins,
been practiced in the earlier stages of quartz mining, we should have
been spared the disagreeable task of chronicling adversity and pseudo-
failures in a legitimate and profitable branch of employment, thus sav
ing this one- of the grand levers of our commercial prosperity the odium
that has heretofore attached to it and is still persistent in the minds of
some abroad.

Aided by the discrepant and in many cases malicious reports from our
own hills, the savans of the Atlantic States and Europe reiterated the
howl, and the public of those distant shores were nightly harrangued in
the lecture-room, and popular assemblies, on the utter impossibility of
the auriferous veins of this country proving to be more than, a mere ephemeral
show, and unworthy the confidence of reflecting minds. Their gratui
tous expressions and unfavorable opinions, are now proved from the sub
sequent explorations which have been conducted on these veins, to be
equally unfounded as were the arguments made use of by these men to
convince their listening audiences of the supposed facts they so learnedly
put forth ; and our citizens engaged in these pursuits of industry have
labored on, temporarily affected only by the confusion of opinions and
anathemas issued from the portals of science, against this great interest
of the State, and have borne the testimony triumphantly to the world
that science unattended by personal experience will render him who uses
it far more notorious than popular or reliable.

Notwitstanding the disadvantages of a manufactured public opinion
with which this branch of industry has been obliged to contend, and the
serious obstacles which have thus been presented to its progress, it has
now become one of the permanent employments of the State, and should
it meet with no other impediments than those which are the resultants of
nature, it will obtain a position second to none, within the next two
years.

The permanency of their character would scarcely have been demon
strated in the short period of time in which it has occurred, in any other
country or State except this, and is in true keeping with the firmness of
purpose manifested in every great undertaking by the citizens of this
State, and is but another mark of that indomitable perseverance in over
coming difficulties either natural or artificial, that stand in the path of
their advancement, for which they have become peculiarly characterized
and proverbial.

The popular belief that the gold mines of this State, and the opera
tions conducted upon them heretofore has been suspended, with the ex
ception perhaps of a few isolated cases scattered through the country,
and that they hold but a forced existence for speculative puposes, de
signed ultimately to be the means of conducting swindling operations
on a large scale abroad, is as base as it is unfounded ; those feelings and
ideas find a haven in the breasts of a few only, who from their position
commercially have been the means of propagating this erroneous and
unjust opinion in relation to this subject. The embittered feelings of
such persons, which have had their origin in disappointed hopes arising
from too hasty conclusions respecting the productiveness of thoge oper-

Doc. No. 9.] 6?

ations in which they were individually interested, and which in nearly
every case was caused by inadequacy of means and mismanagement of
their operations, is no criterion whereby to form an opinion that would
be just or reasonable, with reference to these metallic veins, and those in
this country who would still propagate those opinions, do so in the face
of every evidence to the contrary which reason or sober judgment would
demand or can be found in this or any other country.

With these preliminary remarks on the general impressions at home
and abroad, respecting their theoretic value, founded as they are on pre
sumption rather than evidence, we shall proceed to consider the geolog
ical position which the quartz veins of this State hold to the rocks with
which .they are found in connection, hoping thereby to elucidate more
clearly their present as well as prospective value.

QUAKTZ VEINS AND THEIR RELATIVE AGES IN CALI
FORNIA.

The quartz veins of this State are" found distributed in nearly parallel
lines throughout the west flank of the Sierra Nevada, and consist of
three distinct lines separated by intervals ranging from four to eleven
miles ; as these divisions are found in nature they constitute what may
be denominated the principal or main ranges. Between these are to be'
found smaller lines of these rocks at times running parallel with the
former, at others having strikes more or less oblique^ and even at right
angles in some instances with, the principal veins.

From the peculiar distribution of these rocks, as. relates to their con
nection and position with the formations in which they are found, it
would be difficult to refer them all to the same age ; this would be man
ifest only by observing the different sections in which they occur. They
will therefore be designated, in this report as the Older and Recent groups,
in order to better describe the peculiarities that may be found in both,
and with reference also to the age of the rocks which they have been the
apparent cause of disturbing.

OLDER GROUP.

The eastern and also a part of what may be termed the central line
of dikSs are included under this head. This group is found to have in
truded itself through the primitive formations only, or through the tra-
pean rocks which immediately succeed the primitive. The principal
rocks which appear to have suffered the greatest amount of local dis
turbance and .dislocation from these quartz veins, have been the granite
serpentine and the earlier trapean rocks, which appear to under-lie both
the former. The veins or dikes that occur in the primitive series are
usually much more massive than those of a later period, and are not
distributed over so wide an area, or possess so great a number of lateral
veins, or cross-courses incident to the more recent group of these rocks.

The mineral characteristics of the Older Group are more uniform
and regular so far as known, and are found to possess a firmness of

68 [APPENDIX

texture, where they enter the greenstone, much greater than those of
recent date. It is seldom found that this suite of veins has cut through
or in any way disturbed the slates wljich rest on the granite, even when
the latter are in (the immediate neighborhood ; less rare is it to find
them cut through by the older group ; that in a line of travel over two
hundred miles in length that I have seen but two instances in the east
ern range of veins, and it is even questionable whether this dike be
longed strictly to the older group.

The effect of these veins on the rocks which they pass through, has
been to disorganize their structure to a considerable extent, which has
rendered the decomposition of both more rapid and complete, hence it
frequently happens that rich deposits of metal are found -in such places,
and usually occur near the point of contact of both series of rocks. The
older group is found to extend from near the summit ridge of the moun
tains to a distance of about forty miles toward the west, and constitute
nearly six-eights (6-8) of all the veins found within this line of distance,
and on these are located the greatest proportion of all the mines at pre
sent in operation.

In that portion of the country lying north of the Cosumnes River
and ranging thirty miles east of the Yalley Sacramento, the central line
of dikes belonging to the older group, are found, their western edge
passes through the counties of El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Bu'tte and
Shasta, and as far north as the Mt. Shata hills to the east of the peak.
It is well developed in the counties of El Dorado, Placer and Nevada,
and in one locality in the county of Yuba, a short distance above Scott's
Ferry. In these latter counties the more recent group is also found, and
in the county of Nevada it is seen to have disturbed the older groups in
some localities, and in Placer county, where both have features in com
mon which will be noticed more particularly when treating of the Eecent
group.

• To localize the upper and older group- of these veins, a few localities
will be given for the purpose of familiarizing their geographical positions ;
in Nevada county it is met with, at the National vein, also at German
Bar, at the Ariel Mine in Sierra county, and the Jamison Creek mines
in Butte county ; on the American forks at the Volcano mine, El Dorado
county; Leake Vein, Calaveras county; Big Oak Flat, and Marble
Springs, Tuolumne county.

These localities are situated far into the mountains, and are situated on
the eastern part of this line of dikes, and upon those parts of it where
it is most largely developed, becoming an extended and well defined con
tinuous range.

Keturning to the middle or central range of dikes, at the distance of
thirty miles from the valley, and travelling south we find that immedi
ately after crossing the Consumnes, the granitic rocks that have hereto
fore been found associated with this range of veins further north begin
to disappear in a gradual manner, and the prevailing rocks are talcose,
to the exclusion of almost every other of the primitive series ; for a dis
tance of about fifty miles, the quartz is found associated with this or some
of its- subordinate members, the granitic rocks lying far to the east. The
quartz vein found among the talcose series and which appear of the same
age as those occurring in the grange, are equally uniform in the general

Doc. No. 9.] 69

characteristics they present, so far as relates to their mineral constituents,
but there is one remarkable feature attending them here (as also to the
north in a few instances,) which is not common to the granitic associa
tions of these rocks, viz : the depth to which the vein is decomposed from
the surface down, will not exceed more than one-fourth that which will
be found where the inverting rock. is of the granitic series. This pecu
liar feature is very striking in passing from a " sett " situated in the latter
to one located in the former, and will be found to hold good even in the
same neighborhood.

One other feature is equally apparent, and at the same time important
in connection with this, which is, that while those veins present the con
trast above noted, the "setts" occuring in the serpentive series which
have been unaffected by the cause producing such extensive decomposi
tion as is found among the granite rocks, do not possess a texture so firm
and coherent as the veins found in the northern sections, such veins will
be worked with a less amount of labor and capital producing an equal
amount of ore.

There is nothing to distingu^s^ the veins of this section from being of
the same age with those at the north, and running through a similar range
of country, like the veing of the granitic series they do not appear to
have disturbed the more recent formation of the tertiaries, but are con
fined exclusively to the primitive rocks. Following a line west toward
the valleys, the occurrence of a more recent group becomes manifest, and
is unquestionably the equivalent of that alluded to as occurring through
out the northern counties.

RECENT GEOUP. ,

This group of these rocks is found extending from the lowest foot-hills
on the east border of the valley r where the first outcrop of the slates are
met, to a distance of about eighteen miles to the east, and after is found
running into tfee western edge of the older group ; their intrusion ap
pears to have formed one of the principal and later disturbing agents
that has been in action in those periods of development of that part of
this country, immediately preceding, and continuing into the middle
Eocene and Miocene periods of the tertiary era.

Their altitude above the sea is variable, from one hundred to fifteen
hundred feet, and some few localities reach the height of two thousand.
One of the features, which this group presents, and which distinguishes
it from those of the older group is, that they have cut through and dis
turbed not only the primitive formations, but every other formation
found resting upon them, this occurs in almost every case in which these
rocks are found. A dike of this age is often found protruding through
the granite or some other member of the primitive series, and may be
traced frequently for one or two miles before any member of the sedi-
mentry rocks are met with ; in this case, the latter rocks will be found
more or less disturbed at the point of contact with the vein, and it will
often be found that its passage from the granite beneath into the slates
above is perfect, traversing the overlying rocl^ through a great part of
its length, and sending out cross courses in every direction. A di-s

70 [APPENDIX

turbed position is not the only change observable in these cases ; struc
tural change is as often the result of the intrusion among the slates as the
appearance of the veins themselves. The above peculiarities in relation
to these views are observable in every part of the lower mining districts,
and an erroneous opinion in regard to the age of the dike' under exami
nation may easily occur as the part urider our observation may be situated
either in the primitive or sedimentary rocks.

A dike of this character occurs in the town of Centreville, Placer
County, and extends in a northerly direction for one and a half miles
through granite, when it enters the slates, passing entirely through their
length and again appearing in granite at their northern extremity ; an
other instance of a similar character is met with on Deer Creek, two
miles below Nevada ; here the dike passes through the trap, granite and
slate, and also at Newtown in the same county. Still further north, in
the County of Yuba, a vein cuts both the granite and slate, as in the
vicinity of Brown's Valley,' and again on Dry Creek ; in many other
localities throughout this range of country, the same features are to be
found, and our opinion on the comparative ages of these veins, can be
correctly founded only by a careful examination of the entire length of .
the vein.

On the same range of hills, this group is continued south as far as
the Tuolumne River, and includes the district on which some of the
principal companies of the southern counties are located. It frequently
happens that the veins of' this group are composed, of a perfect net-work
of small threads and veins, varying in power from one inch to one foot.
This peculiarity is admirably exemplified at Angel's Camp in Calaveras
County, at this locality and for miles around these small "hilos" con
stitute a large part, of tiie rich veins of this section, while at the distance
of four miles to the south, it again appears as a . mammoth dike, popu
larly known as the "Great Carson Hill Vein," which extends southerly
to the Stanislaus River.

From this point a line of large dikes interrupted at inte^rvals continue
in a southeast direction for sixty miles, passing through Campo Seco,
Coulteryille, Bear Valley, and thence to Mi Ophir; throughout this
entire distance they are found to cut through all other volcanic rocks,
with perhaps one or two exceptions ; the lasaltic rocks in some parts of
the southern counties bear evidence of displacement by these intrusions,
and I know of but two cases in which the latter intrusions have thrown
these veins, and in these cases it is not yet fully determined whether
this be the fact. It is on the west flanks of the hills in. which the dikes
of the recent group of quartz appears, that the features which mark
their age are more particularly noticeable ; here the slates (and in the
foothills, the sandstone) present all the varied changes of position and
structure, noticed by different writers on the physical features incident
to the mountain districts of California — at one time dipping east at an
other west, and again half inverted, in the multifarious disturbances to
which they have been subjected.

The greatest amount of displacement in the sedimentary rocks is
always found in the closest proximity to the veins in their immediate
vicinity, and although a ¥e*tical position only may be given in many
instances, yet this is found to become less as you recede from the vein

Doc. No. 9.] 71

on either hand transversely to its line of strike ; it is not unfrecyient that
the high angle of dip in the first instance will assnme a nearly horizon
tal position in the distance of a mile from the point of uplift, but the
next ridge will present a re-enactment of the first case if the rocks com
posing it are of the same character.

The vertical position of the slates is one of those peculiar features
which attracts the attention of almost every person passing to or from
the interior, from their appearance resembling an old church-yard they
have been termed the grave-stone slates, and this distinctive feature is
found to pervail to the lower range of foot-hills toward the valley, as
well as in the more elevated parts of the mountains ; this vertically
among the lower hills has been urged as an objection to the point that
the intrusion of the quartz of either group, was not the immediate cause
of that uplift, but that the present inclination has been given by causes
of a a similar character which have acted subsequent to the intrusion of
the quartzose veins.

This proposition seems invalid for this reason : if any such agency as
that proposed had been the immediate cause of producing the effects
which are observable among the slates of this section and sufficiently
powerful to have forced them into the position they now occupy ; it
seems but reasonable to suppose that some portions of the intrusive
materials should make their appearance among them ; but this is
not the case, nor is it necessary to introduce such a complication in order
to explain the physical features which are apparent in these rocks, as we
find an agent distributed largely among them, which is fully adequate
to induce all the changes of position or structure noticeable.

That we do not find massive outcrops of these dikes among the slates
at the edge of the valley, is equally invalid as an objection against their
agency in producing the disturbances which are cleanly attributable to
their intrusion a few miles farther to the east, for an examination will
convince the unprejudiced mind that the causes which have been instru
mental in tilting the slates from their former position in the interior has
extended to the eastern edge of valleys and produced the ruptures we
there witness.

In favorable situations for observing the intrusive character of the
recent group, as in the canons through which flow many of our streams
it is there found that the porphiries which lie superior to the primitive
rocks, and have had their origin from contact with igneous rocks in an
incanderescent state, as well also as the trapean rocks adjoining, are
broken through the sedimentary rocks above them which are still un
changed.

Another fact of interest, and having an important bearing on this
part of our subject is found on the west borders of the great valleys and
in the Coast Mountains. From all the testimony in our possession at
the present time relative to the sedimentary rocks which dip under . the
valleys of the Sacramento and San.Joaquin, we are induced to believe
that those which occur on the east border are of an age cotemporaneous
with those on the west, and in addition thereto a group is found which
evidently belong to a still later period. We have in *these mountains
then, a corroborative evidence that the disturbances produced by the

72 [APPENDIX

intrusion of igneous rocks with which the quartz is found in connection
has occurred during a comparatively recent period.

As these rocks have forced -their way to the surface through all the
species that lie above them, they can be considered in no other light
than having an age posterior to most of the tertiary rocks within the
State, or the northern and middle parts of it; and Cotemporaneous. at
least with the lower portion of the' miocene period. Under these cir
cumstances it is not to be wondered at that gold may be found in San
Francisco or Contra Costa, as the geological formations which have de
veloped it east of the great rivers, are found also in the mountains to
the west, though not to the same extent.

The disturbance £>f the recent sedimentary rocks of the Coast Moun
tains, and the character of some of the intruded masses that has pro
duced the tilting and dislocations, their identity with the stratified rocks
on the eastern border of the great valleys, leads us to the conclusion
that the causes of uplift which have been found among the latter, --were
continued partially to the coast in the same period. With respect to the
agents that played, an important part in these turbulent periods, there
can be but little trouble in their discrimination, and ample testimony is
found to identify them with the recent group of igneous rocks under
consideration, and if these conclusions are correct, the character for per
manency of these viens is beyond all cavil or doubt.

Future investigation may disprove this position, but until it. is made
evident that the veins of the recent group have been disturbed by other
and more recent vulcanic agents on either side of the g^reat rivers, we
can regard them in no- other view than being among the last of an ex
tensive series of disturbances which have operated principally through
a large portion of the west flank of the Sierra Nevada at a comparatively
recent period in the geological history of this part of the continent.

The metalliferous character of this .group is in no way inferior to that
of the older ranges of these rocks; the proof of this rests in the fact,
that some of the best placers yet found in this country are included
within its boundaries among the alluvium and drift deposits of the ter
tiary epoch. The gold generally found in these placers is of that char
acter known among the miners as "rough or recent gold," having
suffered but little from attrition by water; but it is not unfrequent to
find the recent metal associated with that which has been much worn by
attrition, and the two qualities thus appearing in the same placer range,
can be regarded only as having different orri<rms and ages. It would
scarcely appear reasonable to suppose that two pieces of metal driven
from the same source and subjected to the same action, should present
smooth and rounded surface in the one, while its fellow beside it shall
retain all its angularities as though just detached from its original
matrix.

With reference to the older group of these veins there are features
manifest which are both interesting and important, when we consider the
immediate position of the recent group, to those of the older where both
are found in contact. -It has been remarked in the preceding pages
that the veins of* the older series have disturbed the greenstone below
and the granite above only ; a casual examination of the district in
which these veins occur, would convey to the observer an idea that a

Doc. No. 9.] 75

discrepency in the statements must exist, from the fact that veins which
pierce the granite are found to cut the stites also in the same section.
As in the case of the Centreville veins, these will be found to belong to
the more recent intrusions of these rocks, and wherever those features
occur the recent group will be found playing the part of a disturbing
agent on the primitive veins themselves and their investing rocks ; so
far as our experience goes in judging of the effects produced by these
recent intrusions, their influence is not an injurious 'one, for the recent
dike has thus far proved equally metalliferous with the primitive setts.

CHARACTER AND POSITIONS OF THE OLDER VEINS BE
LOW THE SURFACE.

Under this head will be concluded all that we have to say upon the
subject of gold mining in this State at the present time, and as the largest
proportion of the mines of the State are situated on the older group of
the quartz, the remarks that follow will be confined principally to that
serries.

In the northern part of the State,* the granite rocks in which these
veins are situated upon the surface, have been found to be underlied
with another class of igneous rocks, which, from their nature and pre
sumed age, it was feared might have so disturbed the " setts" as to
render the successful prosecution of mining a doubtful project, and in
jurious speculation from this fact, have been indulged in to an extent
that at one time threatened to destroy the well merited confidence which
the discovery of these veins had induced from the outset ; and for this
reason no little degree of interest has been manifested both at home and
abroad in relation to their future prospects.

Had those speculations which have been founded on presumptive evi
dence only, been confined to the sphere to which it legitimately belonged,
and divested of the over-anxious fears expressed and manifested from
abroad, the parties most directly interested would have suffered less in
convenience by loss of confidence and credit, which the voluntary con
servators of our good in distant lands have been the means of inducing,
and the public mind would have been unbiassed but for the opinions of men
who should have had more discretion than to have hazarded their repu
tation on such premature evidences as they must have been possessed of
at that time.

it is scarcely a supposable case, that men thousands of miles distant
should be found adequate to judge correctly of the value of metaliferous
districts, having never seen the sections alluded to, or even before the
veins were known by the parties engaged in opening them. Elaborate
discussions based upon presumptive analogy, may subserve the purpose of
pleasing popular assemblies, but they will be found untenable and useless
often, when applied to practiacal and systematic operations.

Mining exploration within the past eighteen months, has added much
to our information relative to the position of metallic veins of the State,
and the rocks with which they are associated. The granite series has

* North of th« Con»umne» Rir«r.

10

74 [APPENDIX

been closely investigated, and in several of the mines the workings have
been carried entirely through this rock, and contrary to the anticipations
of the incredulous, the setts have not been thrown at -the point of contact
with the inferior rocks. Thus far the depth of the granite series has
not been found to exceed a depth of but little more than one hundred
feet, and in almost every case where shafts have been driven, either on
the vein or beside it, the rock has been found in a highly decomposed
state, thus presenting but little difficulty in passing through it. There
are, in some localities, many small veins running out at different angles
from the principal " setts," into the surrounding granite, and when thus
appearing in the inverting rocks, marks of dislocation are observable.
These interesting features define most clearly the energy and extent of
the supporting and injecting forces from below, at the date of the intru
sion of the veins, and the angles which the small cross-courses make
with the main "setts" from which they emanate, shows most conclusively
that the fracture o£ the superincumbent rocks must have been extensive.
Another and a striking feature is also to be observed in this particular,
which is, that the small threads found in the granite have a greater power
whe*n they enter the greenstone below ; thus indicating that the intru
sive dikes spent themselves principally in the superior granite above.

The 'entire mass of the granitic rocks in the vicinity of the quartz, is
of a loose and incoherent texture, from the surface to the lowest point
yet reached, and when brought from the greatest depths 'the same gene
ral characteristics are found to prevail throughout. It presents a crumb
ling, reddish and purple hue, at times faintly spotted with white, its fels-
pathic constituent thus imparting a porphyritic appearance to considera
ble quantities. When damp it is somewhat clayey, in the dry state, after
exposure to the air, it is easilly crushed in the hand, giving the greasy
feeling of some of the talcose minerals. These peculiar features may be
best examined in and about the towns of Nevada and Grass Valley ;
for here they extend over several miles, and the extent to which mining
operations have been carried in these sections, renders an examination
of all the different phases that are presented in this class of veins, both
easy and convenient.

Immediately below the granite, the greenstone is found underlying
this entire section of country, in every instance in which the granite has
been perforated, this rock has been found beneath, and when first met
with in descending is much broken up, and the fissures filled with foreign
infiltrations from above. The trap rock has a blueish-gray and greenish
color, often highly charged with pyrites ; the veins on entering this rock
change their color from the deep reddish-brown, which they maintain in
the granite above, and the cavities filled with the peroxide of iron which
has resulted from the decomposition of the pyrites it originally contained,
to a clear, white or semi-translucent mineral, holding considerable quan
tities of cubic and rhombic crystals of pyrites, which are more or less
auriferous. In some of the trapean rocks arsenical pyrites is met with,
but this latter is much more common in the southern districts, and on
the forks of the American Eiver.

In every mine throughout the northern districts, in which the green
stone has been reached, the veins have penetrated this rock, and in no one
instance thus far is it found that the vein has either been pinched or faulted,

Doc. No. 9.] 75

but the reverse is true, that every sett has increased in power the deeper they
descend. Of six companies now in successful operation in Grass Valley,
all of them are obtaining their ores from the greenstone, in larger quan-
tiry and better quality than was found to be the average in the granite
above : on Deer Creek it is the same, and but two mines in this district
still continue in the granite, viz : — the Illinois and Gold Tunnel mines,
the lower gallery of the latter is within nine feet of the greenstone, with
an increasing power in the " sett" at the point of working. In the coun
ties of Butte and Shasta, the same fact prevails, and in each of those
mines, which have entered the trap there has been no diminution in the
power of the vein or qualities of the ore.

The depth to which some of these veins are found to enter the green
stone has been fifty -five feet, at the present time, and at this depth into
this rock they bear all the reasonable evidence of continuing to an un
limited depth, and being of more recent date than their investing series.
The greenstone in close proximity to the dikes is found much shattered
and disturbed, exhibiting evidences of displacement subsequent to frac
ture, the inclination of the disturbed masses corresponding to the dip of
the vein, the line of fracture form angles of fifty to, seventy degrees to the
dip of the " sett," and as high as forty in some cases with the horizon ; this
gives a stratified appearance to these rocks ; this peculiar feature is ob-
serable at the Osborn Hill Mine, and is indicated by the heavy lines in
the sketch of its transverse section. At this mine may also be observed
the other peculiarities before noticed, the highly decomposed and broken,
character of the upper part of the greenstone of seventeen feet below ;
at the Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, similar features are to be observed
of the semi-stratified appearance of the greenstone, caused by the intru
sion of the quartz dike through it ; the entire length of the adit level
of this mine is driven entirely through this rock a distance of about
eleven hundred feet.

On Deer Creek, 'five miles north of Green Yalley, we find a material
change in the relative position of the metallic veins to the investing rocks,
at the Gold Tunnel, as before remarked, the "sett" is exclusively in
granite, while at the Wyoming Mine, one and a half miles below, the
4 'sett" is situated in the greenstone inferiorly and the slate above, while
in the adjacent mine above the Wyoming, slate and granite in the middle
and greenstone below is the order of arrangement. At this mine may
be observed one of those interesting features noticed in the concluding
paragraphs of the Recent Group, and when we compare the accompany
ing sketches of the Osborn Hill and Wyoming, a sufficient illustration
of the relative ages of the group will appear. The present working
"sett" of the latter mine is protruded through the primitive rocks, and
also through the slate above them, and from its dip it must pass through
older veins at a depth probably not exceeding four hundred feet below
their present level. The slate which lies superior in this mine is evidently
of the same age as that occurring among the foot-hills toward the valley,
and as the sketch of this mine illustrates, the vein passes entirely through
them ; the dip of this vein is forty-three degrees east, while those of the
adjacent mine above varies from thirty -two to thirty-e;ght degrees. It
is not surprising that a recent "sett" in passing thro ugh the cross-course
of an older vein, or through a part of a primitive vein, should "produce

76 [APPENDIX

valuable deposits of metal which has taken place in this mine in several
instances, and it serves for an illustration of the principle advanced in
the preceeding pages, that the recent veins were equally metalliferous
with those of the primitive series, wherever and whenever found in this
State.

From the facts thus far presented to your consideration respecting the
known position of these rocks in the .northern part of the State, some
evidence at least exists, that those veins thus far opened^are now proved
to have cut through that suite of igneous rocks which heretofore have
been supposed would destroy their continuity to any considerable depth
below the surface. Already has the establishment of this point exerted
an influence which is beginning to be strongly felt, and is restoring that
confidence in gold mining which it long since lost. More capital has
been invested within the preceding four months in this branch of em
ployment, than*in the entire time which has elapsed since the general
suspension of these operations. From the developments which have
been made relating to the permanency of their character within the past
year, individuals are fast becoming satisfied that the metallic veins of
this State merit that confidence which is fast returning. If other testi
mony is required than that already cited of the almost certainty of their
continuation to unlimited depths, it will become necessary to search out
some other formations than those acknowledged to be the foundation on
which rest the superstructure of this teraqueous sphere, for it is evi
dent if facts have any weight, that they have disturbed the lowest of all
known rocks.

It may be argued that the shallow depth, fifty feet into the greenstone,
is not positive, but that these veins may be faulted by more recent vol
canic intrusions below this point. This is possibly true, but at the same
time, is there any good reason for such a supposition when no evidence
of such disturbances are observable above the surface in their vicinity,
and when those intrusive rocks are not to be found to depths of two or
three thousand feet below the summits of those ridges on which these
mines are located in many instances. There are many deep gorges
among our mountains which exhibit the character of the rocks compos
ing them to the depths above named, and on examination of their struc
ture will convince an unbiassed observer of their primitive character.
Among these gorges it is not unfrequent to find the quartz veins ex
tending from their bottom to various hights, ranging as high as six
hundred feet in every instance in which these veins are met among the
rocks in situ. They possess their greatest power at their lowest point In
one instance I well remember having traced a dike of this rock from
the river to the highth of thirteen hundred feet, a drawing of which is
still in my possession; the usitt" thinned out to small threads at this
hight, with a diminishing power from the base of the hill to, the sum
mit; this vein passes through greenstone and porphyry, granite and
slate, successively, until it finally spent itself among the latter. If
intrusive dikes are found to increase in power as their distance below
the surface increases, we may reasonably conclude that they may con
tinue to a depth below, equal to that which may be found above, in a
case like the last one cited, provided the rocks beneath the lowest point
at which it is observable continue of the same, character.

Doc. No. 9.] 77

Abundant examples of this character are to be met with throughout
our mountains, and with such evidence before us, the character of these
metallic veins for permanency must be placed beyond suspicion or
doubt, and our testimony on this point extends much beyond any that
has, as yet, been adduced. In the County of Calaveras, an extensive
dike, two miles in length, has been laid open in such a manner that a
vertical depth of eight hundred feet -of the vein is now, exposed to view.

The dike cuts through two ridges, which separate two streams of water,
and the companies located on these streams have sunk their shafts to the
depth of over one hundred feet, directly under the beds of the creeks,
and have driven their gallery s each way untill within a few feet of each
other : the vein in one shaft has a power of thirty-seven feet, but in no
point 011 the "sett" is it less than five, in each of the five mines located on
this vein, the power of the "sett" has uniformly increased the deeper
they have descended. In this case we have a thorough examination of
one, at least, of our metallic veins, which will compare with some of the
operations in other countries, and we may deduce some safe conclusions
respecting their probable stability, if depth below the surface becomes
an essential requisite to establiso that point.

The rocks through which these veins pass are principally of the
talcose series, with greenstone, hornblende schists, and syenite, in the
immediate vicinity ; the dikes have cut through all of them in succession
without having suffered any deflection from that parallelism which must
have ensued, if any of the rocks with which they are found in contact,
had an age posterior to the dikes themselves. This district is particu
larly noticed in connection with this part of our subject, for the purpose
of exhibiting the stronger probability of permanency in the quartz veins
of ihis country, for the reason that if disturbance in their position is
likely to ensue in any part of this State, it would be likely to occur in
these sections, as the effects of recent volcanic action is more prominent
throughout the southern portions of the mining districts than any other
part of the west flank of the Sierra Nevada.

From what testimony we have in our possession relative to these veins,
it seems but reasonable to conclude that their integrity is perfect, or as
nearly so as can be reasonably expected considering the short period
which has been employed in developing their true character, and that
the confidence which they formerly possessed was well grounded ; all
subsequent examinations have only tended to confirm this belief in the
minds of those who have carefully and diligently studied this subject.
The present condition of our gold mines, their flourishing state and
prospective value, based on facts as now developed, most clearly indicate
their importance, as an industrial pursuit and one destined ere long to
form one of the leading interests in the economy of the State ; and as
such it would seem that all prudent measures to develop farther their
extent and value, and place them upon that footing before the world
which that value and importance demands should be used, either through
the State or General (rovernment, and through them promote such
measures as will prove an inducement to more extensive and permanent
operations than has yet been done.

In concluding this part of the report, and in connection with the mag
nitude and importance of perhaps a somewhat exciting principle in

78 [APPENDIX

relation to it, I would beg leave to call your attention to a point on
which there has heretofore existed much diversity of opinion, which not
unfrequently has engendered angry discussion and beligerent feeling in
a large proportion of our mining population. The experience of the
last three years has elucidated the fact most clearly that the two mining
interests of this State cannot be governed by the same rule of law in all
cases, and prove alike advantageous to both ; it is therefore suggested
whether some method more congenial to this interest may not be adop
ted, that will favor the occupancy and improvement of the metallic veins
of this State, giving at the same time widest scope and protection to all
at present engaged, and those who may wish hereafter to enter upon
those pursuits.

PKESENT GOYEENMENT OF METALLIC VEIN'S.

Before entering upon this part of our subject I will state, that through
out every part of the mining counties, which it has been my fortune to
visit, in my examinations of previous years, and up to the present time,
the subject of needful protection to capital investment and labor in this
branch of mining, has been fully and unequivocally expressed by those
engaged and interested in it, and by a large portion of those engaged in
placer mining, having no direct connection with the former. And it is at
the solicitation of nearly every individual engaged in the pursuit of mining
on veins, that the subject is presented to your consideration at the pre
sent time. A wish has long since been expressed, and urged through
all the various channels of communication, that the present tenure by
which this species of property is holden and conveyd may be changed
in such manner as may render available capital investments, which must
be largely employed in order to develop those sources of wealth and
insure their occupancy.

It is perhaps a questionable point whether the State government is
vested witb the power to cede and convey title in fee to lands containing
the precious metals, even were that title absolutely required from the
nature of existing circumstances ; but whether her jurisdiction in the
case be sovereign or not, she legitimately possesses a conservative jurisdic
tion over such lands, and through that power, as a member of the great
confederacy, may exert an influence to obtain such modifications of ex
isting laws" of the general government, as would conflict with the com
mon interests of her citizens, or of those rules and regulations tempora
rily instituted by the State, which by their present - action, have a ten
dency to cripple and reduce her otherwise available means of revenue.

Under this form of the question it becomes a matter of some importance
to consider, whether the entire interests of the State would not be materially
and beneficially affected, by placing such lands as are under its conservative
influence in a position that would be likely to yield a revenue from their oc
cupancy, and which at the same time would yield an adequate security for
the investment of capital to be employed iu their developement. A system
of law that would induce a more extensive occupancy than that now exist
ing must insure, as a resultant, a corresponding increase of revenue, thereby

Doc. No. 9.] 79

reducing taxation on the great mass, render less burdensome the support of
the State government.

A course of action that would accomplish this end, and at the same time
prevent that result which it has been the careful study of the representatives
of the people to guard against, and whose every effort has been directed to
preserve to the people the most liberal policy in the acquirement of wealth
from the varied and prolific sources presented in no other country than this,
must be unobjectionable either to the miner or merchant.

A strong objection has been urged against the sale of mineral lands, and
justly too, as in this case the title must pass into the hands of private parties,
which in most countries has proved objectionable in many particulars, and a
course of this kind could never meet the approbation of a large majority of
our population, in the present state of our information. In aft other countries
as in our own, the title to mineral lands is vested in the crown, or general
government, (with the exception of Great Britain,) and the title or permis
sion to use or occupy can emanate only from that source, where ifc properly
belongs. In all countries where mines of the precious metals have been
found, different policies for their government have been pursued, but as yet
that policy which has been the most liberal, and at the same time protective of
private rights, is found to have exerted the widest and most beneficial influ
ence in their developement and occupancy ; under such a system it is im
possible for it to do otherwise than prosper, and the experience of nearly
three centuries have gone to substantiate that fact.

There can be no possible objection to the general principles on which our
present system is founded, it is the same that made Spain and Mexico what
they were. and are, and one that with these countries has stood the tests of
time, the best proof of its utility and univeral applications. Throughout all
the political changes that have convulsed and shattered the civil codes of
these governments, no change or alteration of a restrictive tendency has
been made in the Ordinances des Mineria. For tte last fifty years no
change that in the least has affected its vital features, except to render them
more liberal and congenial ; its dictates with them are as sacred as their
holy creed, and to molest or change its principles would-be regarded as
equally sacreligeous.

Under that system individual rights in mines are scrupulously respected,
and strict nori compliance with its requisitions are followed by a reversion of
party rights to the crown, from which only can a similar title be obtained by
others wishing to occupy and improve. »

The history of mining proper throughout the world, has taught us that
it is impossible to pursue that business to advantage without heavy outlays
of capital ; this applies equally to mining for silver or gold ; the great amount
of labor and expense attendent in opening a mine is the cause of this, that
branch alone often being the work of years, before the reduction of any of
its metals take place whereby any return of profits can be realized. We
are not wanting in illustrations of this kind, they are as wide-spread as the
mining operations of the world ; and if more definite examples of this fact
is required than the general history of this branch of industry, we need but
to refer to the superficial operations of our own State heretofore, to show
that limited means cannot succeed in gold mining, though the veins produc-

80 [APPENDIX

ing the metal may be (as they frequently are in this country,) exceedingly
productive.

Our citizens embarked in this delusive speculation in a most inconsiderate
manner. The results that followed from their earlier operations are too well
known : the capital at their command, being small, was expended even be
fore their veins were opened, and this great lever of success in these ope
rations being thus early suspended, prevented the prosecution of the enter
prise to a successful termination, which would have ended in profit in place
of loss.

The fault, " if fault there be," lay at the door of misguided apprehensions,
induced by flattering reports of results which had flowed from hasty examin
ations, but not in the veins themselves ; as these were dumb, and unable
to speak for themselves, until men of larger means developed their capa
bilities, the cause of failure was attributed to a want of metal in the lodes ;
hence the distrust which has up to the present time attached itself to this
branch of mining, and has resulted in serious loss to the country at large, as
well as to the private citizen.

A few have grappled through against all obstacles, who were fortunate
enough to command the necessary means, and now have their mines opened
and in successful operation. But it has been at the expense of heavy out
lays of capital, and nearly two years of industrious application and hard labor ;
the results which they have produced has been the means of fixing on a per
manent basis, the character of these mines, which it will be difficult to affect
injuriously hereafter ; and their integrity as lucrative employments, and
safety for capital investments in themselves, is questioned by none who are
conversant with their present condition.

Notwithstanding their acknowledged intrinsic value, there is an incubus
resting upon them, which prevents, and must still prevent, their more exten
sive ocoupancy, and until removed in some manner, will stand as an insuper
able obstacle to their future progress. This rests in the doubtful and un
certain tenure, by which these mines are held, being subject, as they are, to
the government of the majority of the people in the district in which they
are located, and whose interests directly considered, are both unconnected
and foreign, though following a profession similar in some respects to that
under consideration.

The position of the Placer miner, and those engaged on veins, is different
in many respects. In the case of the former, there is but a comparatively
small amount of capital requisite to pursue his business advantageously and
successfully : in the other, experience has fully demonstrated that he cannot
pursue his business successfully without large expenditures. In the case of
the former, the extraction of gold is conducted by the simple process of
washing ; in the other, it can be extracted from the gaugue often only by
complex metallurgical processes, and subjected even then to much uncer
tainty, and, at times, loss — requiring what the Placer does not, the employ
ment of men who have made it the study of their lives, and the use of
means mechanical and scientific, which do not come within the requisition
of the former, to conduct his operations to a successful issue.

The operations of the placer miner are generally limited as to time, sel
dom exceeding a year in the same locality, on his removal his interests in
his former residence ceases ; in the case of the miner engaged on veina, he

Doc. No. 9.] 81

finds that his operations mnst be continued through a series of years- in order
to secure a fair remuneration for his labors, and if he removes to other parts
of the State, his interests in the locality he left does not cease, as his capi
tal investments still remain and continue a permanent source of revenue to
the State and county in which they are located. The implements of the
placer miner are few, and easily obtained or disposed of if he wishes to re
move but, it is widely different with the other. He is obliged to obtain ex
pensive machinery to obtain profitable results from his labors, and heavy
sacrifice is often the attendant, if it is his misfortune to fail in his operations
from any causes either natural or artificial.

The effect of placer mining in all parts of the world has been, to produce
a wandering and unstable community, no Jbetter example is to be found than
in our own State ; it is a true illustration of what has occurred in other
countries whose features simulate our own ; and to remedy this has been the
aim of our State government almost from its earliest foundation ; how far its
efforts have been attended with success its present history will clearly elu
cidate. The attempt to induce a permanent settlement in the mountains can
be said to have partially succeeded only, and this has occurred in those in
stances where the parties thus locating have been enabled to avail themselves
of interests that would partake of a degree of permanency for a series of
years ; their titles to improvements on the lands such persons occupy, being
retained only by the law of sufference, subject to the decrees of the majority
residing in their vicinity if found to be auriferous.

On the broad platform of "equal right and equal privilege," which has
been the governing principle of this State in its most extended sense from
its earliest occupancy, the dim outline of a desire to establish permanency
in the settlement of the mountain districts has been manifested, and at the
present time it has become a distinguishing feature in a large portion of the
mining population, in mining employments it is equally apparent as in agri
culture ; among the most stringent advocates of a "masterly inactivity" in
regard to the government of the mines, two years ago, are now to be found
men equally earnest in their advocacy of vesting rights that shall partake of
the character of permanency, and protective where his operations require
investments, to secure competency and reward for his labours. Experience
has taught us that necessity, if we would foster those emploj^ments which it
has been our pride to boast, and where no subversion of those fundamental
principles on which our laws are founded can take place.

In every county of the State where quartz mining has been conducted
this will be found a striking feature in each and all of their operations, and
has been particularly manifested in some of the northern counties, where more
stringency in the enforcement of mining laws of former years existed, than
probably any other part of the State ; the effects of this course of action was
equally manifest abroad, in the Atlantic States and Europe, when the con
struction of the present mining code was published in those countries. In
one of our northern counties a system has been founded on this code which
under certain conditions, (consisting of a given amount of improvements
only) conveys a title in fee to all intents and purposes ; and another by
which parties have the right of holding all that they may be able to purchase.
This course of action among miners themselves must be viewed as a plain
and clearly defined wish, on their part, to extend over the country a system
11

82 [APPENDIX

of government that shall prove alike conducive to the enhancement of these
interests and the public welfare, and offer by these means inducements for
the investments of capital from abroad ; its effects would prove beneficial
inasmuch as every dollar of capital thus invested would become so much
available means of revenue and serve to retain a much greater amount of
the gold extracted from our hills, within the State.

From the nature of gold-mining proper, it results as a consequence al
most, that those who engage in it, must become permanent settlers, as their
operations if successful become the work of years instead of a few months,
and their investments, when made, are done with that view. Under these
circumstances does it not become a matter of correct policy to separate the
interests of the placer miner and those engaged on veins, in such a manner
that those engaged in each branch may enjoy that liberty which the placer
miner now possesses, and which is enjoyed by the other only by the suffer
ance of the former in the largest majority of cases ; giving to each the right
to enact those laws, which they in their good judgment will find most condu
cive to their seperate interests, and which from their nature and attendant
circumstances are very dissimilar and foreign.

The jealousies and feeling arising from the suspicion entertained by each
other, which has heretofore and at the present time exists to a considerable
extent, in these two branches of industry would, by the above course be done
away, and a much greater degree of stability in mining proper would be the
result, (which under the present arrangement of affairs can hardly exist) in
which its prosperity to a great extent is involved : its influence would not
only be made manifest here, but it would give a confidence abroad in these
operations which they do not now possess, and to which we must look for
those means by which we shall be able to conduct gold-mining successfully
and with profit.

The entire separation of these interests would be regarded abroad as tho
opening of a new era in the mining history of this State, fraught with bene
ficial results, and involving a vital interest in her future economy, advanta
geous 'alike to the revenues of the State and to the people ; it would remove
that serious obstacle at present in the path of its progress, viz : "the inse
curity that now exists for invested capital, from the motative policy hereto
fore pursued," and restore that confidence which such a policy has in a great
measure been the means of destroying.

The mines of this State are of a character and value, which if placed in
a proper position, will invite investment from abroad, to an amount little less
than twenty millions of dollars within the next eight years ; this presump
tion is founded on the fact that more than one sixth of that amount is at the
present time in active operation in this country, and its largest proportion
has been derived from American sources, during a portion of that period
when public confidence had been shaken in regard to their value. Nego
tiations are now pending which involve nearly one million more of capital
investment in this branch of mining, nearly one half of which is in the cities
of Boston and New York.

Considering the disadvantages that now surround them, as shown from
the facts relating thereto, they can but be regarded as the prolific sources
of wealth in this country ; and every inducement consistent with the liberal

Doc. No. 9.] 83

policy adopted in the government of the placers, is equally applicable and
should be extended to them.

.

The following pages will contain a brief notice of some of the principal
mines of the State with a list of those in successful operation and their lo
cations. Also a table of Barometric Altitudes ; and Catalogue of Minerals
obtained during the tour, to be placed in the State Cabinet.

LA FAYETTE AND HELVETIA MINE.

This company is located at Grass Valley, Nevada County, and the sketch
of the workings of their mine is taken from the La Fayette Hill vein only
about two miles south-west of the town. The length of the vein at the
above hill is eleven hundred feet ; it has a curvilinear course, varying from
north-east -to south-west ; its mean, however, when marked on a right line
is north, ten degrees east. The dip of the vein is forty-one degrees east,
having a power of three feet at the depth of thirty-four feet ; at this point
the ore was of a poorer quality than at any other point. The depth of the
present working is about 55 feet, and here the vien increases in power and
value, being equal to three feet eight inches, and yielding in a large amount
of ore, forty dollars per ton. The vien, when discovered, was covered with
yellowr brown alluvium for five feet, and passed through this and decom
posed granite of a purple color fifteen feet, when it entered a mass of de
composed and fragmentary greenstone of five feet depth, thence into com
pact rock of the same character and continued to the depth of fifty-five
feet.

Adit level is 1100 feet in length, exclusive of tram road for conveying
ore and attle from the mine ; it extends through the whole length of their
claim. At their present depth all the ore is obtained by blasting, which
adds much fo the expense of the mine. The cost of obtaining ore from this
mine is from seven to eight dollars per ton at present rates of labor. The
company have about 900 feet of vein in Gold Hill, which requires no blast-
inging and is obtained at the mill for five dollars per ton.

The La Fayette Hill vein was much decomposed for the depth of thirty
feet, and contained a large quantity of peroxide iron and free gold ; after
passing into the compact greenstone the vein becomes quite firm, and highly
charged with pyrites investing gold ; the crystals were white and well-ter-
inmated, generally perfect in form. In some parts of the mine, galena is
met with and gold imbeded in it ; an examination of this latter mineral has
not been made for silver, but from its appearance it is quite probable that
it contains this metal. The matrix of the ore is a bluish white and trans
lucent, in pieces of one inch in thickness ; the blue tint of the vein in the
vicinity of the shafts is due in a great measure to finely divided particles of
lead.

The capital of this company is about three hundred thousand dollars, and
their receipts in four months has been as high as $98,000, but their aver
age is tiear $10,000 per month ; the mine has yielded with great uniformity
since the commencement of operations, and- bids fair for future success.

This mine has two Batteries and when in full operation is capable of re
ducing forty tons of ore per day, but one battery is run at a time as the

84 [APPENDIX

amalgamating apparatus is not of sufficient capacity at present to dispose of
that amount of ore judiciously, the amalgamating instruments consist of
Cram's Cylinder and Berdan's Amalgamator, in the latter about fifteen per
cent of the gross amount is saved after it has passed through the other in
struments ; this arises from the fact that Berdan's instrument possesses a
levigating power from revolving balls in the instrument which gives a new
surface to the material passing under them.

GOLD HILL MINE.

This mine is located in the town of Grass Valley on the first hill to the
west of the village. The mine was first opened in- 1851 and worked to a
considerable extent and profit, subsequently it passed to the hands of the
Agua Frio Company under the superintendence of their agent Mr. Atwood
in whose possession it now remains ; after an examination of the mine the
old method of working was given up, and a new system of operations en
tered upon in order to tap the vein at the lowest possible point and at the
same time afford easy transit to the reduction works and drainage to the
mine. With this view an adit was commenced about fifteen feet above the
level of the creek which flows in front of the town, and carried west through
the base of the hill for a distance of seven-hundred feet, cutting through
allavium and decomposed granite most of the way, at the west end of the
adit which cuts the vein nearly at right angles, the shaft marked A in the
longitudinal section was intersected at a depth of ninety feet below the sur
face ; from near the ninety feet shaft a level has been driven to the north
on the strike of the vein about seventy feet marked, I), also two other levels
east of it, E, F, which intersect the north crosscut D of the ground plan ;
a winze has been sunk below the water level sixteen feet marked H, of the
longitudinal section ; this disposition in the working of the mine affords
many advantages in the extraction of the ore and attle and easy communica
tion with all parts of the mine and surface, and the intersection of the shaft
A produces ample ventilation. 'The vein intersects the greenstone at the
bottom of the air shaft, and as in the case of the Lafayette has cut com
pletely through it ; increasing in power as it enters this rock, about one
thousand tons of ore was in the yard at the time I visited the mine ready to
pass through the reduction works. From the end of the long adit a tram
road four-hundred feet in length passes to the mill on which by mule power,
the ore is conveyed from the farthest part of the mine. The ground plan
exhibits the crosscuts and levels and their connection with the mill.

The strike of the vein is north and south diping east at an an angle of 24
degrees, with a vein whose power at ninety feet was nearly three feet ; the
transverse section is shown the air shaft entering the greenstone and inter
secting the vein, with the increase in power of the vein from the surface to
the lowest point worked. The ores in the greenstone differ in no particular
from those of the Lafayette, with the exception that none of the plumbic
sulphuret was observed at this mine though the vein has much the* same
blue tint. The reduction works of this company were not completed in No
vember and no opportunity was afforded to witness their process at that time ;
it was expected that their machinery would be capable of reducing over one

Doc. No. 9.] 85

hundred tons of ore per day, which from its appearance would not be a large
estimate, it is probably the most powerful machinery in this country and will
compare with any in Europe. '

The operations of this mine are looked for with considerable interest at
home and abroad, as their capacities for reduction are much more exten
sive than any hitherto put up in this country.

OSBORN HILL MINE.

i

This mine is located two miles east of Grass Valley, it has been opened
on the course of the vein four-hundred and fifty feet and from sixty-five to
seventy feet in depth. Vein strikes north and south dipping east at an
angle of forty degrees ; the transverse section shows a depth of sixty-five
feet ; the shaft was carried through twelve feet of alluvium, seven of clay
slate, seventeen of a much broken and decomposed greenstone, and fifteen
feet of compact rock of the same character ; total depth including winze I
is nearly seventy feet. The vein at this mine has dislocated all the rocks
above it and possesses that half stratified appearance as in the Lafayette,
arising from fracture by the intrusive vein. The power of the vein is about
three feet at the depth of sixty-five feet. In the longitudinal section, the
levels which have been driven are given to scale and their different lengths
are found by reference to the sketch. This mine has been one of the most
flourishing and profitable of the State and has been conducted with much
prudence and economy.

WYOMING MINE.

This mine is situated on the north bank of Deer Creek, about two miles
below the town of Nevada ; its altitude above the Creek is two hundred
and forty feet, and the higher parts of the outcrop on the line of the vein
will reach nearly or quite three hundred feet above the same point. An
adit was driven about two hundred feet through clay slate, which intersected
the vein at this point, at an angle of about twenty-seven degrees. From
this, two levels have been driven on the vein, of one hundred and twenty
and fifty feet each, and a winze of twenty-five. The vein dips east with an
angle of forty five degrees, having a strike north and south, with a power
of three feet. Fifty feet below the upper adit, another was commenced
and carried to a hundred and twenty-five feet, intending to intersect the
vein at one hundred feet below the surface of the shaft F ; at seventy-six feet
the greenstone was met, and the adit carried fifty feet into it. At the junction
of the slates and trap, the former are much changed, evidently from the
effects of heat, while at the junction of the slates and vein, above this, they
have again suffered from the intrusion of the latter.

On the south side of the hill the vein crops cut through the trap two
hundred feet below the summit,with an increased power, leaving no room for
doubt of the permanency of its character. In this mine one of the recent
veins has cut through from the Bunker Hill Mine, east of this, which
produced a valuable nest of ore ; the dip of the principal Wyoming

86 [APPENDIX

Vein, if it holds ics present inclination, must cut the older lodes at the
depth of four or five hundred feet, and its situation is such that ample drain
age and ventilation can be obtained.

GOLD TUNNEL MINE.

The mine bearing this namfe is located half a mile west of the town of
Nevada, on Deer Creek, and has been worked successfully since its discov
ery in 1850 or '51. It was originally a placer claim and was found while
working the banks of the creek for placer gold. Soon after its discovery
an engine was erected upon the ground and the vein opened ; it was com
menced by driving an adit level on the vein, which was subsequently aban
doned and a new level commenced at the point at which the present reduc
tion works are situated.

The length of the present level is three hundred arid seventy-five feet,
and has an inclination of ten degrees from the horizontal line ; three winzes
have been drove on the lower side of the adit [L. F. II.] which are respec
tively thirty, twenty and twelve feet, with a level of twenty-five feet be
tween the winzes F. and H. On the opposite side two cements of fifty feet
each, and a gallery connecting both, of one hundred and twenty-five feet,
writh a corresponding one connecting the winzes on the lower side. All the
ore included within the dash lines has been stopped out. 'flfa^ vein is situ
ated in granite, and thus far has been loose and incoherent ; tfcis is attribut
able to the large amount of pyrites contained in the vein, as is sh< wn at any
point ^here the quartz retains any solidity ; the gold is in a free state in the
gossan, of which there are large quantities throughout the mine ; the operators
on this vein have been eminently successful, and their mine bids fair to con
tinue valuable. The strike of their vein, north ten degrees east, dipping
east ten degrees south, at an angle of thirty-eight degrees.

ILLINOIS MINE.

The Illinois Mine is situated directly opposite the Gold Tunnel on the
south bank of Deer Creek, and is a continuation of the same vein , it has
all the characteristics of the former throughout. The length of their upper
gallery is four hundred and fifty feet and that of the lower, two hundred and
fifty ; two cross-cuts have been driven which connect the galleries at C. D.
each fifty feet in length.

JONES AND DAVIS MINE, HERBERTVILLE, CALAVERAS

COUNTY.

The mine of this company is located on the east side of a small tributary
running into Amidor Creek, the latter passes through the town of Amidor
one mile north of this mine ; the top of the whim-shaft, C, is one hundred
and forty-five feet above the level of the creek, and ninety feet below the
outcrop of the ve^a on which the shaft, C, has been sunk ; at shaft 4 the

Doc. No. 9.] 87

•

vein is three hundred and fifty feet above the Amidor, and increases in alti*
tude for half a mile, until it arrives at the height of four hundred feet above
the town. The company have sunk two shafts of ninety feet on the vein,
and drove two galleries, the upper one A being two hundred and eighty
feet, the lower, B, one hundred and fifty feet, and are driving in the course
of the dotted lines to run a third gallery at the depth of fifty feet below the
point B. Figures 1, 2, 3, are stopes from which they are now obtaining their
ore, being conveyed along the lower level to the whim-shaft and thence ele
vated to the surface ; from thence it is conveyed on a tram road 600 feet to
the reduction works at its terminus.

The design for future operations is to cut an adit a short distance north
of the mill, and intersect the vein at a point which will give a depth of three
hundred feet from its highest point to a level with the end of their present
tram road, and then stope down from this point, which will not only furnish
an abundance of ore, if the vein retains its present power, but materially
lessen the expense of its extraction. This will be accomplished in a dis
tance of three hundred yards, and probably less. This mine is very sys
tematically arranged for the comfort of the miner, and obtaining all the ores
easily, and reflects much credit on its projectors ; the sketch of the mine,
drawn to scale on the spot, will fully elucidate itself; its convenience of
arrangement, considering its local position, will be found equal to all its
necessary requirements.

The vein is invested in chlorite and talcose rocks, throughout its whole
extent, being nearly three miles in length. On the eastern side of the vein
a graphic slate occurs, having a thickness of one or two feet ; outside of
this a bed of chlorite, from five to ten feet, much discolored by graphite,
at times perfectly black and staining the hand easily. On the west side, a
greenish chlorite occurs, next the vein, highly pyritiferous and often con
taining considerable gold ; the power of the vein at ninety feet depth is six
feet, and has steadily increased from the surface down ; its strike is north
west by west, with a corresponding dip east and south, of fifty-five degrees.
The color of the vein is bluish-white, with black seams of graphite, giving
a ribband-like appearance in the mass ; it is highly pyritiferous, and when
properly roasted, crumbles easily ; some parts of the vein contain an arsen
ical pyrites, which has an injurious effect in the reducing process, by pre
venting perfect amalgamation ; this is caused by roasting the ores in con
tact with charcoal which should not be practised in these varieties of ores.

SPRING HILL MINE.

This mine is located on Amadore Creek, at the east end of the town and
one mile north of the preceding mine. The company commenced operations
on this sett in 1851, and have continued uninterrupted since that time ; it is
located on the same vein as the former, and crops out to the height of 530
feet on the highest point of the hill between Jones, Davis & Co.

Two inclined shafts have been sunk on the vein to about 75 feet below
the bed of the creek, at which point the sett has a power of six feet ; in its
general character it differs in no wise from the mine one mile south, except
in the disposition of investing rocks. At Spring Hill the graphic slates

88 [APPENDIX

which form the gangue are found on the west side of the vein, in place of
the east as at Davis' mine. This was evidently caused by an unequal dis
placement at the period of intrusion of the dike, resulting from the trans
verse fracture forming the cross course on which Johnson's mine is situated ;
the resistance being less in that direction at the time of fracture in the
incumbent rocks. This cross-fracture had the effect also to throw the in
trusive mass from a right line at the time it broke through, for the entire
length of the dike, giving it at first view the appearancne rather of two
sets in place of one which they in reality are. There are many similar
features attending the veins of this country, which has created no little con
fusion in regard to their true position ; and of themselves though they may
appear insignificant, yet with the miner they involve questions of high impor
tance, and exert an influence either prejudicial or favorable upon his opera
tions, as their position may be clearly or distinctly known.

The study of our system of metallic veins and its correct development,
involves some of the most important interests of the State ; a correct
knowledge of their position is much desired, but as the limits of this report
will not admit that examination which they require, further allusion to the
subject will be omitted.

All the vein between shafts and to the point E, has been stopped out with
the exception of a small body of vein to support the walls of the mine and
attle F F. The mine from its proximity to the creek has considerable water
but is kept free by one of Farnham's double-action pumps placed at the
shaft B, while the shaft A is used for bringing the ore to the surface.

AMADORE COMPANY MINE.

This is situated on the opposite side of the Creek from the Spring Hill
mine, and on the same sett. Their operations have been conducted below
the bed of the creek, to the depth of nearly one hundred feet. Shaft D is
the whim shaft, 97 feet, and is to the depth of 100 feet, at the bottom of
which a 37 foot horse has been struck, all the ore from the lower level A C
has been stoped out, the points I supporting the ottle. Reference to the
sketch will present its position at the date of visiting it.

The strike of the vein in both the latter, is north by west, diping east 65
degrees.

RANCHOREE MINE.

Is located one mile north of the preceding, and on the ridge dividing the
Amadore and Ranchoree Creeks ; their reduction works are about half a
mile west of the town of Ranchoree.

The upper portion of their vein is situated 420 feet above the creek ; on
the vein are three shafts of about 70 feet, and two levels of 110 and 75 feet
respectively ; they are now driving on the level I, to obtain drainage and
easy transit for their ores to the mill ; the plan of operations will be seen on
the sketch marked by the dash lines. The vein at thia lower level gives a
good ore, and has the same investing rocks as at the upper levels. The

Doc. No. 9.] 89

vein strikes north 25 degrees west, dipping east, with a power of four feet.
The investing rocks are talcose slates.

KEYSTONE MINE.

This mine is situated on the arroya leading into the Amadore; one mile
below Jones & Davis' mine ; it appears to be a parallel vein, half a mile
west of the line uniting the latter and the Spring Hill mine ; the ores par
take of all the general characters of the other two mines, and it is situated
25 feet above the level of the creek. The sett of Jones, Davis & Co. and
the Spring Hill are in the high hill east of the workings figured in the sketch
for the Keystone Mine.

This vein strikes north 10 degrees west, diping 40 degrees east, with a
power of five feet ; the investing rocks are the graphic slate and chlorites, as
found in all the others in this neighborhood.

EUREKA MINE, SUTTER, CALAVERAS COUNTY.

This mine is located a short distance south of the town of S utter. The
company have one shaft, A, which is used for the whim by which the
ore is at present taken from the mine : a'cross cut, seen at D, in the ground
plan, was carried east 14U feet, intersecting the level, D, and main shaft,
from this the gallery, B, was carried south 135 feet, and subsequently the
lower level, C, was driven each way a distance of 230 feet.

The mine is in active operation, and they are now driving an adit on
the east side of the hill, which will intersect their vein at an angle of 65
degrees to its line of strike, this will be 400 feet in length, and will afford
easy arid rapid communication with the reduction works. At the end of
the adit a tram-road is constructed 2800 feet, which connects with the
mill ; the gallery, B, 2, will be connected with the adit in the dotted line,
F, of the ground plan.

The vein of this company is in chlorite, and has a strike north and
south, dipping east 55 degrees, with a power of five feet ; the vein has
a riband like appearance in masses, from small seams of graphic slate
running through it. The vein contains some arsenical ores, which are
highly auriferous.

90

[APPENDIX

LIST OF GOLD MINES

At present in operation in California, with location, power employed, &c.

COUNTY.

TOWNS, ETC.

NAME OF MINE.

•LOCALITY.

POWER.

Nevada.

Nevada and vicinity.

Gold Tunnel.

Deer Creek.

Steam.

«

« K

Golden Gate.

Little Deer Creek.

u

« K

Nevada.

Deer Creek.

Water,!

it

II CC

Wyoming.

"

u

(C

II II

Wisconsin.

East of town.

i'

<C

II 1C

Illinois.

Deer Creek.

"

II

It II

El Dorado.

1C

<t

Grass Valley.

Gold Hill.

West of town.

Steam.

II

«

Crossett and Collins.

Osborn Hill.

"

M

it

Empire.

Ophir Hill.

"

II

1C

French.

Union Hill.

"

Butte.

Jamison Creek.

Lafayette & Helvetia
Washington.

Lafayette Hill.
Jamison.

u

M

c.

Eureka.

cc

Water.

Sierra.

Downieville.

Ariel.

South Fork.

cc

Yuba.

Brown's Valley.

Huntley's.

Steam.

Shasta.

Kelby's.

«

Mt. "Washington.

Mt. "Washington.

Siskiyou.

Scott's Valley.

Stents.

Scott River. '

Steam.

a

"

Shackelford's.

Scott Valley.

"

it

Moft'at's.

"

Water.

u

Martin's.

Humbug Creek.

«

Klamath.

Sealey's Flat.

McDermott's.

El Dorado.

Union Town.

Union.

Marthenas Creek.

Steam.

ci

Quartzville.

Thomas's.

Consumnes River.

Water.

Calaveras.

Ranchoree.

Ranchoree.

Creek.

"

ic

Amidor.

Amidor.

Town and Creek.

Steam.

K

Spring HilL

cc

C. CI

"

u

Amidor.

Keystone.

Tributary Creek.

"

u

Herbertville.

Jones & Davis's.

1C

•«

II

1C

Lea <fe Johnson.

««

M

Mokelumne Ridge.

Woodhouse.

'

«

Phosnix.

cc

"

«

1C

"

cc

«

«

Sutter.

Eureka.

Sutter Creek.

Water.

II

cc

Amidor, No. 2.

"

Steam.

K

Jackson.

Oneida.

"

Tuolumne.

Maxwell Creek.

Harris's.

Creek.

"

M

Coulterville.

Maxwell Creek Co.

"

"

II

Merced River.

Marble Springs.

North Fork.

cc

Mariposa.

Mt Ophir.
Quartzburg.

Noveax Monde.
Washington & Georg.

Mt. Ophir.
Quartzburg.

cc

From this it will be seen that there are thirty-nine mines in successful
operation in this State at the present date, twenty-eight of which I have
personally visited this season, and my excuse for not visiting the balance,
was the lateness of the season and distances, with the time necessarily
required to compile this report, being now delayed much beyond the
time when it should have appeared.

Doc. No. 9.]

91

ALTITUDES

Taken by Aneroid Barometer No. 10,811, with the Counties and Localities
in which they were taken.

COUNTY.

LOCALITY.

POSITION.

ALTITUDE
ABOVE THE
SEA.

Santa Clara,

San Jose,

Mansion House,

150 feet

««

Almaden,

Hotel,

48o '•

« «4

Mine,

1345 • -

< «

Houck's Ranch,

Santa Clara Valley,

190 •'

t «

Gilroy's,

<« <£ «

155 v

< <(

Mission Peak,

'

2025 • •

Monterey,

Mission San Juan,

210 • •

«

Ranch Tres Pinos,

Canada San Benito,

220 • •

«

Pass Santa Anna,

Top of hill,

615 ••

ti

Canada San Juan,

Four miles south of the above,

300 "

"

Canada Las Muertos,

Entrance,

280 ••

«

Sierra Gibilan,

Summit,

2780 • •

<(

Chupedero,

u

2368 • •

"

Chelone,

"

2010 • •

14

Sole dad Mission,

312 ••

U

••

Hill on road from San Juan to )

"Watson ville, \

340

San Luis Obispo.

High Ridge,

South Nacismiento,

2460 • '

Alameda,

Mission San Jose",

Portico,

285 v

Sunols Hill,

Entrance to valley,

505 ••

" Valley,

285 •'

Seven Mile House,

Sunol Valley,

240 ••

Livermore's Ranch,

Livermore Valley,

420 V

Hill in Pass nine miles from Ranch,

865 v

Canada half mile north of hill,

584 ••

Stone House,

Bottom of hill, one mile,

680 '•

San Joaquin,

Elk Horn,

Mouth of Livermore Pass,

220 ••

»< «

Suddenfield's Ranch,

San Joaquin Valley,

80 V

Nevada,

Nevada City,

Adams' Office,

1810 '•

"

*Grass Valley,

a u

1950 • •

Placer,

Auburn,

1080 . .

"

Half-way House to Sacramento,

370 ..

El Dorado,

Aurum City,

1200 . .

"

Mud Springs,

1430 . .

Sacramento,

North Fork House,

170 ..

u

Sacramento City,

Levee,

89 ••

Yuba,

Maiysville,

76 ••

<(

Johnson's Ranch,

Bear River,

1120 ••

* A difference of fifty feet by observations of Mr. Atwood with mercurial Barometer, taken three quarters of
a mile south ; difference probably in elevation of both places.

Altitudes were taken in the Counties of Butte, Sierra and upper part
of Yuba with another instrument, but as it was found not to correspond
with the points of departure on my return, the observations were pre
sumed to be incorrect and therefore are not given in this table. Some of
the localities in this table have been levelled and their height accurately
known, and as the barometric measurements have been found to corres
pond, they are probably close approximations.

92 [APPENDIX

COLLECTION FOR THE STATE CABINET.

The Minerals found in the attached list will represent the rocks of
those sections examined and spoken of in the report.

1. Sandstone conglomerate with serpentine, Water Works, San Fran
cisco.

2. Chromic iron, containing Nickel, Panoches, Gabilan Mountains.

3. Chromic iron, containing Nickel, San Benito, Canada of.

4. Chromic iron, containing Nickel, Alameda County.

5. Serpentine, containing free Iodine, Water Works, San Francisco.

6. Serpentine seams of Asbestus, Water Works, San Francisco.

7. Sulphuret Copper in Quartz, Alisal, Monterey.

8. Blue and green Carbonate Copper, Alisal, Monterey.

9. Carbonate and Sulphuret Copper, Alisal, Monterey.

10. Carbonate and Sulphuret Copper, Santa Barbara.

11. Jaspery rocks, Presidio, San Francisco.

12. Gangue of the veins, Alisal Mine.

13. Gossan, containing Gold, Gabilan Mountains.

15. Gold in Quartz with peroxide iron, Washington Mine, Shasta Co.

16. Do. do, do. do- do. do. do. do. do.

17. Do. do. do. CD. do. do. do. do. do.

18. Gossan, containing Gold, Gold Tunnel Mine, Nevada.

19. Gold in Quartz, Gold Tunnel Mine, Nevada.

20. Gold in Pyrites, Gold Tunnel Mine, Nevada.

21. Gold in Quartz with Galena, Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, Nevada.

22. Gold in Pyrites, Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, Nevada.

23. Gold in Arsenical Pyrites. Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, Nevada.

24. Gold in Gangue of Vein, Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, Nevada.

25. Auriferous Pyrites, Gold Hill Lode, Helvetia mine.

26. Gold and Peroxide Iron, Lafayette and Helvetia mine.

27. Serpentine from the Lode, Lafayette Hill.

28. Pyritiferous and Variegated, Lafayette Hill.

29. Gold in Quartz, Empire Co., Ophir Hill.

30. Gold in Pyrites, Empire Co., Ophir Hill.

31. Ores of the Greenstone, Empire Co., Ophir Hill.

32. Ores Pyritiferous, Empire Co., Ophir Hill.

34. Discoloration of Quartz by Gold, Empire Co., Ophir Hill.

35. Gold in Quartz, Gold Hill mine.

36. Auriferous Pyrites in Quartz, Gold Hill mine.

37. Auriferous Cellular Quartz, Gold Hill mine.

38. Surface Ores and Peroxide Iron, Gold Hill mine.

39. Auriferous Quartz in Crystals, Osborn Hill mine.

40. Ore from the Granite, Osborn Hill mine.

41. Ore from decomposed Greenstone, Osborn Hill mine.

42. Ore from the Greenstone Gangue, Osborn Hill mine.

43. Gossan containing Gold, Wyoming mine.

44. Auriferous Quartz, Wyoming mine.

Doc. No. 9.] 93

45. Pyrites containing Gold, Ben Franklin mine-

46. Ore from the Greenstone, Ben Franklin mine.

47. Conglomerate and Gold, Little York.

48. Trachyte, Grass Valley.

49. Auriferous Pyrites in Quartz, Mt. George mine.

50. Auriferous Pyrites and Sulphur, Mt. George mine.

51. Auriferous Pyrites, Mt. George mine.

52. Steatite (Soapstone) Jennr Lind Hill (Rockg Tunnel).

53. Serpentine, Jenny Lind Hill. (Rocky Tunnel.)

54. Asbestus, Jenny Lind Hill, (Rocky Tunnel).

55. Cellular Quartz and Gold, Lea & Johnson mine, Calaveras Co.

56. Ore from the Greenstone, i^ea & Johnson mine, Calaveras Co.

57. Surface ore of cross course, Lea & Johnson mine, Calaveras Co.

58. Cellular Quartz surface ore, Ranchoree mine, Calaveras Co.

59. Auriferous Pyrites, Ranchoree mine, Calaveras Co.

60. Quartz Talc and Gold, Ranchoree mine, Calaveras Co.

61. Auriferous Quartz, Jones & Davis' Mine, Calaveras County.

62. Pyritiferous Quartz, Jones &, Davis' Mine,. Calaveras County.

63. Gangue investing Lode Auriferous, Jones & Davis' Mine, Cala

veras County.

64. Surface Ores, Jones & Davis' Mine, Calaverous County.

65. Gold in Quartz, Eureka Mine, Calaveras County.

66. Arsenical Pyrites and Gold, Eureka Mine, Calaveras County.

67. East side of Lode, do do do do

68. Middle of Lode, do do do do

69. Average Ores, do do do do

70. Graphic Slate, Jones & Davis Mine.

71. Veinstone with Graphic Slate, Spring Hill Mine, Calaveras Co.

72. Do Roasted, do do do

73. Auriferous Pyrites, do do do

74. Gold in Quartz, do do do

76. Cellular Quartz, Keystone Mine, Amidor.

77. Auriferous Pyrites, do do do

78. do do and Gold, Ariel Mine, Sierra County.

79. Pyrites in Talc, do do do

80. Proxide Iron, do do do

81. Calcarious Travertin, South Fork, Yuba.

82. Galena and Gold in Quartz, Tuolumne Water Co.

83. do do do do do

84. Peroxide Iron and Gold do do

85. Auriferous Talc, do do

86. Talcose Slate and Gold, Calaveras River.

87. Gossan and Gold, New York Mine, Stanislaus River.

88. Carbonate Line, Almaden Mine, Santa Clara.

89. Serpentine, do do do

90. Carbonate Lime in Cinnabar, Almaderi Mine, Santa Clara.

91. Cinnabar, do do do do

92. do do do do do

93. Sulphuret Copper, Santa Barbara.

94. Carbonate Copper, Carson Hill.

95. Carbonate Copper, Grass Valley.

94 [APPENDIX

96. Sulphuret Antimony, Mt. Oso, Coast Mountains.

97. Carbonate Copper in boulders, Oregon creek. Sierra Co."

98. Gold in do do do do do

99. Lignite and Sulphuret Iron do do do do

100. Hornblende, Monte Diablo.

101. do Canada San Benito.

102. Silicified Wood, Oregon creek, Sierra Co.

103. Fossil Leaves, Minesota do do

104. do do and Wood, Minesota, Sierra Co.

105. Shells of raised sea-beach, containing Ostrea, Purpura, Mytilus,

Benicia.

106. Lignites, Grass Valley.

107. Silicified Oak, Grass Valley.

108. Quartz and Gold, No. 1 level, Pine Tree Sett.

109. do do No. 2 do do do do

110. do do No. 1 Cross cut do do

111. do do No. 2 do do do do

112. do do from the limestone, Dyer Sett.

113. Copper Lode, near Ridly's Ferry.

114. do do Hoyt's Lode.

115. Copper and Gold, Spring Sett.

116. Gossan and Gold, Josephine Sett.

117. Copper and Gold in Quartz, do do

118. Cellular Quartz and Gold, do do

119. do do do do do

120. do do do do do

121. do do Pyrites with Gold, do do

122. Graphite and Gold in Quartz, do do

123. Blue Carbonate Copper and Quartz, Pine Tree Sett.

124. Galena Iron and Gold in Quartz, Mt. Ophir Sett.

125. Hydrated Protoxide Iron and Gold, do do

126. Walls of Lode Auriferous, Mt. Ophir Sett.

127. Veinstone Pyritiferous do do

128. Galena and Copper, do do

129. Pyrites in Greenstone.

130. Medium Ores of Mt. Ophir.

131. Carbonate Copper, Luis Obispo.

132. Agates, do

133. Magnetic Iron, Santa Barbara.

134. Do do in Serpentine, San Francisco.

136. Do do do do

137. Peroxide Iron, Santa Cruz Mountains.

138. Bituminous Shales, with Telina, Coast Monterey.

139. Do Impressions of telina and Venus, with borings of the
Pholas, Coast Monterey.

139. Bituminous Sandstone with Pholas and Teredo, Serpulae Coast

Monterey.

140. Yellow Sandstone with impressions of Venus, Southeast Monterey.

141. Do do and Telina, do &0

142. Do do do do do

143. Do do do Carmello Creek.

Doc. No. 9.] 95

•

144. Yellow Sandstone and Telina, Cormello Creek.

145. Do do do do do

146. Do do do do do

147. Maotra and Cardium Sandstone, Monterey.

148. Argentiferous Galena, Alisal.

149. do do do

150. Carbonate Copper and Gold in Quartz, Alisal.

151. Mica Schist and Sulphate Iron, Santa Cruz.

152. Granite, do

153. Serpentine and Bitumen, La Brae, Santa Clara Co.

154. Mica Schist with Garnets, Carmello.

155. Carhonate Lime, Santa Cruz.

156. Carbonate Lime in Crystals, Santa Cruz.

157. Marine Fossils, consisting of Pyrula, Telina, Dentalia, Cytherea,

Butte Co.

158. Matica, Ostrea, Mactra, Butte Co.

159. Marine Fossils, consisting of Buccinum, Natica, Cytherea, Santa

Cruz Mountains.

160. Yenus, Venericardia, Santa Cruz Mountains.

161. Marine Fossils, Astarte, San Benito.

162. do do Venericardia, do do

163. do do Mytilus Cytherea, do do

177. Infusorial Clays, containing thirty-eight species, Monterey.

174. Granite, Punta Keys, Marin Co.

175. Limestone and Antimony, do do do do

176. Galena Gold and Quartz, Marble Spring Mine, Tuolumne Co.
Through the kindess of Mr. W. P. Blake, Geologist of the U. S. R. R.

Survey, the following specimens have been procured, and which repre
sent some portions of the geology of the routes traveled over by that
expedition during the past season :

164. Fossil Wood perforated by Teredo, Colorado Deseret.

165. Silicified Wood, do do.

166. Andalusite, drift of Chouchillas River.
1.67. Carbonate of Lime, Tejon Pass.

168. Selenite, Posa Creek.

169. Amorphous Quartz, Four Creeks.

170. Coral, Colorado Desert.

171. Basalt, San Joaquin.

172. Marine Fossils ; these contain two species of Fusus Bucinum,

Telina, Pecten and Turbo, San Diego Mission.
176. Shark's Teeth, Posa Creek.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

JOHN B. TRASK.

Document No. 14.

IN ASSEMBLY.] [SESSION 1855.

REPORT

ON THE

GEOLOGY

OF THE

COAST MOUNTAINS;

EMBRACING THEIR

Agricultural Jicsourrcs anft illincral |)robiiction0,

ALSO, PORTIONS OF THE

MIDDLE AND NORTHERN MINING DISTRICTS.
BY DE, JOHN B. TRASK.

[B. B. REDDING, STATE PRINTER.

To His Excellency, JOHN BIGLER,

Governor of the State of California :

DEAR SIR:

Pursuant to an Act passed in May last by the Senate and Assembly of
this State, authorizing a farther examination of the unexplored portions of the
State, I have the honor to submit the following Report and accompanying dia
grams.

tours, &c.

JOHN B. TRASK.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, )

SACRAMENTO, MARCH 8th, 1855. )

To the Senate and Assembly of the State of California :

I have the honor herewith to transmit to the Senate, a Report made by
the State Geologist, Dr. John B. Trask, in compliance with an Act passed May
15th, 1854, entitled "An Act to authorize and enable Dr. John B. Trask to
complete his geological examination of parts of the State of California.

The copy herewith transmitted, being the only one furnished me, it becomes
my duty, respectfully, to request the Senate to inform the Assembly that the
same has been received and is in possession of the Senate.

JOHN BIGLER.

PEEFACE.

The tour of 1854 was commenced on the 13th day of June, and the
first month was spent in the counties of Yuba, the lower portion of Ne
vada, Placer and Sacramento, for the purpose of completing the exami
nation of those sections which were left unfinished the previous season.

In the month of July, the southern portion of the tour was entered
upon, and carried through portions of the counties of Monterey, Luis
Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, to the northern borders of the
counties of San Bernardino and San Diego. This occupied the time up
to the 12th October, a period of three months. My operations were then
transferred to the agricultural districts west of the Sacramento River,
through the counties of Yolo, Sutter, Butte, Shasta, Trinity, and the
eastern part of Klamath. The time occupied in these sections was two
months. At this time 1 returned to the mining counties for the purpose
of collecting such statistics as the short period of time allowed.

The whole time occupied in the mines proper, was three weeks ; the
first part Of the season being spent in the agricultural districts ot those
counties, almost exclusively.

The tour occupied a period of six months and twenty-two days of
active labor in the field.

EEPOET.

This report will embrace the investigation of the Coast Mountains, commen
cing near the point of termination of the tour conducted during the summer of
1853, and ending at the northern boundaries of the Counties of San Bernadino
and San Diego during the summer and early part of the autumn of 1854. The
tour of 1853 in the Coast Mountains terminated a few miles south of the
river Nacismieiito, in the County of Monterey.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS.

In the report on the " Geology of parts of the Coast Mountains," presented
and published by the fifth session of the Legislature, it will be remembered that
this chain of mountains laid down as forming the coast line of this State, ex
tended from the 42nd parallel to the southern boundary of the same. This pre
sumption was founded on the erroneous positions of the southern terminus of
this chain, as laid down on the older, and also the more recent maps of the
State, conjoined with the misapprehension of many individuals who reside on
different points of the coast line, and who have blended the base of another and
a distinct mountain chain with those belonging to the coast chain proper; these,
it will be seen, have no other connection with the latter, other than to traverse
its line of trend at nearly right angles to its course.

From the Nacismiento River the coast line of mountains continue on a line,
which is nearly direct with the trend of that portion of the chain which extends
from Point Pinos to the river above named, and which forms one of the south
ern boundaries of the County of Monterey ; the line being south nearly fifty
degrees east to their northern termini or junction with the San Bernadino chain.
The latter mountains have their western termination in the vicinity of Points
Aguilla and Conception; beyond this to the south, the mountains which front
the ocean are derived from this chain or its spurs, which are often projected
nearly to the water-line of the sea.

After crossing the Nacismieiito River, the coast chain becomes exceedingly
rugged and irregular, losing in a great measure that parallelism of ridges which
they have heretofore maintained in the more northern districts, from this cause
often they become almost absolutely impassable, at other points than those used
for public high ways; -in many canons south and east of their junction, water is
2

10

scarcely to be found, and which, as a consequence, renders their study a difficult
and laborious task.

Between the middle and eastern ridges of this part of the chain and at a
distance of about thirty miles south of the intersection of the Monte Diablo
range there are some valley districts occupied as ranches for grazing purposes,
but'the major part of the entire district present but few inducements that invite
it to a permanent and extensive population.

The general characteristics of the mountains west of the central portion of
the chain, are repulsive in their character, and ill adapted to any other than
those purposes to which this part of the chain is applied, viz: that of affording
pasturage for wild cattle and the rearing of sheep.

On the eastern side of the central ridges, the intervening country lying be
tween them partakes much more of the character which is found to prevail in
many of the more northern parts of the line ; somewhat extended valley sec
tions, occurring at long intervals, and again breaking up into rough and jagged
peaks, with here and there small plats, with detached portions of wild herds
that roam these hills almost unknown and unowned.

The ascent to the eastern ridges is abrupt, and the eastern declivities are
much of the same character, until the plains of the Tulare lying at their base
is approached, when the foot-hills present the same general characteristics as
those on the western slope of the Monte Diablo range towards the southern
part of the Salinas. There is not that gradual graduation from mountain to
plain, which is incident to the descent from the Sierra Nevada. This will be
found a prevailing character throughout this portion, and also many other parts
of the coast mountains.

The western slope of the mountains towards the sea, from Point Lobos in the
County of Monterey, through the entire length of the County of Luis Obispo,
is extremely rugged and precipitous, forming a heavy and bold shore line as far
south as Point Sal, when the coast begins to assume a much smoother and
agreeable aspect. This, however, is but the outline appearance of the plats
as they descend from the base of the hills in a gradual slope; for on reaching
the water-line, the faces of these plateaus form perpendicular escarpments of
nearly one hundred feet in height.

From the facts at present in our possession relative to those parts of these
mountains lying south of the city of San Francisco, we are now able to form an
opinion that will approximate correctness as regards their geographical position
and relations, and it would seem but proper that they should hold that place
upon our maps which they respectively hold in nature.

With this view before us, the following proposition will be submitted for the
classifying the mountain ranges of this part of the State:

For all that portion of the coast mountains south of the city of San Fran
cisco, and following the line of the coast to the southern part of the County of
San Luis Obispo, the same to be denominated Coast Mountains and ceasing at
their junction with the San Bernardino Mountains which enter upon the coast
line near this point. The local name of Santa Cruz Range to be retained and
to comprise the entire group of mountains which extend from the Pajaro
River on the south, and terminating at the Presidio Point near San Francisco.

That range of mountains commencing on the south shores of the Bay San
Pablo, Straits Carquines and Bay of Suison, and forming the west boundaries of
the Yalleys of San Joaqmn and Tulare — the eastern boundary of the Salinas
and Santa Clara Valleys, with the east coast of the Bay of San Francisco, to
be denominated the Monte Diablo Range. (This latter range having its south
ern terminus due west of the central portion of the large body of water known
as the Great Tulare Lake.)

portion of the Monte Diablo Range, extending from the head of the

11

Cafiada San'Benito in the County of Monterey, to the Pajaros River on the
aorth, and forming the middle eastern boundary of the Salinas Valley, and
western boundary of the Valley of San Juan, to be denominated the Gabilan
Spur.

The above arrangement differs but little from that proposed in my report of
last year, (Doc, 9, Assembly, pages 12, 13, 18, 19, 21, 23,) and becomes neces
sary in order to form anything approaching a comprehensive idea of this almost
unknown portion of the State. The principal and almost only difference in this
arrangement, is in fixing a point at which the Coast Mountains appear to have
their termination, a point hitherto unsettled, and one that has caused more con
fusion, perhaps, in relation to the geography of the State than any subject hith
erto engaging the attention of travelers and citizens. The true position of
these mountains and their relations with other chains must, at no distant day,
command a much greater amount of attention from the people of this State, and
the Atlantic States also, than has as yet been bestowed upon them, for it will
be found that, in selecting a route for the national railroad, the crossing of this,
or an adjacent chain will be necessary, and the principle involved in the great
question upon this point will simply be, the best means to be adopted that will
avoid the transit of two chains in place of one.

A correct understanding of the situation of these ridges, will explain many of
the phenomena constantly occurring in these inland districts, and it affords us
the only means of investigating those causes of sterility that are found to ac
company and prove a constant attendant of extensive areas enclosed within, as
extending to the east of the high ridges composing the chain.

Their study then, becomes a matter not of scientific interest alone, but en
gages our attention in a practical, and enonomic point of view ; it is fraught
with pecuniary public interest, and unless fully understood must result in pecu
niary loss to all parties directly interested.

The altitude of these mountains is such that they have the effect to absorb
much of the aqueous matter carried from the ocean through the various gaps
that occur in the coast-line proper, and when the higher hills fail to accomplish
this, the increase of temperature, consequent from the relative position which
the mountains hold to the plain lands that may be situated among the immedi
ate ridges, or beyond them to the east, is such that it has the effect to dissipate
whatever aqueous matter that might have remained.

This state of the meteorological condition of the atmosphere is admirably
illustrated on the northern end of the Salinas and the southern end of the val
ley Santa Clara. These two districts have the appearance of being subject to a
constant drought, so far as external and surface features are concerned ; but a
closer examination of all the attendant circumstances that are to be met with
in this section of country will convince the observer that an erroneous opinion
upon this subject may easily be formed, when mere external character alone is
observed during the daytime.

During the after part of the day in the summer season, there is usually a
dense fog setting in through the opening made by the Bay of Monterey, which
sweeps across the Gabilan Spur over on to the south part of the Santa Clara
and the valley of San Juan ; and although this fog is often sufficiently dense to
obscure the view for any considerable distance, while it rests upon the northern
portion of the Salinas Plains, and west of the Gabilan, still it is not apparent
often in the atmosphere four miles east of that ridge. The atmosphere is perfect
ly transparent, nor would the traveler suppose for one moment that any mate
rial change in the condition of the air had taken place, or that it was in any way
different from that through which he may have been traveling during the entire
day.

12

It is only at evening that the change is perceptible, for as the temperature de
creases after nightfall, a heavy mist from the condensation of the moisture held
in solution by high temperature takes place, which is often equivalent to a light
rain.

On the middle portions of the Salinas, much the same features are observed,
and it is no uncommon circumstance to be in a cloud of mist at one point, and
at another on the same plain not three miles the atmosphere as clear as nature
can produce it ; it is instructive as well as interesting to stand in a commanding
position and witness the solution of the cloud of vapour as it passes a given and
well defined line.

The same features are prevalent on the valley sections lying east of the Mount
Diablo Range, and the effects of condensed moisture are very apparent even in
the western foothills of these districts. In this fact lies one of the secrets of
the productive capacities of the soils of many of these interior sections, and were
it not for this peculiarity of our atmosphere a large area of our inland country
would remain a perfect Sahara, suited neither for man or beast.

On some parts of the valley sections there have been observations conducted
through a short period of the last year, for the purpose of eliciting some infor
mation relative to the hygrometric condition of the atmosphere many miles from
the sea. These observations if continued for one or two years hence, will furnish
us valuable and interesting information relative to the amount of atmospheric
moisture of the interior of the State, from which we shall be able to deduce some
conclusions of the productive capabilities of many parts of the valleys that are
now neglected, under the prevailing idea that water sufficient for the propaga
tion of grains does not exist in these sections ; from what information upon this
subject, is in a tangible form, I am led to the conclusion that the atmosphere of
the central portions of the Plains of San Joaquin and Sacramento, is nearly or
quite saturated during seven months of the year. The prevalence of southerly
winds on these plains is always marked by an increase in the height of the dew-
point, and they are found by tables, kept during the year 1854, to constitute
nearly sixty-nine per cent, of the winds of the summer season.

Beyond the junction of the coast mountains, the San Bernardino Chain makes
its inception, and forms the coast-line for a considerable distance to the south.
It is at this point where one of the great errors relating to the physical geogra
phy of this part of the State has been committed, viz : that of blending the
western terminus of this chain with the coast-line of mountains proper. From
Point Aguilla the coast begins to assume a much more easterly direction, than
at any other point north of this locality (except perhaps in the immediate vicin
ity of Cape Mendocino,) and on passing Point Conception it pursues nearly a due
east trend until arriving at Point Dessolata to the south of the Mission San
Juan Capistrano, when it again assumes its easterly course after rounding that
point.

At a short distance north of Point Aguilla the base of the San Bernardino chain
fronts the coast, at times miles distant, at others approaching the water-line ;
after passing the south-eastern point of the Santa Barbara channel the chain is
seen stretching away in the distance nearly due east towards the waters of the
Colorado, and across the Jornada del Muerto dividing this desert into two un
equal parts.

On approaching San Pedro in the county of Los Angeles we find that the
nearest part of this chain is not less than forty miles distant from the coast, and
to the northeast of this place the distance is much greater. At the distance of
seventy miles in the same direction may be seen the high peaks of San Bernar
dino, and beyond it again, that of San Jacinto ; farther to the west are moun
tains near the Cahon Pass, while to the left of this line of view and at nearly
the same distance are the rugged peaks of the Sierra San Jose and San Gabriel.

13

Farther to the north and at the distance of fifty miles are the mountains of
San Fernando, the whole of which are but the more prominent peaks of this
transverse chain. On the northern base of these mountains flows the River
Mohave, through the central and northern parts of the great desert.

Within the district above named, and on the south base of these mountains
lies the great plain of Los Angeles, which from the northern to its extreme
southern lines cannot be less than one hundred and eighty miles in length, with
an average breadth of forty miles, comprising within its limits an area of arable
lands equal to three-fourths of the valley of the Sacramento, or about one half
that of the Sacramento and San Joaquin combined.

The local positions of the mountains bordering the western and southern por
tion of the State must it will be seen, modify to a great extent the productive
capabilities of the adjoining districts, and no better illustration of this fact is
necessary than an examination of the flat lands lying contiguous to their base ;
in the case before us the lands at the southern base of the San Bernardino
chain, though coarse and harsh in texture, are at the same time highly fertile,
while that found upon the northern base, though derived from the same sources,
is wholly incapable of vegetable production, or at least to but a very limited
degree. From this then it will be seen, that the climatal conditions necessary
for a healthful and abundant vegetation are influenced more by position and al
titude rather than from any defects in the soil itself.

Hence it is, that we find the Santa Clara and Salinas valleys are more uni
formly productive, than the portions of the San Joaquin lying immediately to
the east of the former, while at the same time the latter is more productive than
the section to the south known as Desert, but which under favorable circumstan
ces has proved inferior to none of the best lands in any part of this State ; this
if a plain contradiction to the general idea prevailing, and promulgated from
high sources, that this portion of the State is valueless, and if individuals see
proper to publish conclusions made up from hasty examinations, and unfavor
able predilections, they must not expect others to follow in their trail, and per
vert truth to save individual responsibility.

The only requisition necessary to make this desert a productive field, suited to
the growth of our southern staples, is the introduction of water in sufficient
quantities for irrigation. This done, no district of this State will present greater
capacities.

The position and course of the San Bernardino chain, with its extent and al
titude forms a striking feature in the geography of the State, and the cliraatal
features incident to the effects produced by position and altitude, are equally dis
tinctive ; the products arising from these peculiarities, are equally marked in all
their forms, while its zoology partakes of the general mutation which supervenes
to as great an extent as is manifest in the peculiarities of the climate ; not less
characterized are the native inhabitants, their pursuits and interests; there seems
but little to unite them with other parts of the State, as each and every natur
al product, methods of living, and political feelings, are as distinct as the almost
impassable mountain barrier that separates them from the northern portions of
the State.

GEOLOGY OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS.

The geology of that portion of the Coast Mountains south of the River Na-
cismiento, differs, but little from that observed a short distance south of that line.

The talcose rocks and their derivations extend south of the river for the dis-
ntnce of about thirty miles, forming a narrow belt, and flanked on the south-

14

west by the trap rocks, and on the northeast, by coarse granites and sienites, at
times composed almost exclusively of massive hornblende, and at others consid
erable quantities of the latter is found imbedded among the other primitive rocks.
The primitive group of this section of the country, exhibits itself in a belt of
about one and a half miles in breadth, and is most evidently contemporaneous
with the rocks forming the Santa Cruz mountains, and that part of the coast
line, extending from Point Pinos south to the northern line of the county of
San Luis Obispo.

Among the magnesian rocks of this district there were seen many small spec
imens of the chromic iron, but none in such massive quantities as that 'noticed
in the Gabilan Spur, in the vicinity of the Sierra Panoches, near the southern
junction of this spur, with the Monte Diablo range. The talcose varieties of
the rocks of these mountains, as well also as the sienites, and granites, have been
intruded and dislocated by the quartz, but no veins of any considerable magni
tude were met with, and there was but little indication of any auriferous de
posits within them.

On the head of a small creek which is probably a tributary of one of the
southern branches of the Nacismiento, a heavy bed of chlorite slate makes its
appearance, having a strike east and west and dipping to the south with a high
angle. This bed is cut through by a dike of trap rock having a dark grey col
or, and immediately adjoining the latter is a small vein of quartz some nine in
ches diameter, holding the same course and having a westerly dip. This vein
contains galena, arifcl sulphuret of molybdenum, holding the same relations of
mineral disposition, that are found to exist in the vicinity of the Pittsburg Mine
in the county of Nevada.

I was unable to discover any valuable metallic associations in any of the rocks
belonging to this group, and am forced as a consequence to say, that in this in
stance, the metallic associations hitherto found to be unexceptionable in all other
parts of the State, viz : of gold in quartzose and talcose rocks, when found ad
joining each other, does not hold good in this instance, it is one of the very few
exceptions apparently to that general rule.

On the west flank of the eastern ridges, and at the distance of about twenty-
five miles from the rancho Santa Maria, there are beds of a crystalline or pri
mary limestone, similar in all its general characteristics with that found in the
vicinity of Santa Cruz ; a large proportion of this calcareous rock, possesses a
high crystalline character, and is unsuited for other purposes than the manufac
ture of lime. On a small valley to the west of this bed and at the distance of
about half a mile west, a heavy deposit of calcareous travertin is found, but like
the toro beds in the county of Monterey, the springs that rise to the deposit,
seem no longer to exist ; this bed covered an area of nearly one-fourth of a
mile, and having a depth of nearly seven feet.

The geological position of these limestones is among the primitive rocks like
its equivalents among the more northern parts of the same mountain chain, and
is the same in age as that group extending through three hundred miles of the
Sierra Nevada.

From the valley above alluded to, this rock extends south in detached groups
or beds for a distance of about thirty miles, and will be iouud on the west flank
of this line of ridges to a point nearly due east of the head waters of the Rio
Santa Clara in the county of Santa Barbara. A similar group of these rocks
is also met with near Lake Elizabeth, near the main waggon road from Santa
Barbara to the Canada de los Ubas and the Tejon Reserve.

In the canon of the rancho San Francisco the limestone is frequently met
with on the sides of the hills to the left of the road, but at this locality it can
not be considered in situ.

The rocks have been carefully examined for organic remains, but in no instance

15

*

have I as yet been able to detect the slighest vestige of organic life, and from
those who have succeeded me in the examination of these rocks, I learn that
they have met with no better success.

It is not uncommon to find impressions of marine plants at least, in rocks of
this character, but even these are absent in the group under consideration.

A distinguishing feature in these limestones, is the small proportion in mass
which they bear to the other primitive rocks with which they are associated and
invested, and when found in contact, (as was the case in two instances) with the
more recent igneous intrusions, their structure was found materially changed. —
They were more often found imbedded in the granitic rocks than in any other po
sition ; but little of the entire line of beds possessed a fine crystalline texture,
and this even was usually much discolored by iron.

The limestone rocks of these mountains are well represented on the west flank
of the Sierra Nevada, their equivalents may be found in various mining locali
ties, as at the Marble Springs, Sonora, Ringgold, Murderer's Bar, Carson River
Falls, also as far north as the county of Pluruas, it passes through all the inter
mediate counties lying between Mariposa on the south and Plumas on the north.
In some of the above localities it has been found to answer the purpose of a
good building material, this however is merely local, but its principal use in this
State is the manufacture of lime.

The granitic series probably underlies the entire central and a large portion
of the eastern line of ridges, although it does not make its appearance upon the
surface to that extent which this supposition would seem to imply. I am satis
fied of this fact however, from the examination of the debris found in and about
the small streams, which are found traversing some of the deep canons of these
mountains ; in all the sedimentary beds, of sand and drift thus found, the gran
itic constituents of the same formed by far the greater proportion, and it may be
said constituted their entire mass. How far this formation may extend west
ward, or towards the coast, and north of the San Bernardino is yet quite un
certain, as I am not aware of any outcrop of the granite north of this chain
and south of San Simeon.

TERTIARY ROCKS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS.

The tertiary rocks of this part of the coast mountains, are interesting in a
scientific point of view, in directing our attention to those periods of the earlier
history of this portion of the western continent, when it was submerged be
neath the waters of the ocean. The prevalence of the tertiary rocks in these
mountains fully corroborates all that has heretofore been said respecting almost
the entire range of country stretching from the base of the eastern Sierras to
the present eastern confines of the sea. On the summits and sides of the hills,
we find the fossiliferous rocks of this part of the country, maintaining the same
relative positions which they occupy in other and distant parts of the State; the
equivalents of the Monte Diablo groups are found as well marked as at any
part of that particular range, while at the same time we find in this connection
other beds of widely different forms, and belonging to different periods of the
same era, and which are found again hundreds of miles distant in other direc
tions.

Sufficient is now known respecting the distribution of the vertebrate and in
vertebrate animals inhabiting the country during these remote ages, that we are
able to frame, at least, an approximate opinion of the relative periods at which
the different classes of animals existed, whose remains have been found within
the limits of this State.

16

With those relics of the vertebrate animals now in our possession, from the
counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and what has
been brought to light in the Counties of Tuolumne, Placer and Siskiyou, it
appears evident that not less than eight species of these gigantic animals for
merly existed upon these shores. The relative situation of these remains in dif
ferent parts of the State precludes the idea that they could have existed during
the same identical period, therefore, it will probably be necessary to construct a
different arrangement than that at present acknowledged, for the date at which
allied genera and species in other parts of the world existed, compared to those
of California.

We are warranted in this assumption from the appearance and character of
the marine fossils adjacent to the district from which many of these bones have
been exhumed, and as in the case of those remains from the northern districts
of the State, their association with relics of the works of art would certainly
appear to bring them down to a much later period than that usually assigned;
but of this subject we shall treat again at a future day, when farther, but per
haps not more decisive evidence is in our possession.

In the mountainous districts of the Counties of San Luis Obispo and Santa
Barbara, the predominating fossiliferous rocks are miocenes holding an age con
temporaneous with the Monte Diablo groups. Among the higher hills of these
Counties, the Miocene rocks are in many instances largely developed; this will
be found to be the case in an eminent degree in the La Questa San Marcas, a pass
in the mountains, and on one of the trails from the town of Santa Barbara
into the Valley of San Inez.

The cafion of this hill cuts through heavy beds of sandstone, which is loaded
with fossils of marine origin, among which Pectinea, Cardia and Ostrea are in
greatest abundance, while it is prolific in univalves and spiral shells, with other
additional bivalves. Immediately east of the Mission of Santa Barbara among
the lower hills, there is an extensive bed of Ostrea, the cementing medium be
ing made up of lime with an admixture of a small quantity of sand.

In passing through the Yalley of San Inez and entering the coast mountains
in the County of Luis Obispo, the same fossiliferous rocks occur for forty miles,
and in a large valley lying in the centre of these mountains a portion of the rib
of a large whale was found by Col. Norris, of the U. S Land Survey, at an al
titude of nearly twenty-five hundred feet above the level of the sea, and about
thirty-six miles into the interior. It is not uncommon to find the remains of
these large cetaceans among the mountains forming the coast, and some frag
ments of similar bones have also been brought from the borders of the Tulare
Yalley. From careful examinations of those bones which have been brought
into situations where they have been made the subject of careful investigation,
it is believed 'that the larger proportion of all that have yet been found, are re
ferable to present existing genera and species, though from fragments alone, it
would be difficult to individualize at the present time.

The fossiliferous sandstones of the mountains possess many of the lithological
characteristics which are found among the rocks of the same age in the more
northern parts of the State, '• nd belonging to the same chain, and when differ
ing from this rule, the cause will be found entirely local, and of limited extent.
Any diversity in species that may be found imbedded in these rocks, will be
more attributable to local climatal influences rather than to any difference in rela
tive age which the rocks of the southern mountains may hold to those of the
northern districts.

In the County of San Luis Obispo, at the distance of about fifteen miles from
the coast, and from thence into the interior, both east and south, are to be found
beds containing an uncommonly large Grypha3 at times weighing twenty

17

0

pounds; it is far superior in size to those found in the vicinity of Livermore's
ranch, in the county of Alameda, and like them, they at times have been found
to contain the impress of the animal that formerly inhabited the shell ; it is not
improbable that the age at which both species existed was contemporaneous, the
difference in species, size and form, being attributable solely to local climatal
effects. Such is the fact at the present time with the Mollusca inhabiting our
coast, within the parallels of latitude inclusive, and we have no reason that such
was not the case in relation to the fossiliferous groups.

The large bivalves form an interesting feature in the paleontology of our
State, and undoubtedly are of different species from many already known in
other parts of the world; but their peculiarities must be deferred until a fu
ture period.

The area over which the tertiary rocks are distributed, leaves but little
room for doubt of the former submergence of the entire district; and the dif
ferent periods of this era points us to so many successive elevations, which were
probably gradual in their character If it should be questioned that this was
not the fact, during the earlier age of these deposits, we would simply refer the
observer to the terraced outlines of the fossiliferous groups from the present
shore of the ocean to the summit of the first and western ridges of the chain.
These elevatory effects have undoubtedly been continued through the subsequent
periods of this epoch, and will be considered more in detail when the coast line
of the southern part of the State is under consideration.

PRIMITIVE ROCKS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS.

The primitive rocks of the Coast Mountains consist of the granitic series, in
which are included the the Sienites, Micaschist, Granite, Gneiss, Porphyries, and
the older Greenstone, including also the serpentine rocks. On these rest the
greater part of the older sedimentary rocks, and some few of the Pliocene period.
Their general distribution has been noticed in the preceding pages qfithis report,
and it remains now only to mention more particularly the points at which they
may best be observed, with any peculiarities that may attend them.

The granite forms the summit of a high ridge to the east of the San Inez
Valley; from about half the southern centre of the valley, and on the flanks of
the mountain, the serpentine rocks creep out and extend in a southwest direc
tion for about two miles, crossing the ridge at this point and forming its summit
for about half a mile. The entire line of this summit is bare and jagged, and
the white appearance of the granite at a distance gives it the aspect of a large
bed of quartz ; a closer approach, however, developes its true character. I
have seen but one other bed of the granite rocks of this State which presents
the same peculiar features, and those are situated about half way between the
town of Jackson and that of Volcano in the County of Amidor. In the middle
portions of the comb of this ridge is a large bed of Micaschist, containing
imperfect specimens of garnets which closely resembles those found on the Car-
mello Creek, in the County of Monterey.

On the sides of these ridges and fronting the southwest, the sedimentary
rocks are found in detached masses, with imbedded fossils which are usually very
imperfect, and therefore, of little value; their distinguishing features fixing their
alliance to the Monte Diablo group. They maintain a high angle of inclina
tion in most instances, and have suffered much disturbance from the subsequent
intrusion of later igneous rocks through and among the primitive series on which
they rest; many evidences of the intrusions are manifest thronghout this entire
range, but as a general fact, they appear much more local in their character

18

than in many parts of the more northern equivalents of this part of the chain,
or more particularly such as may be found in the Santa Cruz and Monte Diablo
ranges.

The Serpentine rocks of the country included in the southern branches of the
Nacistniento River support in several localities heavy beds of the Miocene sand
stones, the fossils of which agree in all particulars with those'noted as occurring
in the same group of rocks throughout this part of the State. On the northern
extremity of the talcose series, a vein of quartz has cut through the inferior
rocks, and also through the sedimentary group, resting upon them; among the
sandstones it has sent out several lateral veins, and the points of contact exhibit
very marked changes in structure, equally distinguishable with any of those
cases noticed in former reports, where the contact of lavas were observed on an
extensive scale.

Nor are the changes of structure confined to the intrusion of the latter veins
alone, for in following out the igneous intrusions, it was found that considerable
dikes of the trapean rocks were manifest, the effects of which were apparent
both'by change of position and structure, the latter to an eminent degree. An
other illustration of the effects of those late trapean intrusions is most clearly
marked in the case of the Los Angeles sandstone about one mile north of the
town, where the latter beds containing impressions of marine plants and other
fossils have been most completely metamorphosed, so much so was this the case
that the rocks would fracture transversely to the lines of stratification with as
much ease as in any other direction. The fracture was usually conchoidal with
sharp, well defined edges, and the fragments had a distinct sonorous sound.

Leaving San Inez and passing in a southeast direction to the San Fernando
Mountains, we find a continuation of the primitive groups which are apparently
connected with and continuous into the coast mountains to the north; they are
met with in the Cafiada Los Ubas, and are continuous from thence into the
coa^t mountains to the west, and the southern terminus of the Sierra Nevada.

The rocks in the vicinity of the Tejon are granitic, consisting of Sienite, Horn
blende Graitfje, a goodly amount of the more felspathic rocks, containing im
bedded crystals of hornblende and schorl, with Mica and hornblende schists.
They evidently belong to one and the same group, having an age contemporane
ous with that series found some two hundred miles farther to the north.
South of the terminus of the Sierra Nevada, and on the western edge at
the desert, are to be found small masses of scoria with small fragments of
Obsidian, the latter riot abundant.

The above general characteristics are sufficient to fix the relative ages of
these distant groups, of allied rocks, and when we remember that nearly
throughout the entire range of the mountains they traverse, that another and
widely distinct formation is found reposing upon them, the features of which
either at its extremes or centre are congenerous in character, or but slightly va
riant. The great uniformity thus manifested in the primitive rocks below, and
the sedimentary group above leads us most irresistibly to the conclusion that
cotemporaneous origin in each is most distinctly marked.

It must not be inferred from the above that more recent disturbances in these
districts have not taken place, for this fact has been before noticed in former
reports while speaking of other parts of this range, and the same is also observ
able in the district under consideration. The principal differences in fossilifer-
ons character among the superior sedimentary deposits of this particular pe
riod will be found attributable more to climatal influences, rather than to any
apparent differences in relative age; for latitude exerts a much less influence on
species than temperature.

The differences in species found at the extremes of this group of sedimentary

19

rocks, are not more marked than are the present living Mollusca now inhabiting
the waters of the coast at corresponding points to the west of any portion of
the range. At Point Conception we may find some few of the species that are
abundant on other parts of the coast north of this locality, but as a general
rule it will be found that the large majority of all the species thus met with will
differ very widely from those, even one hundred miles farther to the west, and
even at less distances. The same rule will apply to the fossil organic remains
of this section of the State, and with much more strictness, as we find the evi-
idences of an inland sea, whose natural boundaries were such that a higher tem
perature must have existed than ever that which is so characteristic on the
south flank of the San Bernardino Mountains at the present time.

The topography of the country investing its shores was mountainous, and the
hills of sufficient altitude to protect it from the harsh winds of the north; an aug
mentation of temperature was the natural result producing different organ
isms from those at the base of their western declivities; it is thus that we find
in the fossil forms of those districts the species that now exist only in the lower
latitudes, and which are marked by the Murex, Typhis, Area and Cucullea.
On these premises are we able to reconcile some of the apparent discrepancies
which have arisen, and place the deposits in their proper geological position as
regards the periods at which any portion of this group had their origin, and it
explains one of those causes of diversity in species among beds evidently co-
temporaneous.

We have very conclusive evidence before us in this State, that the climatal
conditions prevailing during the period in which the Miocene beds were forming
was much greater than that prevailing at present, and confined to particular
districts, though extending over considerable areas; this arose evidently
from the causes above noted. That the shores of the Miocene sea were primi
tive is proved from the fact that these rocks are imposed directly on the latter,
thus demonstrating that its relative age with that of the northern and eastern
chain is widely different and far more recent.

Since the period of their deposition other and important changes have taken
place, and upon the coast line we find the superior beds of . the Tertiary
epoch elevated in regular succession above the element in which they originated.
How far into the southern interior of the State these groups may extend is yet
in an uncertain state, the reports to the present session of Congress from ex
plorations of these districts will probably determine this point.

VOLCANIC ROCKS OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS.

We come now to the consideration of another and different group of rocks,
found in connection with the primitive rocks of this district. Their appearance
among the latter demands some consideration, as it is to this group that we
must look for many of the mutations observable in this part of the State, as
causes producing them were undoubtedly instrumental in producing those mani
fest changes so frequently observed among the sedimentary rocks of these moun
tains. The volcanic rocks of this part of the coast mountains consist for the
most part of intrusions of a scoriaceous and vesicular lava, at other times it be
comes much more compact in form, and again exhibiting itself in the form of a
light volcanic froth, its colors are various, passing through all the different shades
from a yellowish white to a dark iron-brown and black with a semi-metallic lus
tre. From what opportunities occurred for their investigation I think there can
be but little doubt that their intrusion took place, for the most part, duriug the
miocene period, as they appear to have disturbed this group much more seiisi-

20

bly than any other in these particular sections. We are warranted in this con
clusion to a considerable extent, by an examination of the equivalents of the
southern rocks, found nearly three hundred and fifty miles north, as in the case
of the tertiaries situated among the Buttes in the county of Sutter. Here the
recent volcanic series is found intruded through the sandstones of these moun
tains which bear the same fossils as those noted in the preceding section, while
at the distance of twenty miles to the north-east the fossiliferous rocks of later
date are found entirely undisturbed by any of those particular intrusions.

The scoriaceous lavas of this date are well represented by a dike of similar
character passing through the upper portion of El Dorado county, and which
is found very often in detached masses on the hills betweeu Georgetown and the

Middle Fork of the American River. Specimen No . In the vicinity of

the Tejon Pass and on the desert to the south it forms isolated hills known as
" Lost Hills," but in passing into the mountains this characteristic becomes im
mediately lost ; we here find that they enter and cut through nearly all of the
primitive rocks, as well as the sedimentary, and where large dikes are formed,
changes of structure are easily observable, the original structure being entirely
destroyed.

It was not uncommon to find jasperoid rocks in the vicinity of these dikes,
where they had intruded through either sandstone or slates. In these cases
every trace of former organic existence was dissipated, and were recovered on
ly by traveling often considerable distances.

Among other disturbing agents and diifering in general appearance from the
lavas, are to be found frequent intrusions of a recent trapean rock (green stone)
which is common in many parts of these mountains, but more abundant in the
transverse chain to the south ; these rocks are found to penetrate the latter to their
southern base, and approach nearly to the coast line in some places ; they can
not be considered of cotemporaneous origin with the former by any means, as
we find them disturbing a distinct and more recent group of sedimentary, as well
as the older rocks. There is every reason to believe that they were intruded as late
as the miocene period, as they are in contact with rocks as late as those found on
the Carmello. and near Monterey, a part of which Mr. W. P. Blake considers
as quarternary, and they certainly are not earlier than the Post Pliocene.

It is probable that these rocks have been principally instrumental in disturb
ing nearly all the late tertiaries, as we find the greatest amount of dislocation
among these rocks, when found in contact with this intrusive suite.

GEOLOGY OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS.

The trend of this mountain chain has been stated as being nearly due east and
west ; this will be found to hold good for the greater part of its entire length ;
and it now becomes necessary to trace as distinctly as possible the peculiarities
of the geological structure of its mountains, in order to draw legitimate deduc
tions respecting the character of adjacent arable districts lying at their base. —
The inception of this chain on the west was stated to occur a few miles north
of Point Conception, and to follow the above trend nearly or perhaps quite to
the Colorado River.

The geographical position of this chain must exert a powerful influence in
modifying the productive capabilities of the adjoining lands as well as also the
production of diversified species in the neighboring seas, which we find to be the
case, the latter having been fully demonstrated within the past year.
^ These mountains are made up for the most part of the primitive rocks, and con
sist chiefly of the granitic series ; they form by far the most of all the higher
ridges and more elevated peaks belonging to the chain.

21

m

The primitive series is flanked on the south by coarse-grained sandstones in
the county of Santa Barbara, a large proportion of which is fossilliferous, the
species not corresponding with those found in the adjoining mountain chains, ex
cept perhaps to a very limited degree. A high ridge of this chain lies to the
north and east of the town of Santa Barbara, and sends a heavy spur down to
the water-line of the coast a few miles from the town ; this spur approaches so
closely to the beach that the traveler is compelled to take its sands for his road
a distance of twelve or fifteen miles, at the end of which he rounds the base of
the spur, after which he finds a more agreeable road until he arrives in Los An
geles. West of Santa Barbara the ridge is more distant from the coast line,
but carries the same lithological characteristics to the pass of the Gaviota, and
thence on to the Punta Sal, a short distance beyond which the base of the ridge
again approaches the water-line, and forms a rugged, bold shore. The Pass del
Gaviota is a deep, rocky canon composed for the most part of large boulders of
coarse sandstone, portions of which contain imbedded fossils of marine origin,
(the pass furnishes a rough avenue to enter the Santa Inez valley from the coast
and is sometimes used to avoid the ascent and descent of the La questa San
Inez in traveling to or from San Luis Obispo.) These rocks continue to the
hills, forming the south-west border of the valley, and are found also upon its
northern and eastern limits. On the right of the road leading to San Luis Ob
ispo and about four miles from the valley of Santa Inez a large bed of Ostrea are
found, and immediately to the west among the lower hills, beds of sandstone con
taining but very few fossils. On ascending the high hill at this place we find
the equivalent of the fossil Ostrea perched high upon the summit of this ridge ;
the difference between the respective levels of the two beds being near nine hun
dred feet, and the distance but little short of one mile and a half.

This is but one of many instances that might be mentioned, of similar occur
rences among the fossiliferous groups of this State, in which we find parts ap
parently of the same bed occupying widely different levels and both in situ, and
it will be necessary for us to account for these apparent discrepancies on some
other hypothesis, more consistent with the existing facts, than that of mere up
lifting from volcanic action alone, although this agency has undoubtedly per
formed an important part, in many instances, in elevating parts of these beds in
certain localities. It is very evident that the differences in elevation among the
tertiaries of the same period, and as we have just seen, parts of the same bed,
must be referred to other causes than the one generally assigned in this country,
and when we come to consider the species found in different beds, their present
habitat will afford us a basis on which to found a theory, at least, that will in
some measure account -for the discrepancies observed.

The geology of the San Bernardino chain, so far as it has been examined, af
fords us some instructive examples relative to the disposition and distribution of
the fossils found upon its flanks. On both sides of this chain we find the mioceLe
deposits, evidently of the same period, occupying different levels, and the same
beds presenting different lines of dip ; in one case a great degree of horizontal-
ity prevailing while in another the beds will be highly inclined.

The fossiliferous beds rest mostly upon the primitive rocks. When an exception
to this rule occurs it is found to be entirely local, and extending over inconsider
able areas, this may be considered true of the western portion of these moun
tains, but how far to the east it may extend I am unable at present to determine.
The more horizontal beds of these rocks were usually found nearest to the sum
mit of the ridges, those upon the flanks and near the base possessing the highest
degree of inclination, and the latter occurring on the southern base to a much
greater extent than upon the north. This is easily accounted for in examining
the country near the coast-line in this vicinity. At the distance of about forty

22

miles from Santa Barbara on the road thence to Los Angeles, these mountains
have suffered to a small extent comparatively speaking, in those disturbances
which have been alluded to as occurring in the coast mountains ; this is manifes
ted a few miles east of the rancho Poseto in the county of Los Angeles. At
the distance of fifteen miles further in the same direction, and to the northward
of the Conejo ranch eight miles, a scoriaceous lava bursts through the base of
the mountains, and is tound in the'second range of hills north of the latter lo
cality ; this continues at intervals until you enter the locality of the lower moun
tains north of the Pesos River, and was found to continue eastwardly as far as
the Semma and Papa, beyond which point it was not observable.

This lava has burst through the primitive rocks and apparently overflowed
some few of the sandstones, but the principal effect on the .sedimentary rocks
has been that of tilting them from their former position. This volcanic action
has continued, apparently almost uninterrupted from the eocene or miocene peri
ods down to the present time, though evidently not to so great a degree at pres
ent as formerly. This is evidenced by the continued action of a number of small
volcanic vents at different distances from the coast, and extending from the
county of Luis Obispo to the northern portions of Los Angeles, the most north
ern of these vents occurs on the south side of San Simeon Bay at a distance of
a little more than three miles from the ocean. As you advance south from -this
point the next in importance is found in the hills fronting the coast, on the rancho
of Guadalupe in the northern part of the county of Santa Barbara ; another
le s active is found on the ranch of Dr. Robbins about five miles from the town
of Santa Barbara. Again at the Rincon twelve miles from the town another
of these vents is found. These localities emit light, heat and smoke at different
intervals during the year, and some of them are dangerous to approach ; they
are undoubtedly closely connected with the phenomena of earthquakes that of
ten affect this district of country, and which apparently have a tendency to ex
pend their principal force in an easterly and southerly dircection. The records
of earthquakes that have reached us from this section of country furnish us evi
dence in support of this supposition.

By referring to the number of shocks which have occurred since 26th of No
vember, 1851, up to July 14th, 1854, in this part of the State, we shall find that
they amounted in the aggregate to 31, and of this number 23 have not been felt
north of Luis Obispo, their principal force being exerted south into the ocean
for a distance of fifty or sixty miles from the land, (as in the case of the marine
volcano 25 miles southeast of the Island of San Clemente, observed by Capt.
Cropper and officers of the steamer Cortes on the 1st of March, 1853, arid now
known upon American and English charts as " Cortes Hocks,") and east be
yond the Colorado River ; (as in the disturbances which occurred on the desert,
at Camp Yuma, and south and west of the Colorado River, on the 26th of No
vember, 1851, the latter "Mud Geyser" being still active as recent accounts
from this section of country declare.) The latter shocks were felt in various
portions of Los Angeles county, and were particularly severe at the Mission San
Gabriel.

The effects of these subterranean agents over so large an extent of the south
ern part of the State furnish us with the means of judging of what the effect
must be. on all the superincumbent strata, over which they exercise an immediate
influence. The natural effect must be either to raise or depress the country in
rather a uniform manner than otherwise, (as great intensity of action is not man
ifest,) and we have no better means of forming an opinion than by an examina
tion of the sedimentary groups along the coast-line. A careful examination of
these rocks will lead us to conclusions that are not only interesting in a scientific
view, but also of a practical and economic character, as their true positions must

23

exert a beneficial or injurious effect upon operations that will be presented in the
improvement of the soil in this part of the country.

The dip of these rocks is peculiar in some respects, following as they do a di
rection different from that which might have been anticipated, from any features
which the relative positions of the mountains and plains present on their exter
iors. We should expect to find a linear dip from the mountains to the sea,
where the inclination of the surface is so regular from the former to the latter ;
but in place of this we find that the dip of the stratified rocks is the reverse of
this, inclining to the east, while those of the mountain ranges directly opposite
are found inclining to the west. Were these peculiarities limited to a small
area they might be accounted far from local causes acting in such immediate dis
tricts, but as we find them extending along the coast-line for a distance of nearly
250 miles, we cannot but regard them as the results of extensive local action,
elevating the coast-line.

There is but one other method of accounting for the position of the rocks,
(extending as they do from the southern shores of San Simeon to the northern
lines of the counties of San Diego and San Bernardino,) which is, that the Is
lands forming the west coast of the Santa Barbara channel were originally uni
ted and formed part of the main land, holding those relations to the plains at
the east, that the coast mountains do to the valleys of the Sacramento, Salinas
and Santa Clara. There may be some reason for a supposition of this kind, as
many of these islands contain quiet elevated lands, and the island of Catalina
is in reality an almost unbroken mountain ridge, (with the exception of what is
called the Isthmus,) for 30 miles in length, as elevated as many parts of the
coast mountains.

Should this position be assumed, we must suppose that an area of plain lands
equaling three-fourths of the length of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys
by about 200 miles in breadth, (for these islands extend through four degrees of
longitude and nearly six and one half degrees of latitude) must have been sub
merged during one or a succession of those turbulent periods that have formerly
been in existence on the western portion of this continent, or that a rupture hav
ing occurred, the inroads of the seas have gradually denuded these lands, and
thus effaced them.

It would be unnecessary to travel thus far into the abyss of time, to reconcile
a feature that may present itself, like that under consideration, where we have
an agent at hand, in active operation, and adequate to produce all the features
whhh these rocks manifest ; more simple and satisfactory will it be to account
for their present dip by the agents above alluded to, than to seek for causes be
yond our comprehension and our powers of satisfactory demonstration.

In an economical view these rocks will claim our attention. It has been obser
ved that the rocks on the coast-line for the most part have an easterly dip while
those of the mountains to the east dip in an opposite direction. The effect of
this is to produce a basin-shaped structure, under the surface of the plains and
as this section of the State is strictly agricultural and but little improved, it be
comes an inquiry of no little importance to ascertain the probabilities that exist
for obtaining water through artesian borings.

The structure of the rocks which form the basis of the plains of Los Angeles
are such that we may reasonably suppose that subterranean waters are flowing
among the slates and compact sandstones beneath the surface. The character
of these rocks should first be understood and also their positions relative to each
other.

24

STRATIFIED ROCKS OF THE SAN BERNARDINO CHAIN, AND
PLAINS OF LOS ANGELES.

The stratified rocks of tins chain consist of clay, clay-slate, sandstones, con
glomerate and bituminous shales ; these comprise 'those rocks only which have
been observed by outcrop along the coast-line and on the flanks of the hills to
the east. Commencing at Point Aguilla we find the coast-line presenting high
bluffs of a light brown sandstone, interlaminated with thin seams of clay and
slates, possessing the same color as the arenaceous rocks in which they are imbed
ded. As you recede from the sea, the land is found to become depressed to a
considerable degree until within a short distance of the base of the mountains,
when is is again observed to be more rapidly ascending. This fact will hold
good with regard to all the level lands fronting the coast from the above point
south and east of San Pedro in the county of Los Angeles..
In traveling over this part of the coast another general and striking feature will
arrest the attention, and if the pedestrian has traveled in any of the great valleys
of this State, he will be struck with the remarkable coincidence which is manifest
along the entire range of that terraced structure found so general throughout the
whole extent of those valley sections. The superficial soil of the coast terraces
is composed of rich mould of a grayish brown color, this is mixed with a fine
sand, and a small quantity of mica witft a little clay. The sub-soil is composed of a
brown loam mingled with a blue clay and and white sand, the blue clay alone
forming a thick bed beneath the whole, and resting upon the rocky structure
forming the basis of these plains ; this may be considered the general structure
of those lands laying at the base of this chain, but will probably be found local
ly modified in portions lying adjacent to the hilly regions.

The first suite of indurated rocks beneath this consists of a bed of loose sand
stone seven feet in thickness. Below this again is found a bed of light yellow and
brown infusorial clays interlaminated with thin seams of sandstone ; four feet
below this again are found sandstones of a brown color with thin seams of slate
containing much calcareous matter thirteen feet in thickness. A heavy bed of
bituminous shale succeeds the latter of about eighty feet in thickness, from which
issues in many places large quantities of fluid bitumen, and below this again is
found a bed of dark sandy clay above which I have frequently seen waters issue
in small quantities and under all the strata above named. The aggregate of
their thickness inclusive of the alluvial coverings amounts to 124 feet, and the
above description applies more particularly to the country stretching from the
coast-line towards the east or the interior. The following tabular arrangement
giving the line of dip will serve a better purpose of illustration of the position
of these strata :

25

Alluvium 20 feet.

Sandstone infusorial clays, 4 feet.

Sandstone and calcareous slate, 13 feet.

Bituminous shales, 60 to 80 feet.

Dark sand and clay.
Sea.

At the bottom of the cliffs and near the sea level the drainage from the strata
above is observable, and where water is not seen to issue there are unmistake-
able evidences of its presence in the growth of plants requiring much moisture
for their propagation even within a few feet of the sea.

From the above section it will be seen that the bituminous slates, from a heavy
underlying bed to all the strata above, and though apparently firm and compact
in texture they admit the percolation of water, probably between the lines of
stratification. The freedom with which water issues from beneath these rocks
is best observed about one and a half miles east of the town of San Pedro, on the
beach ; here the waters come up through the sands of the beach in the same
manner as is observed in small bubbling springs situated in soft wet lands. —
From the appearance of these plains it is evident that the dip of the coast stra
ta assumes nearly a level position and reversed inclination at the distance of
seven or eight miles east of San Pedro and towards Los Angeles, and that the
edges of the reversed dips, are covered by the superincumbent drifts from the
primitive mountains west and north of the city and plains.

Among the sandstones, clay and slates of this district, are to be found large
quantities of marine mollusca in the fossil state, they are usually found in alter
nating beds, at times upon the summits of the cliffs among the fine alluvium and
soil, as in the high table ridge west of the town of Santa Barbara, or resting in
soft and indurated calcareous sandstone in the same vicinity. Again they are found
in the firm sub-soil or upon the left shores of the estero from one to three miles
northeast of San Pedro, in beds ranging from a few inches to several feet in
thickness. The bituminous slates with a few exceptions contain no fossils of ma
rine origin; there are occasionally impressions of fucoids to be met with, on the
surfaces of the lamina composing the group, and although other organic forms
are almost entirely absent this fact is sufficient to prove that they have had their
origin beneath the waters of the ocean.

The great extent of territory which these shales cover is rather a novel as
well as an interesting feature in the geology of this State. They manifest them
selves first in quantities which entitle them to consideration as a distinct forma
tion, in the upper parts of the counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, extend
ing into the county of Monterey ; the district is small however when compared
with that which we find further south, and appears continuous for a long distance.
The southern group is found to commence in the county of Luis Obispo arid tra
verses the whole of the west portion of that county and extends through the
entire length of the counties of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, evidently un^
derlying the greater part of their territory from the mountains to the sea. To
4

26

what extent these slates may pass beneath the surface of the ocean is of course
unknown, but there are good reasons for the supposition that the distance is con
siderable, from the fact, that during storms when a heavy swell is occasioned
there are large quantities of these rocks brought up and distributed upon the
shore, in fragmentary masses. Attached to these fragments often are mollusca
and marine plants belonging to deep water and differing widely from the shoaler
littoral deposits which are also found in great numbers. Another evidence that
this formation extends for some distance beyond the coast-line seaward is the
fact of the emission of liquid bitumen and its appearance on the surface of the
ocean miles distant from the main land. It might be argued that the currents
of the ocean would have the effect to transport this material to considerable
distances from this shore, and this is undoubtedly true to a great extent ; but in
forming this conclusion we should remember that the greatest amount of force
is manifested during the setting of the flood tides, and that all floating materials
are soon landed on our shores from great distances at sea. I have been inform
ed by persons engaged upon the coast that this bitumen so often seen upon the
waters south of Point Conception has often been noticed west of Catalina, and
that they have sailed through large quantities of it beyond the Island, while the
waters in the channel have been for days free from its presence. Such facts
would lead us to infer that these shales extend probably as far to the west,
forming the bed of the ocean, as they are known to extend to the east under
the surface of the extensive plains of Los Angeles, the distance in the one case
being about equal to that in the other.

The remaining sedimentary rocks of these mountains consist of sandstones and
slates, the former composing by far the greater bulk thereof. The sandstones
contain the larger proportion of the fossils found in these districts, and lie in all
cases superior in position, to the bituminous slates. In the vicinity of Santa
Barbara they form a large portion of the covering on the flanks of the moun
tains extending to j;he summit of the southern ridge, their aspect is repulsive
and barren, vegetation being almost entirely absent, except in the deep, precipi
tous ravines between the hills ; the foot-hills below are made up of large bould
ers having evident marks of abrasion by water, and coarse gravely drift derived
from the same sources. On these lower hills the oak and indigenous growths
flourish, although the soils are harsh and coarse, as they naturally must be from
the sources from which they have been derived. This is but another evidence of
those powerful fertilizing agents that are so lavishly distributed through our
soils compelling the otherwise sterile hills to produce abundance for flock and
herd.

One of the causes of this fertility is found in an examination of the fossilifer-
ous rocks, it is evident from their appearance that the animals lived and died on
the spots where their remains are now buried, they do not present the appear
ance of a littoral deposit, there is not that variety in species which we should
look for under those circumstances, or those broken, rolled and fragmentary
remnants usually found in the latter. Whenever a bed of fossils is met with
in this section of the country among the indurated sandstones, either the shells
of the bivalves are entire or casts of their interior exist ; when the latter occurs
is is not unfrequent to find upon the mould of the shell a true imprint of the an
imal that inhabited it. I have seen the palial impression of a Venus with its
sinus and muscular cicatrices nearly as perfect as though a cast had been taken
from a recent animal.

The rocks found in these mountains and at their base contain marine animals,
inhabitants of both deep and shallow water ; with those also that live upon the
verge of highest waters ; this fact would indicate that gradual elevation has been
exerted over a considerable area in this part of the State, as forces are still in

activity that are commensurate with the production of the features manifested, but
it should be remembered that the area thus affected is not applicable to the en
tire suite of fossiliferous rocks incident to these and the ranges of the coast
mountains.

We come now to consider another group of sedimentary rocks, skirting the
base and foot-hills of these mountains and confined to the county of Los Angeles
and northern part of San Bernardino. These were traced from the mountains
lying between Arroya Peros and Rio Santa Clara on the west to a point east of
Los Angeles as far as the Arnaci and San Jose ranches lying to the east and
south of the Monte.

To convey a clear idea of the position of these rocks, we will commence to
the north of the city of Los Angeles, and at the base of the higher hills, or
where the sandstones and slates are found in direct contact with the primitive
and other igneous rocks.

As before observed the principal rocks of this chain are granitic. The first
rocks of sedimentary origin met with and in contact with the granite is a bed
of arenaceous slates. These so far as I was able to form an opinion appeared
to be about thirty-five feet in thickness and dipping south fiity-five degrees. —
Beyond this, coarse sandstones were met with having the same dip interlamina-
ted with their beds of fine brownish clays. These rocks apparently have been
but little changed by subsequent volcanic intrusions and contained many fossils,
all of which were marine consisting mostly of the cardium and allied species.
Advancing south we now approach the first foot-hills of the valley and such as
are found within one mile of the town ; here a change of character specifically
different from any of the aqueous rocks to the east, is to be observed. This lat
ter suite constitutes the only material change of consequence, among the tertia-
ries of the San Bernardino chain.

By way of distinction these rocks will be denominated the infusorial group, to
separate them from the earlier and later rocks of this era, and as there will be
occasion to speak of them as occupying the position of distinct groups, belong
ing to one or more of the periods. These rocks are made up of beds of sand
stone 100 feet, having a buffy yellow color and which pass almost imperceptibly
into a sandy clay-slate, and thence into a fine, whitish, soft and light chalk-like
deposit 16 teet, perfectly stratified and often receiving the name of chalk day ;
this is again covered by a light fossil slate 28 feet, containing fragments of small
and as yet undetermined species of animals ; the dip of these rocks is very uni
form, maintaining nearly a vertical position or but slightly departing from it.
On these rests the drift 30 feet, which in hills fronting the plains forms an imper
fect coarse conglomerate, made up of the sienites, granites, trap, indurated and
metamorphic sandstones. All this suite have been disturbed by recent intru
sions of trap rocks and as in the case of the buffy sandstone half a mile north
of the city, the transition near the points of contact is such that the rock will
fracture transversely to the lines of stratification as readily as in any other di
rection, the fracture is always conchoidal, breaking with sharp well-defined edges,
and the stones when broken having a sharp sound much resembling the dolorites.
The high inclinations of these beds are due undoubtedly to the later intrusions of
the igneous rocks, and they must have received their dip anterior to the deposit
of the coarse drift, as the latter appears to rest unconformably upon their up
turned edges. This is the fact with respect to this entire group generally,
whether found in the county under consideration, or in any other part of the
State, in which it has been observed.

The artesian boring in the city of Los Angeles has developed to a certain ex
tent the character of the plain beneath the surface to a depth of 400 feet ; the
position of the strata through which they have descended is as follows (as near

28

as could be learned) : a heavy blue clay for 30 feet, followed by a bed of coarse
gravel, (drift) 18 feet ; clay, sand and gravel blue, 16 feet. These contain small
marine shells followed by a thick deposit of tough, blue clay, 150 feet, (contain
ing fossils,) the character of the earth below this point has not as yet been as
certained, nor have they yet struck the superior strata of the sedimentary rocks
a few yards to the north of the well.

EXTENT OF THE INFUSORIAL GROUP.

This group of rocks was found as far east as the foot-hills of Sierra San Jose,
and continue along the southern base of this part of the chain to the south of
the hills on the banks of the Arroyo Peros ; they were also observed among the
hills near the Conejo and La Poseto ranches. On the east bank of the Santa
Clara River a small deposit was found at an elevation higher by nearly forty
feet, than at any point east of this place ; after crossing the Santa Clara River
it is not again seen until near the Mission San Buenaventura ; here it again as
sumes its usual position as regard altitude and continues thus to the Mission of
Santa Barbara. After leaving this locality it is met with as a thick bed cap
ping a low ridge in the vicinity of the ranch Coral, and also between the latter
place and Paso del Gaviote. In crossing Point Conception the coast assumes a
more northerly trend, and the infusorial deposits follow the same line and make
their appearance at La Espada in the county of San Luis Obispo, continuing
along the line of the same direction nearly to the Bay of San Simeon. Beyond
this point I possess no information of its existence or position, until reaching the
Bay of Carmel, when it is found nearly continuous to the heavy deposits three
miles from the city of Monterey.

In the County of Santa Cruz these rocks are again met with to the right of
the road crossing the Sousal, and also on the north bank of the Pajaro River
near the junction of the Pescadero. They are invested by sandstones and slates
in nearly every instance in which they are found, and their uniformity in altitude
is one remarkable feature attending the entire group. An observance of each
and all of their main characteristics may be noticed by one locality, viz : near
the town of Monterey, and what is observable here in this particular, will be
found a true index to all the rest of the group above alluded to, in any portion
of the State. It will be seen from what has been said respecting these rocks
that they are general in distribution within the limits of certain districts, hold
ing as they do an average height above the sea of about 330 feet, varying at no
place so far as known, over 22 feet from this line; the linear extent of the group
exceeds 461 miles. Their constancy with respect to the tertiary, miocene, (or per
haps later periods) would induce me to apply a name to this group that shall at
. once identify it as a marked feature of that portion of the tertiary era to which
it may ultimately prove to belong. Its uniformity of character in every partic
ular, connected with its extent and associations, fix it as a guiding mark that
will serve to separate the group to which it belongs from those that preceded or
followed it; I therefore propose the simple term of the Infusorial period, be
longing to the tertiaries of California.

As before observed, the regularity of position and altitude of these deposits
leads us irresistibly to conclusions respecting the elevation or depression of this
portion of the Pacific coast. The evidences which they furnish are to the effect
that since the emergence, there has been but little of those violent disturbances

29

which agitated the country prior to that time, and that the recession of the sea
from those points has been gradual; an idea which is borne out most fully by
corroborating evidences in other and more distant parts of the State.

PLAINS OF LOS ANGELES.

In the preceding pages we have given a brief summary of the general char
acteristics relating to the geology of a portion of the coast and San Bernardino
mountains. We shall now proceed to examine the probable positions which the
sedimentary rocks of the latter chain occupy beneath the surface of these plains.
From what has been said of the positions of the rocks among the foot-hills
skirting the northern edge of the valleys, it will be seen that it is with the lat
ter or infusorial group that we have to work in forming conclusions respecting
the structure of these plains below the surface. The great extent of these
plains requires more than a passing notice, and their value can only be appre
ciated by a careful examination of all their characteristics both below as well
as on the surface. We cannot judge of the value of a district of country by a
superficial glance at its exterior features, and nothing but a searching and dis
criminating view of its hidden resources can give us an adequate idea of either
its present worth or its prospective facilities. This remark will apply with great
force equally to the Plains of Los Angeles, the Valley of the Sacramento and
the lands bordering it, as well as to the broad district embraced in the valleys
of the San Joaquin and Salinas Rivers, especially when we come to consider
their agricultural fitness, or their application to any pastural purposes. It is
needless here to dilate upon the importance of a knowledge of the geological
structure and mineral affinities which often influence the virtues of soils render
ing them more or less adapted to certain purposes of an agricultural character.
Great error might doubtless arise in many instances were we to attempt a judg
ment of some of the districts alluded to, without such knowledge; for instance,
a stranger passing along portions of the Plains of Los Angeles in our long dry
summer season would find the beds of streams dry, the herbage and vegetable
growths seared, the earth parched and cracked open as it lies baked in the burn
ing heat of the sun, the timber sparce and of a gnarled and almost useless des
cription; upon these external appearances he would conclude with great error
that he had found a region unfit for the habitation of man, when in truth,
such is the sub-structure of these plains that their soils are unsurpassed in fertil
ity by any others in the United States, as the returning seasons of rain would
prove to the same traveler, when he should find himself almost buried in the
luxuriant growth of the grasses, wild grain and herbs of these districts. And
it ought to be observed that vast portions of these lands may be irrigated, so that
even in the summer they can be brought within the profitable control of the
husbandman.

These portions of the country which are not found to yield the precious metal,
or any other useful mineral products to any great extent, can be interesting in
an economical point of view only with reference to their means of agricultural
occupation. It will be with the purpose of precluding erroneous conclusions
from being drawn out of any remarks we may make in this connection, that we
propose at this time to consider the geological structure of these sections in the
bearing it may have upon the prospective interests alluded to, interests which
we think are destined sooner or later to test all the capabilities of these valleys
for agricultural and horticultural production.

The first question in importance to be settled on this subject is the one of

30

irrigation; what are the means to be used in order to bring within the reach of
the farmer a supply of water sufficient for the thirst of the land and for the
necessary wants of stock during the long dry seasons of our climate ? Two
methods have been proposed to which we will address ourselves at this time.
The one is that of tanks which may be found amply sufficient for present purpo
ses in supplying the lands now occupied with water enough for the farmer and
horticulturist. The other method is by canalling, for the purpose of drawing
water from the rivers out upon the plains in sufficient quantities to supply their
entire surface with the essential element of cultivation of the soil.

The tanking system has been used for many years in India and the oriental
nations, and has proved successful beyond the expectations of its originators.
The positions of the hills forming the northern boundary of the plains of Los
Angeles are admirably situated for the accumulation of water by this means,
and the expense of constructing the dams necessary for its retention would be
comparatively small, when considered in connection with the advantages to arise
from their erection. There are many natural reservoirs skirting the line of these
plains, which, if obstructed by small dams, would furnish water sufficient for all
ordinary purposes of cultivation. Immediately to the north of the city there is
an opportunity afforded for accumulating a body of water nearly one mile in
length, with a breadth of one fourth of a mile, and a depth of from 20 to 30
feet, by the construction of a single dam across the entrance of the ravine.
This lagoon would be filled and kept supplied for at least six months of the year
from the rains which annually fall, and from which several remitting springs in
this vicinity are now supplied. This is given as an instance, but only one of
many of a similar character which may be found to prove that from the con
structions of these hills, nature seems to have designed a plan which would force
itself upon the mind of man for meeting the exigencies of our long dry seasons,
and in this way inviting him to the enjoyment and possession of her rich fields.
It is a practicable and feasible plan which would at once strike the eye of a hy-
draulist, and which has no place in the theories of visionary speculation.

The other method alluded to, and which we esteem one which promises to b§
advantageous, if applied in this region, is the construction of a canal of about
three miles in length, which will divert a portion of the water of the Los An
geles River from its natural channel, and connecting it with the semi-natural
reservoir spoken of, so as to keep it constantly supplied with an abundance of
water. An objection might at first view be interposed by the public of this lo
cality to this latter project, on the ground that it would interfere with the sup
ply of water for irrigation which is already used in considerable quantities for
the lands already in cultivation, yet a little reflection will make it convincing
that the lands now irrigated by the use of this stream would not necessarily
suffer from any scarcity of water, as its present wastage is sufficient to supply
irrigation to at least double the quantity of ground to that which now occupies
the area of irrigated cultivation in that vicinity. This plan would present an
other advantage in the fact that the water thus diverted would be retained at a
much higher level than that occupied by the point at which it is at present
taken from the stream for its distribution along the lower bottom lands border
ing the river. This would expand the area of distribution, while the drainage
passing through the higher terraces to the north and west, would again find its
level on the sanjons now used for conducting it through the lower bottoms. This
river discharges a greater quantity of water than that flowing in Bear River
during the dry season, which is entirely lost in the loose sands a few miles west
of the City. Here sinks beyond the control of the farmer a sufficient supply of
water to irrigate successfully a large surface of the richest soil, if it were saved
by the plan already proposed, which might redeem these lands from their parch-

31

ed and arid condition, which in the summer months now prevents the growth
even of their indigenous herbage and grass, and entirely unfits them for agricul
ture. We have sought in vain for any valid objection to this proposed use of
the water of the stream alluded to for agricultural purposes op the plains be
yond the City, as it would be impossible for the waters to escape to any great
extent either by evaporation or sinking; which, as it is at present, is the means
of robbing the lower bottoms themselves of a sufficiency of water for needful
purposes, and leaving the higher terraces entirely parched. The sub-soil of these
higher lands, as already observed, is composed of a very tenacious blue clay
from 30 to 40 feet in thickness, and as impervious to the percolation of water
as a solid mass of granite. The water on reaching the clay will immediately
pass into the bottoms through the same avenues which now convey it, and it will
have performed its double office of irrigating both the higher and lower portions
of the impending surface. A proper and judicious distribution of this stream
will, I am convinced, supply abundantly more than three times the area
now under cultivation in the immediate vicinity of this City, while the attendant
expense would be comparatively inconsiderable.

ARTESIAN BORING.

We come now to another means of obtaining water in addition to those men
tioned, and as the subject is one of vital importance to the growth and settle
ment of large portions of our State, so far as regards its heavier agricultural
productions, I shall endeavor to elucidate as far as possible, the principles in
volved in the question, and also the probabilities of success in undertaking the en
terprise. This of necessity brings us to a detailed examination of the structure of
the plain from one extremity to the other, and which will be followed in as concise
a manner as possible.

The City of Los Angeles is situated twenty miles from San Pedro to the
north, and has an altitude of 253 feet above tide level, giving an ascending
grade of a little more than twelve feet per mile. The level surface of this
plain alone will afford no correct idea of its substrata, either in their positions
or direction and degree of inclinations, but may serve in some measure as a
guide to direct us in making an appropriate estimate of the probable depths to
which they descend, and consequently, the probable depth that will be required
to sink these wells in order to tap a perennial stream or fountain ; the ultimate
depth of boring the artesian wells will depend in part on the thickness and dip
of the sedimentary rocks beneath, should it become necessary to pass through
them. The stratified rocks composed of sandstones, slates of different kinds,
and clays, will first of all demand our consideration, as the position they main
tain below the surface, will necessarily affect any process which may be adopted
for obtaining water, and this remark will hold good whether the source of sup
ply shall rest either above them, among them, or below them all upon the prim
itive rocks upon which they stand.

. In the preceding pages, when speaking of San Pedro, it was observed, that
the rocks which form that point, and also Point Fermen were stratified sedi
mentary rocks, composed of sandstones, slates, and infusorial deposits between
two beds of sandstone, and the whole of these, are on the top of bituminous
shales, the bed of which rests conformably upon a bed of very dark arenaceous
clay, above which or rather between which and the bituminous shale just men
tioned, fresh water is constantly flowing and issuing out. At a much higher

32

level and at a distance of twenty miles to the north we find the same group ex
isting, and each bed holding its precise relative position, which it is found occu
pying at the coast, with this exception, that the bituminous shales is no where
seen to crop out in any of the hills lying at the base of the mountains. The ab
sence of this out-crop, however, is no evidence that the bituminous shales does
not exist there, but on the contrary we have strong proof of their continuation
and underlying position here as on the coast, from the fact that the principal
springs of bitumen are found among the lower hills in the immediate vicinity of
the outcrops of their associated rocks as found near the sea. As the organic
forms in each bed of the rocks are precisely identical, we have good reason to
believe that the rocks on the coast line are continuously from that line to the
mountains inclusive, and as a consequence form the basis of all the superficial
deposits of the intervening plains. The thickness of these deposits, as deter
mined by their outcrop amounts to nearly 200 feet, and it is hardly to be sup
posed that they much exceed that depth.

The dip of these beds on the south base of the mountains being much higher
than those at San Pedro, it is probable that they would not be reached by
boring so soon as in any other part of the valley. The dip of the stratified
rocks near the edge of the plains, and at the point selected for sinking an arte
sian well, ranges from 48 to 53 degrees, and it will be probably impossible to
reach them below the surface at that point at any distance less than 375 feet,
presuming that their dip is the same, or nearly so at the distance of 1000 feet
from the outcrop. It is more than probable that the inclination of the strata
decreases as the distance from hills increases, and that at some point a little
more than midway between the City and San Pedro these rocks have a horizon
tal position. This must certainly be the case or we shall be forced to the sup
position that the equivalent group on the coast to the south lie unconformably,
and that the two overlap each other. This would be contrary to all reasoning
upon similar cases, as there are no evidences that there has been any volcanic
disturbances which could have produced a false position of such a character.

The opposite inclination of the two extremes of the group favor the above
presumption, and if this be true, then the superficial deposits upon the beds
must be much thinner than at that point where the rocks assume a horizontal
line. From the inclination of the surface of the plain from both margins, to
wards its centre, we should be induced to suppose that near the points of hori
zontal position of the basis of the plains, not only would be found a corres
ponding depression upon the surface, but also other attendant circumstances
which might have lead us to infer that if water was percolating even among the
superficial strata of clays and other earthy semi-indurated masses, resting upon
the rocks above referred to. Such should be the case if water exists among any of
these strata, and this is the fact, thus furnishing the best evidence which we can ob
tain on this and similar points. We find the water leaking out of the lamina
of the deep clayey sub-soil in quantities sufficient to form small lagunas and per
ennial springs for several miles, and at a point not less than 200 feet below the
level of the City of Los Angeles and twelve miles to the south from the town.
It is to be greatly doubted that anything approaching a constant supply will
be found in any of the superficial material resting upon the rocks, notwith
standing wells of this character may be sufficient for the supply of local de
mands, and although they may rise above the surface at first, still it will ultimately ,
be found that mechanical means will have to be employed in obtaining water in
sufficient quantities for the supply of agricultural purposes.

It will most probably be necessary to pierce the stratified rocks before a su£
ficient amount of water will be obtained for the ample irrigation of farming lands,
and to accomplish this will require heavy expenses to be laid out, for labor at

33

its present prices in this country; yet I think there is but little risk as to ob
taining an abundant supply, if these rocks are perforated. There is one condi
tion, however, that should be mentioned, which is that in the event of striking
a bed ot loose sand or gravel beneath the heavy clay bed, there is almost a
certainty of obtaining an abundant supply of water, without descending below
that point. I have seen but one or two instances which would lead us to sup
pose that such a presence is to be found beneath the clay, and above the rocks,
and they were not of sufficient extent to found an opinion upon, and it may be
reasonably doubted that such a bed of sand and gravel would be met with ;
the evidences, I think, are against it.

The thickness of the superficial deposits and stratified rocks, beneath the sur
face, so far as my opportunities of examination extended, are as follows: (The
thickness of the rocks is from my own measurement, and the thickness of their
superficial covering is from the results of the boring of an Artesian well near
the town of Los Angeles.) Commencing with the alluvium and descending:

Alluvium, - 6 feet.

Blue clay, - - - 30

Bed of drift gravel, - 22

Arenaceous clay, - 16

Tenaceous blue clay, - 160

Coarse sandstone, - 35

Infusorial sandstone - 100

Clay, -•• - 16

Fossil Clay slate, - - 30

Total, - 415 feet. ".-

This is the smallest depth at which water will probably be found, except in
the contingency above named, and it is more than probable that a greater
depth will be necessary, but of this we have no direct evidence. A careful ex
amination of each stratum belonging to the entire group of rocks, so far as the
same are uncovered on both sides of the plains, did not enable me to discover
any point through which water would probably percolate and issue, except at
the points named, to wit: immediately below the bituminous shales, and we can
not reasonably expect to find it short of that point in boring on any part of these
plains. I speak thus positively, for the purpose of preventing, if possible, any
useless expenditure of money, in undertakings of this character, wnen they have
not for their object the penetrating of the whole, or a part, at least, of the rocks
which underlie the basin; as from the evidences before us, there are no grounds
for the supposition that a permanent supply would be obtained short of that
depth. *

It may be expected that some additional reason should be given, besides what
lias already been advanced, why water might be expected to flow unremittingly
from the depths designated. In order to meet such expectation, I will state
that an examination of the accompanying diagram exhibits the fact that the
Los Angeles River flows for miles at an altitude much greater than that occu
pied by any of the sedimentary rocks which have passed under our considera
tion, and that for several miles its course is along the line of strike and parallel
with the dip of the series belonging to this group, and crosses those lines only
when it approximates the edges of the plains, and where the drift and alluvium
covers the whole.

Again, the sources of the river furnish a much greater supply than is found
to reach the valley sections, the proportion arriving at the latter point compri-
5

34

sing about one-third of the quantity supplied at the source?. We cannot ad-
count for so great a loss in volume on any other ground than that of absorption,
and we are not left to presumption in this case, but have the best of evidence
that such is the fact, for in observing the stream as it issues from the primitive
rocks, even but a few miles from the City we find that its volume is much heavier
than at any point below, after reaching the sedimentary rocks. This is found
to be the case with several of the streams in the northern part of the State, and
is particularly observable in the Yuba, West Feather and Cosumnes Rivers,
during medium stages of water. From Foster's Bar to the junction of the Mid
dle Yuba, there is a greater volume of water than at any point below the junc
tion, while in the vicinity of Marysville the volume is nearly fifty per cent less
than it is thirty-five miles above, notwithstanding that the main river receives
all of its principal tributaries from the Middle Yuba down to its continence
with Feather River. The same condition of things is observable on the Co-
sumnes below Cook's Bar and the Sink, and on the West Feather River from
just above Rich Gulch, and the same features are also distinctly marked on the
Main Feather as far down as the White Rock. The cause of this irregularity
in the volumes of our principal mountain streams seems to us -quite apparent.
These streams which we have named, as well as others, rapidly approach the
stratified rocks as they descend towards the valleys. These rocks are nearly all
open and of a loose texture; the streams, like the Los Angeles River, often
flowing for miles along the line of strike belonging to the groups, and crossing tho
same only when they approach the alluvial deposits, either among the lower
hills or at the edge of the plains. These facts being established, we then have
another reason for the presumption that water will be obtained by the means
suggested, and the evidence is strong in support of the presumption. The dis
appearance of heavy springs among the stratified rocks near the surface, indi
cates that the waters which pass beneath them are probably discharged into the
sea, as these rocks carry a southerly dip far enough for this purpose. One other
fact is worthy of notice, and furnishes stronger evidence of the feasibility and
probably successful termination of operations by boring than perhaps any which
has yet been adduced. It is this: on the high hill to the west of San Pedro,
about four miles distant from the shore, and at the altitude of nearly one thou
sand feet, the out-crop of the sandstones belonging to A. in the diagram are ob
served, being interlaminated with their seams of slate. The dip of these rocks.
on the hill is nearly vertical, the inclination being to the north, corresponding in
direction with those on the shore. From among these rocks and at this height
there is a perpetual spring gushing out, which furnishes water for a large num
ber of cattle* which graze upon this mountain, while no particle of water is to
be found during the dry season for a long distance around; there are no sources
from which this water can be derived in any part of this hill, and none such cor
responding in altitude within thirty-five miles of the spring mentioned. Upon
the flanks of the mountains on the other side of the valley at about the last
mentioned distance, the identical rocks from wh'urh these? waters emerge, are
found at sufficient altitude to furnish such a spring; the same rocks are also
found twelve to sixteen miles north and east of Los Angeles, where the river
flows parallel with their course, and upon them for nearly three miles. At tho
distance of four or five miles further west along the coast, at a locality known as
the " Caw," there is also, 1 am informed, a constant stream flowing out -among
the stratified rocks, which was formerly resorted to ais a watering- place by ves
sels, and by the seal and otter hunters.

These facts are sufficient to induce -the belief that Artesian borings will suc
ceed on these plains provided they are carried to sufficient doplh. and also that
failure is as certain if due discrimination he not used in conducting these opera-

35

tions When we consider the amount of expense which will be required in or
der to attain this- object, and the hazard of failure to individual enterprise, vc
think it would not be unwise for a County like Los Angeles herself to set an
example as a County, by securing- the idea in the minds of the people, and ex
hibiting to them the proof that the work can be made successful by proper man
agement, especially when we know how deeply the failure or success of such
means for obtaining- water will affect the future growth and welfare of the plain
country. After a successful operation of this kind by the County, individual
enterprise would readily embark in similar works wherever they could be 'made
valuable.

The accompanying diagram will elucidate more clearly the position of the
rocks included within the range of country under consideration. The section is
projected on a direct line from San Pedro to the City of Los Angeles, and is in
tended to give a suppositions position to the rocks beneath the surface, as deduced
from an examination of their out-crops for several miles along the borders oi
the plains on both sides.

The capital letters, A. B. 0. I), are levels at which the Los Angeles River
flows, at different points north of the City.

A. being 14 miles,

B. " 11 "

C. " 5 "
I). " 2 "

E Station staff at San Pedro.
F. Old Fort near the City.
(1. The City.

...H. A spring on the hill back of San Pedro.
I. San Pedro.
J. Banningville.
K. Outliers of gravel drift on the hills back of the City.

The numerical figures represent the rocks and their coverings and outcrops.

Xos. 1. 1. 1. Infusorial sandstone i>22 feet above tide.

" 2. "2. Infusorial clay.
" o. S. Clay slate.

" 4. Calcareous Shales.

" f>. Bituminous Shales.

" <i. Bed of gravel drift between beds of clay.

" 7. Blue clay above.

8. Blue clay and sand belcw gravel.

" 0. Heavy bed of blue clay containing marine fossils.

"• 10.10. Probable position of stratified rocks beneath the surface.

In the diagram at the point marked L, we find a constant but small supply
of water; this supply issues from between the beds 7. and 8, and follows the
course of the deposit of sandy gravel drift marked 6. in which water is usually
found. On the summit of the lower hills marked K. X. is found this drift in
sites, forming outlines of a larger bed which formerly existed, and which has
been removed by denudation, and deposited farther down upon the plains as in
the case before us.

At no very distant day the Los Angeles River has flowed to the north of the
City, and was undoubtedly the principal agent, concerned in the removal of th'e
drift beds. Very unmistakable evidences are observable of changes of this char-

36

acter having taken place several successive times iu years past, and recent]}'.
It has changed its course a distance of three or four miles! It is now pro
ducing the same effects upon the high terrace to the southeast of the City, as
it has already done farther to the northwest.

SOILS AND PRODUCTIONS OF LOS ANGELES

The soil and productive capacities of these plains will now be considered; for
in these alone consist the present and prospective value of these lands. Refer
ring back to the rocks composing the mountain chain, which forms the northern
borders of these valleys, we can readily infer what would be the constituents and
general features presented in the coverings of the plains. The diagram exhib
its two distant terraces, the lower one occupying a little more than one-third of
the transverse extent of the plain, the upper terrace holding a much greater
inclination from the borders towards the centre, and the whole having an aver
age grade of about 13 feet per mile from datum to the level of the City. On
examining the hills either at San Pedro or between the City and the mountains,
we shall find most distinct outlines of other terraces rising above the levels of
these plains, to the number of two or three, beyond which this characteristic is
not clearly defined.

These terraces play an important part in modifying the characters of the soils
upon the plains adjacent, and as a consequence affect the productive capacities
of the lands as far as their direct influence extends. A peculiar and striking
feature found in the soils of these plains is, that even to the base of the moun
tains or their foot-hills the components of the earth are found as finely commin
uted as at any point near the centre, or upon the lower alluvial bottom in the
vicinity of the settlement known as Banningville.

Along the northern base of the low mountains of San Pedro the same fea
tures occur, and as far toward either extremity of the plains as an opportunity
offered for an examination, this peculiarity presented itself. From the great
preponderance of the primitive rocks (and those mostly granite,) in the moun
tains, and from which the soils of these plains have been derived, we should
a priori have been led to suppose that a coarse, harsh and almost worthless
range of country lying at their base would have been found, but quite the reverse
of this is true, and a soil both soft and mellow covering these plains is found in its
stead. It is very doubtful if a soil more fertile, and capable of greater produc
tion, is to be found anywhere along our Pacific coast south of the Isthmus of
Darien, independent of the influences of climate. The depth to which this soil
extends below the surface ranges from 18 inches to six feet — the average depth
is about 3 feet; the color is usually of a dark grayish brown when dry, and on
close examination it is found to contain a great quantity of decomposed vegeta
ble matter, consisting of the dead roots and stalks of its indigenous productions.
In many places it would remind a person of some of the rich moulds formed in
small quantities in the ravines of hills producing luxuriant vegetation. On the
lower bottoms this soil is mixed with a fine micaceous sand which renders those
districts highly fertile. It is upon these lands that the major part of the exten-
five grape crops of this County are produced; and a mere inspection of the ground
alone, when free from moisture and unconnected with the crops it is capable of
producing would be very apt to be considered unproductive and worthless. On
these lower bottoms and beneath the soil there is found a bed of stiff blue clay ;
(T. Diagram) when the waters are turned off from this earth, and the sun is
permitted to dry the surface, a white efflorescence is often observable over con-

37

siderable areas. This efflorescence consists of the salts of potasli aud soda, the
nitrate of potash forming an important article in the crystalization. In other
parts of these bottoms the principal salts thus found upon the surface are com
posed mostly of the carbonates of potash and soda, and much smaller propor
tions of nitre. It is a singular fact that on many of those lands covered by
these salts in such quantities as to give the earth a white appearance, plants
and vegetables requiring much nitrogen for their healthy propagation are found
to flourish far better than upon many other apparently more favorable portions
of these valleys.

The active fertilizing agents contained in the lands of these plains have been
derived from two sources; first the alkaline salts from the decomposition of the
primitive rocks, (the granite furnishing the soda and potash, from the segrega
tion and subsequent destruction of the felspar contained in them:) secondly, the
lime and nitrous constituents have been derived from the marine fossiliferous
rocks resting upon the former; with the destruction of mammalia which were abun
dant in the earlier periods of the Miocene tertiary. The greatest proportion of
the latter salts, however, were probably derived from the marine Mollusca
which undoubtedly lived and died in the materials in which we now find remain
ing imbedded, and as these remains constitute large beds of rocks at the pres
ent time, we should find them fully adequate to produce the fertilizing salts
above mentioned.

The great amount of vegetable matter intimately commingled with these salts,
and earths upon the surface of these plains, it will be seen would render this
district of country capable of an abundant production, and whether applied
to agriculture or horticulture, or to its present grazing uses, it will still be found
capable of supplying even in its unimproved natural condition a sufficient suste
nance for ten times its present numbers of flocks and herds. A very small amount
of artificial aid in the improvement of these plains would add greatly to the rich
ness and expansion of the pasture grounds, and would prevent the present ne
cessity for the wide roaming now so prevalent among the stock which is placed
to graze in this broad unfenced surface of country. One example of the rare
capacity of these soils is exhibited, both in the higher and lower plains of this
and the adjoining counties, in the luxuriance of the growth of the native produc
tions. Among the indigenous growths, is a plant known as the " Burr Clover,''
which spreads over the valleys and up the sides of the hills; this plant produces
it great quantity of seeds in its small " burrs," which, as the stalk dies, is dis
tributed upon the ground, at times covering it to the depth of a half inch. (Allu
sion was made to this plant in my report of last year when speaking of the produc
tions of the Salinas Valley.) The cattle aud horses find in this seed a nutritious
food upon which they subsist during the dry season, and of which they seem to be
remarkably fond, whilst their tine condition after living upon this alone, attests the
cereal richness of its qualities. The traveler unacquainted with the ground over
which he is passing would be both puzzled aud surprised at the fine appearance
which the herds present ; especially when he is informed that the apparent desert
upon which he sees them is all they have upon which to feed; for in passing over a
district of country on which not a blade of grass or any other edible plant is visi
ble for miles, and the surface of the ground has more the appearance of a burned
prairie than any other, being of a dark ashy gray color, no stranger to the
nature of our soils and seasons would for a moment suppose the land could be
ever applied to any valuable use or cultivation. The color of the surface is that
of the seed mentioned, which, as before stated, covers the ground in great .quail-
ties. This fact alone would be a sufficient evidence of the fertility of these
plains did no other exist to which we might refer, and it is to be much doubted
if any other part of the world possesses a degree of fertility to that extent that

38

the seeds of its indigenous productions alone .scattered broadcast upon the plains
are capable of supplying- with nutriment ever 100,000 head of neat cattle and
20,000 head of horses, with sufficient to keep them in the best marketable con
dition for months without resort to other subsistence. The stock of these plains
at the present time, is not over twenty-live per centum of that which they prob
ably maintained some six or ten years since, and for which there was always an
abundant supply. Those only who arc familiar with this part of the State can
fully appreciate its productive capacities, and they can be realized only by vis
iting and subjecting its natural resources to the strictest scrutiny; this done, and
J have no fears but the above remarks will be fully endorsed by all who make
the investigation.

The culture of grain upon these plains warrants the most sanguine anticipa
tions, and so far as the experiment has been made, the yield has been largely
above the average crops of the more northern districts, and should success at
tend the experiment of the introduction of water for irrigation, full thirty per
(•cut of these plains may be applied to the rearing of cereal crops, and leave a
large margin still for pasturage.

The advantages of water near or on the surface in this section of country is
manifested in the experimental crops of last year on the " Monte. " a few miles
east of the City. The corn crop of this locality, comprising about 1800 acres, was
immense in its yield as in the size of its stalks ; a large proportion of it was planted
late in the season, but notwithstanding this, the car was full-formed and well tilled
in the month of October, and the crop still in the silk. It was no uncommon cir
cumstance to find six full ears on one stalk, and the number of four was much more
frequent than any figure below it. I think that it may be safely estimated that the
Monte lauds will yield an average crop of sixty bushels to the acre.

These facts are noticed more particularly as corroborative of what has been ad
vanced respecting the fertility of this line of plains, and with evidences such as
have been adduced on so grand a scale as a mere experiment, there seems but little
room left to doubt the high qualities for production which these lands will exhibit,
should they be tilled with judicious management.

We conic now to the consideration of the exotic productions of this part of the
State. The position of the mountain chains which separate this part of the Stats
from the districts north of it, their trend and altitude are productive of far different
elimatal conditions from those noticable in any other portion of the- country. After
passing Point Conception upon the coast, or crossing the last ridge of the San Ber
nardino chain, in traveling from the north, the traveler is ushered into a widely dif
ferent climate from any with which he has before become acquainted. The atmos
phere is entirely divested of that harsh coldness which is found on the seaboard and
to some distance in the interior, and at the same time is unaccompanied with that
scorching heat incident to the plains and valleys situated among or lying to the east
of the ridges comprising the coast mountains or their spurs and ranges. From
these circumstances it will be seen that a different class of products would naturally
be found, and that exotics of a more southern nativity would flourish while their
destruction woYild be almost certain .beyond this chain. First among the exotic
growths of Los Angeles, is the sweet orange ; this tree is found to flourish well
without any artificial protection from the atmosphere, and attains the height of forty
feet, and in some cases even more than this ; its fruit is fully equal to any imported
article which has yet arrived in this country. The tree produces bountifully, and is
in fruit throughout the whole year. The fruit is generally large and plump, with
the pulp well tilled, there is not the slightest evidence of anvthing uncongenial con
nected with its appearance, it may be said truly to have become habituated to our
climate, or to have found in it the kindred qualities of its own tropical native home.
I have seen the young tree of two years from the seed producing full, well matured
fruit. During the palmy days of the old Missions, they were in the habit of culti-

rating somewhat extensive groves of these trees, but since their decline, the trees
and their culture have been neglected, and the groves in many instances cut down.
It is a pleasing fact to know that the attention of American citizens resident in this
portion of the State are turning their attention to the propagation of this delicious
fruit, and it will be but a very few years before our markets will be supplied from
domestic sources entirely. In the Cities of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles and
the adjacent Missions I have seen the orange tree forty years old, and in some few
instances much older.

The citron is also another fruit belonging to the same natural family, and was
formerly cultivated to a considerable extent, and flourishes well at the present time.
I have seen this fruit in the gardens of private residences growing to the size of six
inches in length by three inches in diameter, its weight could not have been less
than two pounds.

The date tree, 'fig, pine, apricot, guava, pomegranate and kindred fruits find
a congenial climate, and a soil adapted to their successful cultivation, and are to be
met with at several points in this section of the country. No attempt, so far as I
have been able to learn, has as yet been made to produce the pine-apple, although
the climate and all other concomitant conditions of locality essential to its culture
abound. Some experiments have been in the culture of tobacco, which have proved
highly successful and satisfactory — the Cuban variety is found to nourish as well here
as upon its native soil ; the great consumption of this article in California will ren
der its cultivation an object of some considerable importance, and as so little care
and labor is necessary in rearing it here, it is more than probable that but a few
years will elapse before it will find a place in our commercial tables, as an article of
home production, and perhaps of export.

The climatal conditions of these plains, and the adaptability of their soils are
such that we may reasonably expect, ere a few years shall pass, that cotton, coffee,
tea, sugar and rice, the four latter articles particularly, will find a place in our cata
logues of home productions, and the only impediment that now stands in the way of
their immediate production, is the high price of labor which is consequent upon the
sparseness of population. The unoccupied or rather unimproved lands extending
from Point Aguilla to San Diego on the land of the coast, and into the interior for
distances varying from twelve to fifty or sixty miles, and the extensive valley ranges
beyond the first and eastern line of ridges of the San Bernardino mountains offer
strong inducements to the immigrant and settler who may be seeking a permanent
and agreeable home, and who wishes to cultivate the soil as a means of livelihood
and source of profit. To such this district of the State furnishes an ample field for
his operations, and equally profitable with any other portion of our wide domain.

40

MINERAL PRODUCTS OF LOS ANGELES, &c.

A brief review of the agricultural capacities of the soils of this part of the State
has been given, and I would say in this connection, that in these particulars lie the
strength and principal value of the lands throughout the district generally ; the
mineral resources of this range of country so far as examined, being comparatively
of little value.

The transverse chain of the Pacific coast (Sari Bernardino chain) appear thus
far to act as a barrier, and to have cut off almost completely the rich mineral de
posits found in the mountains of the more northern sections. There are a few lo
calities, it is true, where auriferous deposits of limited extent are met with, but no
general features which would in the slightest degree indicate that they extend over
any considerable areas. So far as I have been able to learn, both from personal
inspection and information derived from others of localities which I have not visited,
I entertain the opinion that no extensive deposits of gold will be found south of
these mountains, and few, probably, that would warrant mining explanation. There
are some evidences existing that silver may be met with in the southeastern spurs
of this chain, but to what extent is yet undetermined. The limestone rocks of the
Armagosa, and the granite and quartz of this section, contain both gold and silver,
but they are situated to the north of this chain, yet the gypsum beds found near
their southern base and on the southern part of the Colerado Desert are found to
contain gold in small quantities, not sufficient, however, to pay for working. The
predominating metaliferous rocks of these mountains, so far as known, consist mostly
of copper containing lead and silver ; the heavier quantities of these ores lying upon
the Rio Santa Clara, in the County of Santa Barbara. Bismuth and iron are also met
with in these mountains, the former to a limited extent, the latter more generally
disseminated and forming small veins among the primitive rocks. Both of the latter
minerals are found in the immediate vicinity of the Mission of San Buenaventura,
and the former (Bismuth) in the mountains near the coast in the vicinity of the
rancho Guadalupe. The principal mineral products of these counties, of any com
mercial importance, are the beds of sulphur ; they commence in the County of San
Luis Obispo, and through alternate distances of two to six miles, extend to the
County, of Santa Barbara, and northern part of Los Angeles. The larger propor
tion of these beds lie near the coast, and form the investing surface material of
those volcanic vents found upon this part of the coast, and which have been alluded
to in the preceding pages of this report. These sulphur deposits will, at a future
day, be worked with profit when the demand for this article shall exceed that of the
present time, and still I think the present demand is sufficient to warrant, the in
vestment of capital in this quarter, where the mineral is found in sufficient quanti
ties to render the working of its mines a lucrative operation.

The appearance of magnetic sands among the drift found in the beds of the ar-
royas led me to the .supposition that gold might exist in their connection, which,
upon examination, was found to be the case, although in very trifling quantities.
The same thing was found to exist upon the beach three miles southeast of Santa
Barbara. This metal was probably derived from the heavy gravel drift which
is found in the immediate vicinity.

Bitumen is another of the more abundant mineral products of this portion of the
State, and is found in very large quantities. This article is available and well adap
ted to the manufacture of gas for the purposes of illumination, and will probably be
used to considerable extent in this country, the'only practical objection to such a use
of it, being the fact that no valuable residuum is left in the retort after the extrica
tion of the gaseous constituents ; as this mineral yields a much greater volume (I c-

41

ing nearly double,) of illuminating gas, than any other in use, it is very question
able whether it would not be equally profitable from this circumstance. In the use
of coal, we have the coke remaining which may be applied as an article of fuel, but the
value of the latter in the market would probably be counterbalanced, by the increas
ed volume of illuminating matter contained in the simple bitumen. The expense
of transportation of coal from distant regions must very materially enhance the
price of the commodities resulting from it, but in the use of the asphaltum upon
pur coast, this heavy item would, as a necessary consequence become materially di
minished. The only real objection to the introduction of the latter article for the
above purposes is that there may not be sufficient quantities of the mineral obtain
able for so extensive uses as would be required ; this is a valid objection, and should
be well considered before entering upon a speculation of that kind ; from what is
already known of these beds, they certainly have the appearance of being adequate
to the supply of any ordinary demand for those purposes, as they are frequently to be
met with covering many acres of ground. This fact however in regard to quantity
can only be determined positively by clearing one or two of the larger springs, and
thus ascertaining the actual amount of the mineral discharged per day or per week,
and should it be found anything near adequate to the demand for gas manufacture,
its collection and transportation at fair rates of prices, will form a much greater
source of revenue to this district than the entire cattle trade of these counties at the
present time. A little attention to this subject will convince us that a heavy and lucra
tive business may be conducted in this department of trade, if the necessary meas
ures are adopted to bring this element into practical notice, for as stated in the pre
ceding pages these springs extend from the county of Santa Clara to San Diego,
and most of them near the coast.

To illustrate more fully the advantages to be derived, and the extent of business
that now lies untouched in this particular, it will only be necessary to allude to the
quantity of coal required for the purposes of illumination at present in this State.
The requirements for the city of San Francisco is about 5000 tons per annum, at
an average price of 22 dollars per ton, equal to 110,000 dollars, the demand for
Sacramento is equal to about 2000 tons, which at the same price equals 44,000 dol
lars, the total amounting to 154,000 dollars. Allowing the coal to produce, (which
the best quality will,) about 1100 pounds of coke from the ton of coals, the value
of the coke as sold here, at about 62 cents (high price,) per bushel, will yield a re
turn upon the original cost ; of a little more than twelve dollars per ton, or a sum
total of nearly $87,000. This estimate is based on the product of the Scotch coal,
the specific gravity of which is but 1.27. The Asphaltum of this State has a
specific gravity of about 1.62, the difference in the excess arrising probably from
the earthly matters contained therein.

There cannot be less than 4000 tons Asphaltum lying upon the surface of the
ground in the counties of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara alone, within a few miles
of the coast at the present moment. Its value delivered in San Francisco would
not be less than sixteen dollars per ton, equal in value to 64,000 dollars, and this
amount alone would offer sufficient inducement to embark in the enterprise indepen
dent of any other consideration. The amount lying upon the surface in other ad
jacent counties is probably equal to the amount in those specified, so that 8000 tons
would be a safe estimate to place upon the quantity already available.

The analysis of this mineral exhibits the following available constituents for the
manufacture of gas ; in one hundred parts there is found a a limpid oil equal to
thirty per cent, and the same amount of charcoal with a large per cent of ammonia,
the balance consisting of earthly matters and water. Here then we have 60 per
cent of the gross weight applicable to immediate use, the charcoal holding the same
relations to the bitumen, that exist in the coke to the coal. That the supply of this
article is abundant, there can be but little question and fully equal to 5000 tons per
annum, (the requirements of the State will not fall short of this figure for years to
6

42

come,) equal in value, at 16 dollars per ton, to 80,009 dollars, and should it possess
no more than an equal amount of illuminating matter, it will be seen that it will be
far more economical than the present use of coal. The only, or rather the princi
pal question asked by those interested in gas manufacture, is this, is there a
sufficient quantity to meet the demand for 3000 tons per annum, in other words, if
there is a sufficient quantity, is there every evidence of quality also to make it a
reliable resource ?

The proper opening of these springs would undoubtedly furnish an ample quan
tity of the mineral, and if the business should be judiciously managed, it would
prove lucrative and permanent. It is to be hoped that this brief allusion to this
subject, may elicit attention from those who are intimately acquainted with the local
ities in which it is found, to its proposed value, as well as to the quantities which
may be supplied.

Limestone is found in considerable quantities among the higher hills of this part
of the State. Without any exception I believe it is primitive, and the greater part of
it possesses a high crystalline structure. It is well calculated for the manufacture of
lime, and proportionately less fit for any other application to building purposes. —
The granites which form the principal basis of these mountains, is usually of a
hornblendic character, often running into true Sienite. It is ill adapt?d to purposes
of building, both from its constituents, and its genernl consistency, and it is gener
ally in situations remote from navigable waters, a fact which forbids at present its
transportation for such purposes, even were it found to be of a better quality.

I have thus given a general outline of the geological characteristics of this part
of the country, and the more prominet economic adaptations of its resources, which
may be derived from them, by the enterprise of our citizens, when the industry of
the people, as well as their capital shall be invested in their development. It would
be incompatible with the limits of an abstract report like this, to enter into the
minutiae of the more scientific details which might naturally be drawn from so
abundant a field of investigation. I have thought it advisable in this as in former
reports therefore to omit them, with a view to furnishing such as may be deemed
useful, together with accompanying illustrations, in a final report of a more com
plete form in detail, upon the geology of California.

In the appendix of this report will be found a catalogue of the fossils, minerals
and specimens representing this portion of the country, less full however in detail
than that which will hereafter be presented, when they can be systematically arrang
ed so as to convey a clear idea of their relative ages and positions.

With these remarks on this part of our subject we will now leave it for the pur
pose of turning our attention to the more northerly and equally interesting portion
of the State.

43

COUNTRY NORTH OF THE AMERICAN RIVER.

The district of country lying north of the American River was entered upon in
the early part of October. The examinations were carried through the upper por
tions of the county of Yolo, through the west part of Placer, through S utter, and
crossing the Feather River, was pursued through the counties of Colusi, Shasta,
portions of Trinity, the eastern part of Klamath nearly to Sisldyou. Returning to the
southward again, the eastern side of the River Sacramento was followed, through
the counties of Butte and Yuba.

I shall confine myself first to the observations made in the more exclusively
agricultural portions of this part of the State, and subsequently to the mining coun<
ties beyond and upon the upper sections of the Sacramento River and Valley.

What has been said of the physical geography of the mountains forming the bor
ders of the great valley is equally applicable to a large part of that section under
consideration, and wherever any material differences occur they will be noticed in
the course of our remarks upon this region. The lower bottoms of the Sacramento
Valley, over which the principal traveled road now runs, have an ascending scale of
about five feet per mile from the city of Sacramento to the junction of the Pitt
River, the distance between these points being about the same as that between Sac
ramento and the town of Shasta, ard nearly on the same level. The principal agri
cultural lands of this part of the valley lie upon these bottoms, which in the county
of Colusi are often of several miles in width on both sides of the river. As we
advance towards the coast mountains in this county, and also in the south-west part
of Shasta, we immediately enter upon an elevated plateau, which apparently extends
to the base of the mountains to the west. This plateau, or more properly speak
ing, middle terrace of the valley has an ascending grade towards the mountains
much more rapid than the lower bottoms, its altitude above the latter varies from
60 to 70 feet, and the ascent to its top is usually quite abrupt. As this terrace ad
vances towards the west, another table is heen to ascend from its surface, exceeding
this middle terrace in height, beyond which the heavier rolling hills, constituting
the base of the coast mountains commence, and which in a short distance terminate
in rugged and elevated ridges.

Throughout the county of Colusi, and also for a short distance and to the south
part of the county of Shasta, this middle terrace contains a large area of arable
land, differing materially from its equivalent in the more southern portions of the
same valley producing there but a limited vegetation and being composed of coarse,
harsh gravelly soil. These peculiar characteristics of the middle section of the
plain are carried southward from the vicinity of Red Bluffs for a distance of ninety
miles, when they gradually come to partake of the sterile features above noticed,
and which are carried into the western part of the county of Yolo, on the same line
of elevation above tide level.

On this middle plateau is situated some of the best land for farming purposes to
be found in this part of the State. The soil has been derived from the mountains
of trapean rocks which constitute the eastern ridges of the coast chain, and is com
posed of a soft loam mixed with little sand, and the detritus of a few of the slate
rocks which are found in comparatively small quantities along the base of these
ridges. The almost total absence of the granitic rocks, which are usually productive
of harsh, dry and uncongenial soils, unless modified by particular local circumstan
ces, and the admixture of the extensive limestones which stretch from across the
Pitt River and appear in the mountains to the west renders the lands of these coun
ties peculiarly adapted to the culture of the grain and root crops, and desirable to
the farming population of the country. The constituents of these lands renders

44

them valuable, for the culture of fruits. They contain all the elements necessary
for their healthy and successful propagation, with the advantages of an extensive
market, which is immediately surrounding almost the entire section. The advan
tages presented by nature are not entirely overlooked by the inhabitants in this part
of the State. This is apparent from the fact that flouring mills have already been
erected, of capacities much greater for grinding than those which have been seen
in other counties.

The county is as yet but sparsely settled, but an examination of the character of
its lands, and of the inducements it will present to the strict agriculturalist, will
lead to the most favorable conclusions respecting the future appreciation and settle
ment of this district. Its capacities for the production of the cereals and also ex
tensive corn crops, were evidenced during the last year, in which we find that the
reputation which this district had acquired for the rearing of these products, was
fully sustained.

The lower bottoms of this part of the valley present a somewhat anomalous fea
ture in their native productions compared to their equivalents farther to the south.
It consists in the forest growths which extend for miles from the banks of the river.
On the bottoms below Tehama, the oak, maple and other trees which skirt the banks
of the stream usually extend but a very short distance back into the flanks of the
valley, never I believe reaching in any instance the foot of the middle terraces. At
the distance of about twenty miles south of Tehama we first enter the valley forest
(for so it may be called.) which continues to increase both in density and extent as
we approach the upper end of the valley, and soon after passing Red Bluffs it is
seen to extend from the base of the coast mountains to the Sierra Nevada. The
greater part of the trees are situated upon the middle plateau, and extend them
selves into the upper tables and thence into the foot-hills of the mountains where they
soon become commingled with the pine and other trees of mountain habits. The
trees growing upon these lands offer a good criterion to judge of the character and
condition of its soils on which they are found. They exhibit to us the fact that the
soil possesses those elements which are necessary for the propagation of the cultiva
ted trees, and which can be made doubly useful in supplying woods, either for build
ing, for fuel or other purposes, and the production of fruits, at present a great desi
deratum in the State of California.

This part of the State has every appearance of possessing superior advantages
for the culture of the northern fruits, the apple, peach and pear, either or all of
which would find here a soil and climate congenial to their healthy and luxuriant
growth.

Before dismissing the agricultural districts of the upper Sacramento, I would call
the attention of the residents of this part of the State, to the means of irrigation
which may be advantageously used in this district. All the streams which issue
from the mountains, lose a great part of their water beiore they unite with the
main river, and in some cases, it has been found that the waters of thpse streams
were entirely absent from their beds for miles above their junction. When this is
found to be the case, and even but a small district of valley lands intervenes be
tween these points where the waters thus disappear from their surface channels,
there will usually be found between the main river and the sink, some point at which
the waters issue from beneath the surface, which is manifested in these cases by
small lagoons, swampy ground, and wet places, none of which are usually of any
great extent. This fact has led me to suppose, that a clay bed might probably exist
beneath the superficial soils, which is nearly impervious to water. This upon ex
amination has been found to be the case. The limited superficial discharge of these
waters, is accounted for in a sandy admixture which is found in the clay, and which
of course would admit a much freer percolation of water, than the compact clay
alone would allow ; the natural inference from which is, that by .far the greatest pro-

45

portion of the waters which flow through the tributary streams of the northern Sac
ramento, pass beneath the surface of the valley and emerge from the same many
miles distant from the places of their disappearance. As the structure of this basin
will be examined more in detail in another part ot this report, further remarks in
relation to this part of our subject will be dispensed with at this time.

MINERAL DISTRICT OF THE UPPER SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

We come now to the consideration of the mineral resources of the Upper Sac
ramento Valley. The upper portions of this valley lie for the most part on the
east banks of the Sacramento River, with the exception of a small section above
the junction of Clear Creek, on the west side of the main stream. The southern
boundary of what may be considered properly as the Upper Sacramento Valley
(and which is mineral land for nearly its entire extent,) I have proposed to com
prise within the range of mountains, crossing the Pitt river and forming a part of
its southwestern banks, on the north, and the junction of Cow Creek on the south.
This district will have a line of distance from north to south of about thirty-five
miles, and a breadth of fourteen miles lying immediately north of the emigrant
road leading from Noble's Pass, aad entering the Sacramento Valley.

In passing across this section it was found that a large portion of the area inclu
ded was a placer district, similar in most respects to the equivalent ranges on Butte
Creek, and extending southerly through Long's Bar on the Lower Feather River,
which is also observable in the vicinity of Camp Far West, on Bear River, and
thence on to Rhode's Diggings, in the County of Sacramento.

Within this area there is at the present time a large mining population, and three
considerable mining towns have been built up by the enterprise of that portion of
our people who arrive annually by emigration across the territories and enter the
northern parts of California through Noble's Pass, also coming through the Ameri
can V alley. In the middle portion of this district there are situated some of the
most extensive auriferous quartz leads, of any to be found in any part of the State,
and from which the gold found distributed through the soil is derived. This entire
district may be said to constitute a single large placer embracing an area fully
equal to two hundred square miles, and probably the largest uninterrupted placer
to be found in this country. The situation of this plain, enclosed as it is by high
mountains on three sides, renders a climate mild and agreeable, with the excep
tion of a short time during the dry season, when like all valleys in this country,
the temperature becomes somewhat elevated.

This placer range extends in a northerly direction beyond the Pitt River, on
which stream the mining town of Pittsburgh is situated ; it is said also to extend
up McLoud's Fork, the principal northern tributary of Pitt River ; of this, how
ever, I am unable to speak from personal knowledge. I think there is no question
but such is the fact, for my informants were men on whom reliance could be placed
in matters of this character. In this district as in many others in the State simi
larly situated, scarcity of water is the most serious impediment in the way of the
miner in seeking for the profits of his occupation as well as to the general growth
and progress of the country. And wherever an ample supply of this agent is fur
nished for mining purposes, the Upper Sacramento will give abundant employment
to a large and busy population. 1 think there is no hazard in expressing the opin
ion, that this placer alone exceeds in area the aggregate of all the other known
placers of Shasta County, in which it is situated, and is capable of giving employ
ment for many years to four or five thousand men.

I consider the mining sections of this county equal in value to those of many

46

parts of El Dorado, Placer and Nevada as they existed in the years of 1851-2-3.
They are much in the condition in which the flats and ravines in those counties
were during those years, and which, since the introduction of water by canals, have
yielded vast sums of gold, and such high remuneration for labor.

These mines are as yet almost untouched, and they require only that stimulus
which has been applied in other counties to the south, to bring them into immedi
ate use and occupancy. The rapid ascent of the Sacramento River after it enters
the canon immediately above the Upper Ferry is such that any amount of water
would be easily obtained by diverting a portion of the stream, and carrying it by
canals or ditches to the west of the river to be distributed among the high flats to
the west from the town of Shasta, which flats abound in auriferous deposits similar
to those of Middletown, Briggsville and other localities. A distance of six or seven
miles from the mouth of the canon would give sufficient altitude to carry the waters
nearly as high as the summit of the hill on which is situated what is known as the
Upper Springs, and within the town of Shasta.

A distance of three or four miles above the first settlement on the plain east of
the river, the waters of the Sacramento may be diverted to any extent that might
be requisite, arid in quantities sufficient, if required, to nearly inundate the upper
plain on that side of the stream, and a natural channel may be found of sufficient
elevation a portion of the way, to convey the waters over the undulating hills on
the southern and middle portions of the prairie beyond.

The inducements for the investment of capital in mining operations which offer
themselves in this immediate vicinity are unsurpassed in any county of the State
south of this point, and it is a remarkable feature in the history of this district
that they have not attracted that attention which their intrinsic merits suggest.

GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN COAST MOUNTAINS.

The term Northern Coast Mountains is used in this case for the purpose of sepa
rating a portion of this district, which differs materially in mineral aspect from any
other part of this chain south of the County of Colusi. The counties of Humboldt, Kla-
math, Trinity, Shasta, and the southwest part of Siskiyou.if not the whole of the latter
county, are situated in this part of the chain, and which collectively form a portion
of the mineral districts of this State. My line of travel did not extend sufficiently
far north to determine with certainty what portion of the mountain district, in the
northern part of the State should strictly constitute the coast chain. But from what
evidences there are in our possession at the present moment, respecting their peculiar
disposition, the presumption is strong that even Mount Shasta belongs to this chain,
in place of its forming a part of the Sierra Nevada as heretofore believed. This
will prove to be the case, provided the Cascade range which extends through
Southern Oregon is found to be a continuation of our coast chain as is now sup
posed.

In this case we shall have the Sierra Nevada terminating at Lassen's Peak, or
rather at a point not farther north than this moumtain, and the structure of the
county extending northward from this towards the southern line of Oregon fully
warrants such a conclusion. North of Lassen's Butte there is not a mountain to
be seen on the line of trend of the ridge country, which consists apparently of
low, flat table lands, similar in structure and appearance to the table hills north of
the main Feather River or those which extend through the southern, western and
northern parts of the Counties of El Dorado, Placer and Amador, as we approach
the plains from the mountains in these several counties.

The only mountains in this part of the State are those belonging properly to the

47

coast ranges, and of these Mount Shasta forms probably the line of eastern limit ;
its distance from the sea is a due west line not exceeding seventy miles, being a
much shorter distance from the ocean than many parts of the same chain situated
farther to the south.

The mountain districts of this part of the State are divided by bold and rapid
streams, and as a consequence, are designated by local names which serve to fix
their geographical and relative positions, forming the boundaries of counties and
the lines of water-shed, which unite with the ocean at widely different and distant
localities. Thus we find the waters which flow into the Sacramento separated from
those which flow into the Klamath by the range known as the Trinity Mountains,
the latter river draining a portion of the waters belonging to the Great Basin, and
which rises east of the Cascade range.

The rocks which comprise this part of the coast mountains are made up mostly
of the primitive group, and simulate in almost every particular with those found in
the mining counties of the Sierra Nevada, and also the southern portions of the
coast chain. In the eastern and middle districts of this part of the mountains, the
sienites and other members of the granitic series are largely predominant, and com
mingled irregularly with them, are found the serpentine rocks and their derivatives,
consisting of the talcose and chlorite schists, alternating with all the other members
of the primitive group.

Resting upon these we find the slates of an argillaceous origin frequently disturbed
and maintaining every conceivable degree of inclination, as in the other mining
counties of the State, but still holding their parallel with the mountains in which
they are situated, which is observable elsewhere, and the same line of strike or
linear direction. The constancy and regularity of the strike found in these rocks
at such remote distances from those of the southern range of mining counties leads
us irresistibly to the conclusion that they belong to one and the same period and
co-relative age, having their origin from the same class of rocks as those of the other
sections. The subsequent igneous intrusions which have disturbed the one are
found to be of the same character as those which disturbed the other, and have
apparently acted with the same force and at the same time with those of the Sierra
Nevada. The intrusions of quartz dikes and veins appear equally as numerous
and well defined as those found in any other part of the State, and even much
more extensive than many of those observable in the midland counties. They simu
late more closely with those veins found in the counties of Tuolumne, Calaveras
and Mariposa.

In the depressions lying between the principal divides of the various rivers, the
heavy drift deposits are met with ; in some localities they extend to great depth, as in
the vicinity of the town of Weaverville, they have been found to the depth of nearly
five hundred feet, which was proved by the sinking of the deep shaft near that town.
This drift, or the greater part of it at least, has all the evidences of having been
deposited during the tertiary epoch, the manifestations of which are found in the
great amount of the impressions of dicotyledonous leaves, many of which are appa
rently of present existing species found growing in the neighboring mountains ; the
silicified woods and lignites all present thesame general features.

This district is peculiarly interesting from the great amount of drift deposits
which are present in many localities, and the character of the organic remains con
tained in it is well defined, and will probably be the means of modifying our opin
ions in some measure, relative to the probable age of the drift deposits of the
different portions of this State. There are apparent grounds existing, (which, how
ever cannot be fully demonstrated at the present time) that these drift beds are
assigned to two distinct periods of the tertiary era, but more time and further exam-
nation must be had before this point can be satisfactorily settled. In an economical
point of view it matters but little to which of the two periods, either of them may

48

belong, so far, at least, as their mineral products are concerned, for the deposit in
whatever portion of the State it may be found (except south of the San Bernar
dino Mountains) is highly valuable for its auriferous accompaniment which is gen
erally found throughout the whole of it in general distribution.

The drift beds are found extensively dispersed through the northwest part of the
State, and are found much elevated on the flanks of the ridges as well as in the
depressions between them. I:i this particular they simulate with the extensive and
wide-spread placer ranges which traverse the mining districts from the County of
Plumas to that of Calaveras, and thence through Tuolumne and Mariposa. From
their general character, so far as they have been opened and examined, (which has
been but to a limited extent) they present all the physical and integral features
which have hitherto warranted our conclusion respecting gold deposits within our
borders, and which have guided to those practical proofs, by opening the mines,
which have developed to us the natural hiding places of the immense resources of
wealth which abound in our State. There is every reason to believe that those
drift beds situated in the northern coast mountains are equally as valuable, and
will, when worked, prove as abundantly supplied with gold as those of Sierra,
Nevada, Placer and El Dorado Counties. This opinion is based on the fact that
the deposits on the flanks of the hills in the coast chain are co-relative in age with
those of Minesota, Mameluke Hill and White Rock, in the Counties of Sierra and
El Dorado, their fossils being identical, and their elevation above the sea about the
same.

The outlines of these beds begin first to show themselves as well defined forma
tions on the east and west banks of Clear Creek above Frenehtown, and also on
French Gulch, in the County of Shasta, and are distincly traceable from these
localities across all the rivers lying to the north and west of this creek as far west
as Salmon and Scott Rivers, and on the hills forming the sides of all the larger
basins lying between these points; the great Weaverville basin furnishes one of the
best examples of the kind in this part of the State, and is observable on what is
known as Musser's Flat to the northeast of the town. It is similar in all respects
to the localities in Nevada County, in the vicinity of Moore's, Orleans and Eureka
Flats, opposite to Minesota.

LOCAL GEOLOGY.

The local geology of the Northern Coast Mountains presents but little diversity
from the other mineral districts of the State, and as a general fact the rocks'rnain-
tain that uniformity of character which is found to exist in almost every locality
within any given area.

The first locality that will claim our attention is that of the middle and northern
with the eastern part of Shasta County. Nearly as soon as we leave the valley,
and among the first foot-hills the slates are met with standing in nearly a vertical
position. This trait, however, extends but a short distance, and we are suddenly
introduced from the fossil clay slate into a district in which the latter is most com
pletely metamorphosed. This is found to occur within two miles of the point at
which these rocks maintain their true laminated character of the slates. In the
immediate vicinity of Shasta City, the changed condition of these rocks is noticable
and directly east of the town, the intrusion of the igneous is presented on an exten
sive scale. On the hill opposite to the City the intrusive rocks have broken through
each series that preceded them, and we find the slates in the immediate vicinity of
the trapean dikes, most completely changed into true jaspery rocks. To the east
and north of the hill we meet with the first beds of the serpentine rocks which have

49

been disturbed by the same agents which have disturbed the slates ; this bed of
the primitive group extends in a northerly direction about six miles, and is flanked
on the west by the sienites and granites, and on the east by the older trap rocks.
Among these serpentine rocks are frequently to be seen small veins and also large
dikes of auriferous quartz running parallel, which will be seen from their course to
correspond in trend with those of the more southern part of the State, and this
general characteristic belonging to these latter rocks (the quartz) was found to pre
vail as far north as my observations extended.

Nearly all the quartz dikes of this part of the State are situated in the serpen
tine rocks, and it is rather an exception than otherwise, to find them associated with
other series of veins of any considerable magnitude. There are but very few excep
tions to this rule, and when these dikes are found to occur in other rocks, the
investing walls are usually granite. The predominance of these veins among the class
of rocks alluded to, fixes to a certain extent their probable age, and like the dikes
of the counties of Nevada and Amidor, come under the classification of former
reports in which they have been arranged as primitive, in order to separate them
from a class similar in constitution, which appear to have been intruded subse
quent to the deposition of the slates.

Up to the present time, there have not been observed any extensive quartz
ranges which have the appearance of having protruded through the slate formation
of this part of the State. I have heard of two localities of this character, one of
which I have subsequently visited, but found on examination that the Slate
belonged to th» stratified rocks of the primitive series, and were almost exclusively
talcohe schist. In those localities where opportunities occurred for the examina
tion of the trapean rocks which were found adjacent to these dikes, they presented
the same appearance and evidences of having broken through that class of rocks.

This is manifest in nearly every vein to be met with for the distance of five or
six miles from Shasta City, and is particularly well defined in the vicinity of
what is known as the Quartz Mountain, eight miles north-east of the town and
on the head of the Sacramento Valley. From this brief outline of their gener
al features and associations, it is difficult to form any other conclusions than those
at which we have above arrived, respecting their strictly primitive character ;
and as such, when found to be auriferous, they are discovered to be equally val
uable with those in other parts of the State. In traveling north-west of the
town, and well on to Tower's Bridge we find a diminution in the outcrop of these
rocks, but after crossing Clear Creek and assuming a more northerly course they
again make their appearance in well defined lodes running parallel with each
other for long distances. The best position for examining their relations
with the adjacent rocks is three miles from Frenchtown at the Mt. Washington.
Mine. At this locality the parallelism of the dikes is observable along the flanks,
and over the hill on which this mine is situated. A level has been driven about
200 feet on the main lode of the mine, which has exposed the walls of the vein
for that distance and at a vertical depth of about 150 feet below the outcrop.
It is here found that the lode traverses the primitive rocks exclusively, and like
the other mines in the State the power of the lode is increased as it descends.
In the vicinity of the reduction works of this establishment are large masses of
an amygdaloidal trap, which is found in situ a short distance west of the build
ings. This rock is cut through in every conceivable direction by small threads
of quartz, which I have found to contain gold, showing most conclusively that
the mineral was injected at a subsequent period to the formation of this trapean
mass.

In traveling up the canon from the bridge above alluded to, the quartz dikes
are found to crop on the sides of many of the hills as we pass along ; as the
ascent of the Trinity ridge is made from McLaughlin's ranch, which is situated

50

in the canon spoken of, no veins are again met with, until the base of this ridge
is approached, towards the Trinity River, when they are again found crossing
about two miles to the east of Lewis's Bridge on this stream ; but we shall for
the present defer their consideration till we come to examine them again in the
county of Trinity, where they belong.

CARBONIFEROUS LIMESTONE.

In the eastern part of the county of Shasta, there is a group of calcareous
rocks, stretching obliquely across the head of the Sacramento Valley, whilst the
mountains in which they are situated, or more properly, the mountains of which
they compose the chief part, hold a due north and south trend. Their color
and altitude when seen from a distance of twenty or thirty miles in either direc
tion, form striking features in the landscape scenery of this part of the country,
peering upward in their more northern portions to the height of about 3000
feet. Their light blue tint projects them in strong relief, against the dark rocks
and darker herbage of the mountains beyond, in such a manner as to display
their rugged and bold outline in the clearest and most distinct picturings.

These limestone mountains, thus termed because there are no rocks of any other
description to be found upon them, extend across the Pitt River in a northerly
direction for a distance of about thirty or forty miles, forming a portion of the
canon of McCloud's Fork, and are situated on the western banks of that stream,
between which and the Sacramento flows the rapid stream termed by Mr. Dana,
Destruction River, a name which it still retains.

The dip of these limestones is to the east at an angle of about 20 degrees; the
strata, which are very distinct, vary from a few inches to eight feet in thickness,
and the thicker beds appear extremely solid, scarcely exhibiting even a small
seam. Those which lie near the base of the mountains are much darker in color
than those above them, and form a most beautifully variegated marble, inferior
to none of those varieties used in ornamental architecture, or for making furni
ture* The lower, the middle and a considerable portions of the upper beds are
highly fossiliferous, consisting of marine species entirely. The fossils are composed
of several species of encriuite, orth'is and small spirifers, in the middle and up
per beds, and of corals among the lower ones. This I believe is the first fossili
ferous limestone, as yet found in any portion of this State, it has heretofore been
entirely wanting.

The discovery of this group of rocks brings us in close connection with a new
geological era within the State, and enables us to present the outline of a strong
hope that we mav yet be able to discover that article of comfort and economy
so much needed on these western shores. These rocks belong to the carbonifer
ous system and appear to be the representatives of that system developed during
the survey of the north-west Territories by Mr. Owen. They appear almost
identical with the superior portions of that group known as the " Carboniferous
rocks of Iowa and Des Moines " and in which the coal measures are found.

1 do not wish to be misunderstood in this matter, nor to say one word which might
induce individuals to invest capital or time, in what would be considered fruitless
attempts in search of coal. The only evidence existing, that this article may be
found in quantities that would be adequate to the demands of this State, will de
pend upon the character and extent of this group of rocks under consideration. —
My time did not permit that extensive examination of the group, which I wished,
but it was conducted far enough to determine the fact of their carboniferous character
beyond question. As before stated, these are the first rocks which have been found

51

in our State, of that series to which the coal measures belong, and they furnish us

reason to hope that we may yet be able to say that California can supply herself with

•coals from her own mines, and thus avoid in all time to come the enormous expense

of the importation of this most valuable commodity from vast distances over seas.

During a hastily conducted line of travel in 1850, through the district east of the
Pitt River mountains, I observed a fe^ scattered masses of a secondary conglom
erate. This gave me the first impression of th.3 probable existence of the coal
measures in those districts of country, and there was a brief notice of the subject
in the short report to the Session of 1853. On the 15th page of that report, on
the Geology of the Sierra Nevada, the following remarks were made :

" These conglomerates have but little interest connected with them further than
geological position is concerned, except the modifying influence they may exert
through their debris on the formation of the valley sections ; but there is a belt of
these rocks in other parts of the country which will be entitled to much more par
ticular consideration. In addition to the buhr stone of this district, this section of
the State contains some few traces of the secondary rocks, a suite almost entirely
wanting with this exception in other parts of the State so far as explored. The
existence of any portion of this suite should command our attention, and any
measure which would be likely to develop this formation, or any part it within the
limits of this State should meet with public approbation. The importance attached
to this group is the fact that 10 this suite we must look for a home supply of the
mineral coals, if even found within the State."

And on the 16th page of the same report we read as follows :

" As these rocks have exhibited themselves in the northern districts, and in those
sections most immediately connected with the coast-line of mountains, it is to be
hoped that judicious explorations in that range may develop its existence (the exis
tence of coal,) either at the points alluded to, or in other and more distant parts of
that chain.

From the structure of the country generally it is doubtful whether any other portion
of the State presents the slighest ground for hope that this necessary material of econo
my will be iound in other parts than those indicated, and every effort compatible
with prudence should be made that will tend to elicit information on this highly im
portant subject. The frequent discovery of small patches of mineral coal in those
mountains, would seem to lend aid to the suggestion that its development in this
chain may be looked for with more confidence than at any other point."

The foregoing remarks upon this subject penned in a hasty manner more than
two years since, (and the observations which gave rise to them being conducted in
a district of country where at that earlier period of our history the explorer found
his attention well occupied rather in the preservation of his life against the dangers
of the wilderness and its denizens, than in searching for geological formations,) have
during the past year been strongly confirmed. We have reason now to believe
in the correctness of our suggestions then thrown out, from the discovery of
fossils belonging to that period, and required as a basis for such conclu
sions. These fossils have been found at distances of miles from those points where
the first indications of the secondary series were thus hurriedly observed. It should
be remembered that it is no easy task to define positively the true position of a for
mation or group like a conglomerate from its mere lithological characters alone ;
and it receives its additional value, when it is found to hold a direct relation with
groups of a homogeneous character, presenting fossils of a known age, and known
position.

Such is the case with the fossils of the limestone rocks before us, their relative
position being well known, as well as the period to which they belong, that they
place the subject of the existence of a coal field in this part of the State, or
Southern Oregon, in a more tangible form than any which has been before pre
sented. We are able therefore to arrive at something like a satisfactory con-

52

elusion, not only as to its existence, but approximately as to its probablejlocality.
The fossils before alluded to, are always found below the coal beds, and in no in
stance above them. Their depth below the coals is generally within three hundred
feet. These facts will lead us to look for some other locality more elevated^
and on the line of trend to the north in which these rocks may be found with
their appropriate superincumbent strata, in which we may naturally expect will
be found the proposed beds of mineral coal. The dip of the rocks to the. east
at an angle of about 20 degrees, and the elevation of the lands lying in that di
rection with their outline, would warrant extensive explorations in those quar
ters with strong grounds for the belief that success would attend the search ;
while to the north the beds should be sought for among the higher hills and low
mountains east of Shasta Butte, or perhaps as far north as the Siskiyou Range,
beyond the Klamath River.

I feel but little hesitancy in saying that a great degree of certainty exists, of
the mineral coals being found in the counties of Shasta and Siskiyou, but in the
former more particularly. I cannot with respect to the latter named county,
speak with the same amount of confidence, as my examination did not extend
sufficiently far north to determine with any degree of certainty the probable ex
tent and position which these rocks maintain through the middle and northern
parts of that county. JVly remarks in relation thereto are based on the fact of
an extensive bed of limestone, similar in character to that under consideration,
existing on a tributary of the Klamath River, a short distance to the west of
what is known as Bridge Creek, a specimen of which was in my possession three
years since, but was destroyed in the great fire at Sacramento. This specimen,
I believe, contained no fossils, so far as my recollections serves me at the present
time.

Should no coals be found adjacent to any part of this group, there are other
circumstances connected with it, which render it of considerable economic value.
The depth and solidity of the strata composing the great mass of the hills, and
the firm character of the stone, will render it desirable for building purposes, to
which it is well adapted, both in quality and quantity. It would make a more
durable material by far, for those purposes, than a great portion of the stones at
present used, either on public or private works about this country. Indeed
there is none to be found so good, except, perhaps, the better qualities of granite,
such as is found in the eastern parts of the county of Sacramento. The facil
ities of transportation, too, are very good, as this rock is found within six or eight
miles of the navigable waters of the Sacramento River, at its higher stages, and
which, with light draught boats, could be made available for four months of the
year, and probably for a longer season.

The lower beds of these rocks are composed of corals, and the stems of en-
crinites, distributed through a very dark base, and traversed with veins of white
spar. It receives a high polish and is obtainable in slabs of almost any dimen
sions and thickness. It will be found a most superb article for ornamental house
work and for furniture. There are sufficient quantities and variety of qualities
of this stone to answer the entire demand of this State for many years to come,
and capable of affording an extensive and lucrative business to persons engaged
in this department of industry. The value of ordinary marble in this State, is
about $2 50 per cubic foot, and the demand constantly increasing. For the finer
varieties, the prices are much higher, and rule as high as $8 25 and $4 00 per
cubic foot. I have obtained the opinion of practical stone artificers on the fine
dark varieties of these rocks, and they unqualifiedly pronounce it but little in
ferior in quality to the Italian stone known as the " .Black and gold" marble.
The stone of the Sacramento does not possess the rich yellow veins, which dis
tinguish the above-mentioned article, but in all other characteristics it closely
resembles it.

53

The situation of these rocks is such that water power may be used almost
directly upon the ground from which they are extracted, from the current of a
small stream, the tributary of a creek which flows directly to the east of one of
the main ledges, and carries water throughout the year. With these advanta
ges, and the character of the rocks combined, it is to be hoped that attention
may be turned to this department of trade, and thus add another to the list of
our available resources.

TRINITY COUNTY.

The southern and south-eastern line of this county is separated from that of
Shasta by the high ridge known familiarly as the Trinity Mountains. These at-
tain an elevation of about 4000 feet, at the points at which the trail crosses this
ridge. There are but few points along the line of travel that exceed this height;
it may therefore be considered very nearly the general mean altitude of this
range, or rather spur of the coast mountains. The rocks composing this ridge,
are granite and sienite, deeply underlaid by the greenstone trap which descends
to the beds of the streams, and forms the principal led rock of the placers of
this section. On the flanks and near the base of the ridge, there are frequently
to be met with, isolated masses of the metamorphic rocks, the chief of which
are slates. These rocks often present a porphyritic structure, especially when found
in contact with the trapean rocks, or with quartz.

I do not remember one instance in which the sedimentary rocks were found
in an altered condition, when in contact either with the granite, the sienite, or
any other member of that cotemporaneous group alone. I therefore infer that
they were deposited upon the latter subsequently to their consolidation, and any
changes which they may have undergone since their deposition and uplift, are
occasioned by the intrusions of more recent igneous rocks, which have alike dis
turbed the slates, and the primary rocks on which they rest. In using the word
primary in this case, it is applicable to the granitic series, including the serpen
tines, and is intended to separate the series of this part of the State, from rocks
of identical constitution in other localities, which are beyond question, not older
than some of the lower members of the tertiary era. These latter rocks were
merely alluded to in my first report to the Legislature, and will be found thus
noticed on the 12th and 13th pages of that report.

The deposits of placer gold found in these districts lie superior in position to
the metamorphic series, and also superior to most of the slates. It is usually
found imbedded in the gravel drift, which is composed for the most part, of
rolled masses of the primitive group, almost unmixed with any other of the ad
jacent rocks. The entire district west of this range exhibits the marks of old
water lines, from which the waters have since receded, the outlet being probably
through the Klamath to the ocean. The waters were apparently fresh, and the
drift beds and clays which formed the bottom are charged with large quantities
of vegetable remains ; but as yet no relics of animals have been found.

The small amount of deposits found among the drift, and belonging to the
more recent rocks leads naturally to the inference that the gold deposits of these
basins were derived mostly from the primary suites, and such was subsequently
found to be the fact on examining the geological relations of the rocks found
among the mountains. This characteristic was prevalent as far as the crossing
of the Scott River mountains, and westerly for a distance of not less than 40
miles. In this place we shall resume the consideration of the quartz veins and

54

their relations to the other rocks, which will more fully illustrate the character
of this portion of the State.

The examination of these rocks was continued from Lewis's Bridge on the
Trinity, in a northeasterly direction to the base of what is known as Brown's
Mountain, a ridge which forms the eastern border of the Weaverville basin. —
On this ridge there are no vestiges of any other than the primitive series, and
trapeau rocks, comporting in character with those spoken of on the Trinity
ridge. On the western declivity and a little more than half way down to the
level of the basin, the veins were found to be situated in talcose slates, which
extend in a broad band from this point to the bottom of the hill ; as usual, the
vegetation within the line of its range become much more sparsely distributed
than upon either of its flanks where the trap rocks and granites were found to
predominate. Following this line for several miles, these talcose rocks were
found to be part of an extensive range which composes the major portion of the
four prominent peaks situated north of the town of Weaver, which are designa
ted as the Weaver Mountains, and which may be known by their peculiarly bar
ren aspect, when approaching this town from any point of the compass. This
belt extends entirely across the basin, and has been struck, at various points, in
sinking shafts and driving tunnels for placer mining.

Taking a westerly direction along the base of the ridge, and following that
line for four or five miles, I observed three dikes of quartz cutting the granite,
and one near a small branch which empties into Weaver Creek, which entered
the greenstone below the granite. In company with some three or four of the
citizens of Weaver, a visit was made to the high ridge west of the west branch
of the main creek. In the distance of two miles in reaching the summit of this
hill, we crossed as many as five distinct parallel lodes, three of which I subse
quently found to contain gold. On the following day, an examination of the
southern end of this ridge was made, and a heavy dike of this rock was found
occupying the summit, and cropping out at various points on the declivity towards
the river. I think that this dike is identical with one which is found on the
south-east flank of Brown's Ridge, and it unquestionably cuts entirely through
that mountain.

In all the veins which passed under my observation during my rambles in this
section of the State, not one was found to enter any of the rocks of sedimentary
origin, but were confined exclusively to the primitive group. On the Tririty River
and between that and the Scott, the same features were prevalent in this particular
with one exception, which was found at the distance of about two miles from
Palmer's Ferry ; here the Argillite slates on the left of the trail were cut through
by a single small vein which was traceable for a distance of nearly one mile, and
like several veins in the more southern counties of the State ; this lode had a strike
nearly due east and west, nearly at right angles to what are known here as the
primitive lodes. This is an interesting fact in this county, and serves to show a
regularity in those perturbations to which this part of the continent has been sub
jected at different periods. Under the article of Mines I shall have occasion to
allude to this subject, in connection with the comparative value of the metalliferous
character of these lodes, so far as they have been examined and are at present
understood in this State.

From the allusions made to the primitive veins in my report of last year, some
idea of their intrinsic value may be gleaned with reference to the prospects which
they present for mining operations.

Finding so great a preponderance of lodes of this character in this district of
country, 1 took occasion to collect and examine a consideiable number of these
rocks from different veins, and situated miles apart. These collections were
from the counties of Shasta, Trinity and the eastern part of Klamath, the
aggregate number of which was forty-three, and of this number fourteen were

55

from the Weaver Basin and its surrounding ridges, of which nine specimens, or
about three-fifths contained gold; of the remaining twenty-nine specimens twenty-
two were found to contain the same metal. As but one of this entire number
of veins was found to be located for mining purposes, within my knowledge, I
hope that I may not incur the charge of giving a favorable report on private
property for pecuniary considerations, for to be frank in this matter, I found a
less quantity in the vein which was claimed than in any specimen which proved
to be auriferous.

The above facts respecting the auriferous character of the quartz veins of the
northern section of this State are detailed for the' purpose of calling attention
to that important source of wealth, which in other parts of the State has proved
of so high a value, and which thus far in the extreme northern portion of the
County have been engaged in to so limited an extent. One of the greatest causes,
however, which have acted in preventing capital investment in this b/anch of
mining, is the hitherto almost inaccessible condition of this section from bad
roads, preventing the transit of heavy machinery which is so necessary to success
in the reduction of ores. This difficulty at present seems likely to be overcome,
for active measures are now being taken for the construction of good avenues
of communication, which will insure the means of the transportation of heavy
freights to almost any portion of the northern interior.

IRIDIUM AND OSMIUM.

This County, like many others of the State, produces the above metals, but
in much larger grains than any heretofore discovered. This alloy is the metal
usually denominated Platinum in the mines of this State. It is found in
the greatest abundance on the south fork of the Trinity River, occurring in
large and small rounded grains, and nuggets weighing from one pennyweight
upwards to half an ounce. Thus far the south branch has been most pro
ductive in this mineral, although some of the adjacent streams contain notable
quantities. The size of the grains from this stream will render it of some com
mercial importance, as it appears well adapted to those uses to which it is ordi
narily applied, (that of forming the points of gold pens) although its price, like
that of every other commercial commodity, will be variable according to the
supply or demand. During the past year the price of this article has exceeded
that of gold; but a considerable quantity being thrown into the market in the
early part of last spring, its price diminished very materially; the effect, how
ever, was but of short duration, as the article was found to be of an inferior
quality.

It was thought at one period that the large quantities of this metal found at
Port Orford, Coose Bay and Cape Blanco might affect the price of the article
to an extent that would render its collection in this State of little importance;
but the size of the grains from the above localities renders it almost valueless,
being but mere thin scales in an extremely fine state of comminution. Che
large size of the grains found on the banks of the Trinity, imparts to this article
one of its principal values, and as it is found in considerable quantities upon that
stream, it is to be hoped that attention may be directed to its collection.

56

IRON.

A short dislance to the north of the town of Weaverville are small veins of
magnetic iron ore. It is seldom found in veins exceeding one or two inches in
thickness; but from its position and other attendant characters, it is fairly pre
sumable that this will prove an extensive bed of this ore. Our reason for this
supposition is based on the fact, that what appears to be its equivalent, was
found on the opposite side of the basin, on the south bank of Brown's Creek,
and at the distance of four miles from the point at which it was first discovered.
The distribution of the metals in this and other Counties that were visited
during the past year, will be noticed more in detail when making out the tables
illustrative of that portion of our subject.

STRUCTURE OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

A farther examination of this valley during the past year has placed us in
possession of additional information in relation to the peculiarities of its struc
ture, and as this part of the State promises in a few years hence to become the
theatre of extensive operations in agriculture, it becomes an interesting and
important point to ascertain what may be the probabilities of obtaining a supply
of water to conduct those pursuits successfully on so large a scale. The portion
of the plains of this valley to which I would call your attention in this particu
lar, is that which lies to the north of the County of Sutter, and the extreme
lines of the valley section towards the Pitt River, which stream may be consid
ered as constituting the northern terminus of those plains.

It is found that this plain carries an ascending grade of about four and one-
half feet per mile from a point opposite to to the town of Marysville to the
entrance of the canon leading from the plains to the town of Shasta, the air
line distance inclusive, being that one hundred and five miles, giving us as the
altitude at the entrance to the canon, a rise of five hundred and twenty feet
above the line at which the observations were commenced, and five hundred and
ninety-six feet above tide level.

In this part of the Sacramento Yalley there are ten streams flowing, which
carry water throughout the year in the hilly districts forming its boundaries;
but the greater portion of the waters flowing at these higher points are lost
upon the surface almost as soon as their streams reach the alluvial covering of
the plains beyond the lower hills, with the exception of the freshet season.
The larger streams, the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, furnish the principal
channel for the escape of those waters, which, rising to the east of the slate
and conglomerate ridges, discharge themselves into the ocean.

In order to form an approximate idea of the probable amount of waters
which pass beneath the alluvial coverings of the plains, it may be stated with
safety that it exceeds the quantity flowing in the Feather River, below the con
fluence of the Yuba. This estimate is founded on the known fact that the trib
utaries which furnish the waters flowing in the Sacramento, during the summer
months, are neither as numerous nor as large as the streams which sink before
uniting their waters with that stream during the same period, and which are
also direct tributaries to the upper portion of that river during the rainy
season.

57

Much of the water which flows in the Sacramento as it approaches the Bay
of Suisan is derived from drainage through and between the superficial strata of
the plains, or from the small subterranean courses which flow out over the mid
dle clay beds, which form the substratum of the sandy and gravelly clays above.
One of the best proofs which is presented, of the existence of these latent cur
rents along the plains from the Tipper Sacramento, as far down as Yolo County
on the south, is found in the fact that there is derived a constant supply to the
large lagoons of the plains, which we can trace to no other source, thus driving us
to the conclusion which the known formations of the valley corroborate. Another
fact is worthy of attention in connection with this subject, which is that these
lagoons have outlets which distribute their waters over the tule grounds, where
they maintain quite uniform stages during the summer months, which is traceable \
to no other known and visible system of supply, and compels us again to the belief l
that the subterranean courses of the lost mountain streams must furnish its
elements. If the lagoons were filled merely by the overflow of the plain during
the rainy season, they would not maintain their uniform height throughout the
dry season as they now do, and they would furthermore necessarily exhibit all
the features of mere standing pools of stagnant water, no signs of which is now
to be seen about any of these bodies of clear water west of the Sacramento.
It has been asserted, though I have no personal knowledge of such a fact, that
a light current is at times perceptible to the south, in some of the larger lakes.

The water in many of these lakes is of considerable depth, perfectly clear, and
much colder than the waters in the rivers, their dimensions varying from eight
to twelve miles in length, and three to five miles in breadth. The existence of
these bodies of water and their number, temperature, and their uniform depth
and volume teach us plainly that the source of their supply must be traced to
some other cause than that of the mere periodical overflow of the surrounding
lands. If this be admitted, we must look for that supply to the more elevated
borders of the valley on the east and west, or at their northern extremities.
A sufficient supply of water is not to be found on any part of the west border
of the plains, to produce these lagoons until after we pass the Cottonwood and
Clear Creeks to the north, and we cannot, therefore, look to that direction
alone; but we find the apparent source of an ample supply in the numerous
streams that sink upon the upper and eastern sides of the valley which, as
before stated, hide the greater portion of their contents before reaching the
main channels through which they conduct their discharge in the rainy season.
An additional evidence that the waters of these streams pass beneath the sur
face, and in a certain degree are superficial, is a fact that heavy forest growths
frequent different levels, and in their distribution are found at distances of miles
from any currents of water which would be at all adequate to the support
of such forests, by imparting to the soil in which they grow the necessary
moisture for their nutriment.

The structure of the plains below the surface, has been inferred from an exami
nation of the changes which take place in the soils which are met with in traveling
from the higher terraces of the northern end to those of the more southerly levels,
which latter are but a few feet above tide water, and in the position of the clay
beds which are found lying upon the first outcrop of the slates which are found in
the lower foot-hills before entering the more elevated mountain districts. A verti
cal section of the country spoken of, would give a depth of about four hundred feet
as the superficial covering of the valley where it is exposed to view. The various
depths of the principal groups of this part of the State will be found in the table in
the following pages, and the respective positions from the surface, as demonstrated
by the boring of the Stockton well, which has perforated them to the above noted
depth of four hundred feet. The thickness of the lower clay bed is, of course,

8

58

unknown, and there is as yet no method of reasoning upon its probable depth from
any data in our possession which would amount to more than mere speculation.
There is no evidence respecting it beyond twenty or thirty feet, which is all that
has thus far been known.

This deposit has all the appearance of having been originally covered by the
waters of the ocean, as small fragments of what appear to be marine shells have
been met with at different points, though none of them in a state of sufficient pres
ervation to enable us to determine either the genera or species to which they belong.
Should this prove to be the equivalent of the Santa Clara deposit, its average
thickness might be put down at about one hundred feet, or if like the Los Angeles
bed, then the boring of four hundred and thirty-five feet has not yet penetrated
through it. There are reasons for the supposition that this blue clay is not less
than that of the valley of Santa Clara, and the likelihood of its being much thicker
is admissible. We think two hundred feet might be set down as a reasonable sup
position respecting its depth, which, should it prove correct, will present the proba
bilities of obtaining water from beneath it, at a distance of fifteen miles from Sac
ramento City, about at the same depth at which we estimated it last year, — the
difference between the estimate of last year and the present, being only forty-five
feet, and both estimates being made without any reference to each other. In the
northern part of the valley, the heavy deposit of clay which has been mentioned as
resting on the slates, so far as opportunity offered for examining it, seemed but little
disturbed, and from its general appearance, I was subsequently led to the belief
that it was the same as that found on the surface of the lower bottoms further south.
But I am unable to speak with much certainty upon that point, as no organic
remains were observed by which its identity could be satisfactorily proved. The
presumption upon this subject, that it is identical, is based on the very tenacious
character which it possessed, and its peculiarity of color, two features noticeable
only in these lower beds on the southern levels of the plain.

Should this bed ultimately prove to be identical with those forming the surface
of the lower bottoms, for which result we have good grounds of supposition, then its
thickness as indicated by its outcrop in the upper part of the valley cannot be less
than we have herein estimated it, and would fix the bottom of that deposit at the
depth of a little more than seven hundred feet. Short of this water will not proba
bly be found in that of the country in any permanent supply.

The depth of seven hundred feet for an artesian well is not excessive, and may
be esteemed even small, when we consider to what depths this description of wells
have been carried in other parts of the United States and Europe. A failure to
obtain water at this depth should not discourage the enterprise, for the structure of
this basin, in every part of it, is such as to warrant a certainty of obtaining water
beneath its surface if the operation of boring is carried to the extent which the
geological conformation of the ground requires. The case of the artesian well in
North Carolina which has been completed within the past year, furnishes a good
illustration of the depth to which it may, at times, be necessary to descend to obtain
a permanent supply of water. This well has been completed at a depth of 2700
feet, and a copious supply obtained. This fact alone should be an incentive to perse
verance in the prosecution of such enterprises beyond any depth to which they
have yet reached in our State.

A great uniformity appears "in the disposition of the earthy deposits forming the
superstructure of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, above the rocks at their
base. The interesting suite of specimens from the artesian boring at Stockton,
sent by Mr. George E. Drew to the Academy of Natural Science at San Francisco,
with an accompanying paper giving the depth of each of the beds, and their respect
ive distances below the surface, assists us much, with other collateral evidences in
forming an opinion of the relative positions of the bedg below and those above the

59

surface, and which are equivalent, the one with the other. The following table
will exhibit the relations of these beds, though nearly two hundred miles apart.

With the exception of the upper gravel beds, which occur in the higher terraces
of the northern part of the Sacramento Valley, the beds below the surface on the
San Joaquin will be found to correspond in their general features very closely with
the deposits which are traceable above the surface, from the City of Sacramento to
the south banks of the Pitt River.

The figures give the maximum depths at which each of the deposits were met
with in both sections of the State, and the diagrams exhibiting the transverse and
longitudinal sections of the plains, show the relative positions of the respective beds
as far as known at the present time.

TABLE SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE EARTHY DEPOSITS OF THE PLAINS OF THE
SAN JOAQUIN AND SACRAMENTO ABOVE AND BELOW THE SURFACE.

Beds of the San Joaquin below the surface.

Light dark red clays and sand, • 40

Grey sand and clay, - - - - - 170

Blue clay, gravel and sand above, -. - "237

Light grey sand, - - - 265

Fine clear gravel, - - - 346

Blue clay, - - 400

Total, 400

£eds of the Savramento above the surface.

Alluvium, lava, light red clays, 52

Upper gravel beds, - 66

Light sandy clay, - 160

Sand, gravel, blue clay below, - - 225

Light greyish sands, - 276

Fine gravel, sand and blue clay, - 338

Blue clay, - - 358

Total, 358

The above table exhibits a strong coincidence in the coverings of the valleys
at nearly two extremes of the State, and the observations leading to the above
results being entirely unconnected with each other, there certainly exists good
reason for the belief that the earthy coverings above the stratified rocks will
maintain a great degree of uniformity over the entire basin.

The depth of the Stockton well is not so great as the boring at Los Angeles,
the latter being 465 feet below the surface point of starting, 432 feet of which
has been carried through the blue clay entirely. This clay has increased in den
sity and hardness as they descend, and contains embedded boulders of other
rocks.

For the above information I am indebted to Messrs. Butts & Wheeler, of Los
Angeles, in a letter describing the progress of the well after I left that part of
the State, during the month of October. The Santa Clara wells produce their
supply of water from a bed of fiue gray sand, which lies immediately beneath
the heavy clay bed, which varies from 75 feet to about 100 feet in thickness.

60

On the plains of the Sacramento there are some additional aqueous deposits
which have not made their appearance in the line of the Stockton well, but they
may have arisen from changes in the respective levels of water courses, such as
have been known to have taken place within comparatively short periods, an
illustration of which is to be found in two instances with respect to the bed of
the Sacramento River. The old bed of that stream, about nine miles south of
Shasta City, may be easily traced at a distance of four to eight miles from the
present course of the River, at a level of about three feet above medium stag< s
of water, and running nearly at right angles to the line on which the River now
runs.

The differences caused by these additional beds, however, are very trifling.
Their aggregate would only amount to about 34 feet in a line of distance of
290 miles, and would not, therefore, affect any general result in relation to those
wells.

The annexed diagram, exhibiting a longitudinal and transverse section of the
plains of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, will exhibit more plainly than lan
guage can convey, an idea of the structure of these plains so far as known at
the present time.

The diagram No. 1 shows a section carried through the major axis of the
valley, comprising an air-line distance of 160 miles, or from the upper terrace
at the northern extremity of the valley, south to a point opposite to the City of
Sacramento in the County of Yolo. The lower clay bed is indicated at the
different points at which it was noticed, which will be seen, by reference to the
sketch, in the arroya south of Tehama; and again on the banks of the lake on
the western side of the Sacramento River. This is probably the same bed
which is found resting upon the slates some twenty-five miles north of the limits
represented in the sketch. By reference to the letter of Mr. Drew, respecting
the Stockton well, which we have exhibited in a tabular form, a close similarity
of the beds of the two districts will be observed, and if the waters which sink
beneath the surface in the more elevated districts of these plains, pass beneath
this bed, (and from the evidences before us, such seems to be the fact), it will
be necessary, as a consequence, to penetrate it in order to obtain any consider
able supply of water. I entertain but little doubt that the foregoing remarks
afford a correct idea of the true position of matters below the surface of the
plains, and we are warranted in these conclusions from an examination of the
outcropping materials on the flanks of the valley for miles in extent. The out
crops of the slates, sandstone and clays, on the west sides of the plains, are the
equivalents of those which we may expect to find beneath the surface of the
valley, and from the positions of the sedimentary rocks on the eastern borders,
we are not warranted in any other conclusion than that waters are flowing in
subterranean streams on the more impervious materials comprising the basis oi
these plains.

From the observations which I have been able to make during the past season
upon these districts of the State, there have been no new facts elicited which
would induce any modification of the opinion entertained and expressed in my
former report, respecting the probable depths which it will be necessary to reach
in order to obtain water from artesian wells. If there exists any reason for a
change of those opinions, it rather tends to the increase of the depth which may
be required. I still feel confident that the former conclusions will be found cor
rect, and the figures true as to the point at which perennial springs will be
reached. All the evidences I can command only tend to strengthen this confi
dence. Still it should be recollected that it is beyond the power of man to
demonstrate, with absolute certainty, the depth of the stratified rocks which form
these plains, without actual penetration through them, and the feasibility of an

61

operation of this kind is demonstrable only so far as may be legitimately inferred
from the natural position of the substratum as presented in their outcrop upon
the borders of such plains. We should have in view, at the same time, the
probable effect of those disruptive agencies which have elevated the edges on
either hand, and the law which governs those effects, when exerted over long
distances. In this country, as in every other which is similarly situated, the
smallest amount of inclination will be produced on originally horizontal strata
at the greatest distance from the immediate center of disturbance. On this
rule was founded the position assumed in my former report, in relation to this
subject, which is here referred to, together with a transverse section of the val
ley, in order the more fully to illustrate this portion of the present report.

The superficial structure of the plain is now known to a depth of 400 feet
below the service, and if it be admitted that the rocks beneath the surface at
the center are in their proper position, which will be found to be the case, tak
ing the preceding rule as the basis of our calculations, we may thus be enabled
to make an approximation of the depth to the surface of the underlying rocks,
the superior of which is probably sandstone imposed upon a firm conglomerate
beneath them.

It was stated in the report of last year, that a permanent supply of water
would not, in all probability, be obtained before the sandstone had been perfor
ated, unless, perchance, an arenaceous deposit should exist below the heavy upper
clay beds, and this underlaid by a deposit of plastic clays or argillaceous slates ;
in that case the depth of water would fall within 800 feet.

I am not aware of any facts which would modify that opinion, and it is far
better for us to have the probable maximum before us rather than the minim am
of depth required, for, should we base our estimates of cost upon the latter,
there are strong probabilities that failure in obtaining water from these sources
would be the result even though a comparatively small depth might intervene
between the point of suspension and the point at which water might be found.

An examination of the diagram exhibiting the transverse section of the basin
will develope the fact that the Stockton well is in all probability but little more
than half way down to the position assigned to the upper beds of sandstone,
and it is quite certain that if water is not obtained before reaching those rocks,
that it will be necessary to penetrate through their beds and obtain the supply
on the surface of the conglomerate. The only prospects of a permanent supply
of water being obtained at any depth less than twelve hundred feet, are the
probabilities which may exist of a deposit of sand being found immediately
below the beds which are now being bored, and this resting on an impervious
deposit as above mentioned.

The following table of estimated depths under such a contingency as last pro
posed is given in order to direct attention to all of the favorable constructions
which may be adduced upon this interesting subject, and hoping that citizens
interested in it may be properly encouraged to persevere to the attainment of
successful practical results. The depths' in this table are estimated for a supply
of water above the sandstone, and at given distances east and west of the City
of Sacramento, and will be equally applicable to other localities upon these
plains, so far as they maintain nearly the same level above tide water.

TABLE SHOWING THE PROBABLE DEPTH OF A PERMANENT SUPPLY OF WATER ABOVE THE

SANDSTONE.

FEET.

At Sacramento City, - - *^ - 775

Twelve miles east of Sacramento City, 700

Seventeen " " - 660

Twenty " " - 625

West of Sacramento, (at Washington), - - 775

Eleven miles west of Sacramento, - - 700

Fifteen " " t - . ». 650

Twenty-two " 550

To this table may be added 380 feet, should it become necessary to descend
through the sandstones and upper beds of slates, which we have arranged as
belonging to the superior beds which form the basis of the Valley.

It would be impossible to estimate the increased value of the lands lying upon
these extensive plains when the fact has once been demonstrated that water can
be obtained from these sources; at the same time it must be seen that individ
ual enterprise alone will not be equal to the task of penetrating such depths, in
consequence of the heavy expense which must be incurred in the undertaking.
Few individuals are possessed of a landed estate of sufficient extent and value
to warrant their embarking in such an expensive and costly operation. The
State has, perhaps, a much greater interest in this matter than any other land
holder, from her large landed possessions on these plains, and we here suggest
the wisdom of the policy on her part, which shall take the initiative, if it were
only to carry one shaft to the required depth at which water can be obtained.
Not only would one success of this kind greatly enhance the value of her own
lands, but it would also prove a strong incentive to combinations of individuals
for the attainment of similar objects respecting private property. It is evident
ly the fear of failure which now deters many from undertaking the enterprise,
consequently each district is now waiting for some neighboring section to enter
the field, the effect of which is to retard the settlement and cultivation of the
country, and affect materially the general prosperity. The effect of partial fail
ures in obtaining water at small depths, and with limited means, will be that
these operations will be esteemed unavailable, and it therefore becomes a matter
of both public and private pecuniary interest to determine at what depth it will
be necessary to descend, in order that a permanent supply may be obtained.
After the solution of this matter by fair practical experiment, it would be found
that all individual and corporate enterprises would be governed by its results.

I have conversed with two intelligent gentlemen who have been large contractors
in well boring, in the Atlantic States, and they have given it as their opinion, that
an eight inch bore cannot be carried to the depth or twelve hundred feet in Cali
fornia for any sum less than $14,000. This fact alone would be sufficient to deter
almost any individual from an attempt to sink a well of this character, unless there
should be a probability almost strong enough to approach a reasonable certainty
that success would crown the enterprize. The sinking of one well to the requisite
depth, would have the effect of imparting confidence in the undertaking, which no
other circumstances can ever inspire. If this were done by the State, the exten
sive area of lands lying upon the valleys, and belonging to her, which under present
circumstances must be sold at vey low rates from their desiccated character, would
rise in intrinsic and market value sufficiently to more than repay the State for the
expense of their reclamation.

The immediate occupancy and improvement of the broad plains of California

63

would follow fast upon the steps of any system of irrigation which would successful
ly redeem their lands from that arid condition which for half the year gives them
more the character of deserts than of habitable countries. Such a process of im
provement would thus lead the State to new sources of revenue, not only in the
enhanced value of her own lands, but also in the greatly increased value and amount
of the improved lands of individual property taxable for governmental purposes.

There is no part of the country more inviting in point of fertility of soil and sa
lubrity of climate than these valleys, and none which would be more tempting to
the ambition of the agriculturist, if the additional feature of a plentiful supply of
good water could crown the advantages which these lands possess, being in their
central position between the markets of the mining towns on the one hand, and
the cities of the seaboard on the other.

It is to be hoped that general attention may be turned to this subject, and that it
will meet with such deliberation too on the part of the State Government as its im
portance would suggest. The higher portions of these plains, where nature has
supplied them with moisture, are found to be abundantly productive, both for pas
turage and the culture of grains, and if this moisture could by any means be secured
throughout the summer season in the now arid portions, there would be no obstacle
to the settlement through the valleys of an active and prosperous agricultural pop
ulation.

TERTIARY ROCKS AND OTHER DEPOSITS OF THE SIERRA

NEVADA.

We shall now pass to the notice of the rocks belonging to the tertiary periods,
\\hich are found in the Sierra Nevada, and which extend from the middle sections
of these mountains to the east of the foot-hills and under the eastern borders of the
valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. They consist of sandstone, slates,
conglomerates, and heavy beds of gravel drift, alternating with sands and clays — of
the latter group, many are found in an indurated state, at times possessing a stony
hardness, and at others the same bed is frequently found loose and incoherent.

On examining the rocks of this district of the State in the month of June last,
it was found that the tertiaries were resting upon the granites direct, and that the
granite had been uncovered by placer mining to a much more westerly extent than
had previously been assigned to their positions. These operations placed us in
possession of the facts, that they formed the base of the table lands near Willow
Springs, and within 22 miles of the City of Sacramento. The aqueous deposits
which are found resting upon the granites, exhibit themselves as out-liers, forming
the main body of the first range of plateaus above the plain, and are of the utmost
importance in determining the relative ages of contiguous rocks to the east.

West of Willow Springs, in the county of Sacramento, the slates and sandstones
crop out near the edge of the plains ; they soon become covered with the alluvial
drift, and are not met with again in travelling to the east until arriving at the first
range of hills beyond the above mentioned locality. Between the springs and
these hills, the only surface rock is the granite, forming the " bed rock " of
this section for several miles, and lying at an average depth of about twenty-five
feet below the surface. At the distance of eight miles (air line) east of the
Springs, these rocks disappear, and are replaced by beds of indurated gravel drift,
having large quantities of a coarse granitic sand commingled ; this latter article
being heavily charged with iron, which forms the cementing medium of these beds.
This drift-bed has been pierced to the depth of ninety -four feet with shifts sunk for
mining purposes.

64

At'the depth of forty-three feet from the surface, a bed of marine shells was
found in fine gravel and sand, cemented by iron, giving the mass a considerable de
gree of firmness. Below the first fossil bed there were alternating beds of sand and
gravel, in which were imbedded the teeth of sharks and other portions of the skele
tons of fishes ; commingled with these were the remains of mollusca in large quan
tities, and of various species. From the specimens obtained, it appears very cer
tain that these beds were deposited upon the granitic rocks direct, as the fossil
specimens in the State collection will abundantly prove, for in these the fossil may
be seen adhering firmly to that rock.

Above this heavy bed of drift, and at the distance of half a mile to the south,
the conglomerates crop out and form the summit of a high table ridge, on exami
ning which, the marks of the old water line of the sea were distinctly engraved
upon its surface for a linear disiance of nearly three miles. These rocks extend
north and south from this point, forming the summits of a set of similar table
ridges, for a distance of 20 miles, beyond which they were not followed in this
State.

The altitude of these marine beds above the level of the sea is less than 800
feet, and in three localities they were found to range between 900 and 1000
feet. I consider these as corresponding with equivalent beds at the distance of
150 miles farther north. In this section of the State we have another illustra
tion of those periodical elevations which form so conspicuous a feature in almost
every district which has been visited, and which will prove a constant attendant
of the traveler wherever he may wend his way.

The most eastern limit at which these tertiaries have been met with, is upon a
line running north and south and cutting through Mormon Island on the south
branch of the American River. The fossils beds will be found in the immediate
vicinity of the following localities, viz : Texas Flat, Half Way House., Volca
no Ridge, and Mississippi Flats in the county of Placer. The conglomerates pn
these table ridges are the same as those which pass beneath the edge of the valley,
and it is in this section of the State, that the thickness of those rocks can be
ascertained with a precision, sufficiently accurate for any practical purpose.

By reference to my notes taken at the beds, I find the following to be the order
and thickness of the deposits as they occur at the different localities above named,
and which are known to reach the edge of the plains immediately to the west. This
table includes the rocks only, and such as are known ' to pass beneath the eastern
border of the valley, and may serve to direct those operations which were spoken
of in the preceding article.

THICKNESS OF THE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN THE SIERRA NEVADA.

East of the border of the Valley.

Argillaceous Slates,

Conglomerates,

Clay, sands and gravels,

Total,

At the border of the Valley.

FEET

Argillaceous Slates,

Conglomerates, 270

Sand, Clays, &c., 56

Total, '- - 456

65

The fossil drift beneath the conglomerate east of the plain is not perceptible to
that extent which would guide us to any conclusion as to the depths to which it de
scends at the edge of the valley. Therefore no estimate is entered for this deposit
in this table.

The survey of the U. S. Kail Road Expedition, for 1854, has demonstrated that
the fossil deposits of this range of country, are continuous to the extreme southern
portion of the Tulare plains. The fossils of Pose Creek appear identical with
those of the counties of Placer and Sacramento, but I am unable to give their
differences in altitude if any exist, as the observations which would determine that
point, are not accessible at the present time.

Between the Tulare plains and the American River, there are some fou or five
other localities in which the tertiary deposits have been observed, and which con
tain imbedded fossils closely allied to those found in the localities specified ; and the
evidences thus furnished in relation to this subject are very conclusive in their char
acter, as pointing to that period when the Tertiary seas had their boundaries far to
the east of their present limits. A recession of the waters of the Pacific Ocean
has therefore taken place, to the distance of 140 miles, since the period at which
those fossils lived. A suite of these specimens for the State collection has been
secured, from this very interesting portion of the State, a list of which will be found
appended to this report.

We have now a more practical and economical view to take of this subject, so
far as relates to the positions of these beds, and as this will involve a pecuniary in
terest in which the mining community are directly concerned, I solicit their partic
ular attention, as well as that of the State authority, to the subject.

In order that a better understanding of the position of these rocks may be ob
tained, the following table showing their natural and relative positions is inserted.
It commences at a point due north of Beale's Bar and continues west to the ends
of the plains :

Beale's Bar,
Texas Flat,
Slates,

Conglomerate,
Fossil Beds,

Mfeet Shaft.

JLlder Springs,

Conglomerates,

Fossil Beds,
Granite. Granite. Granite.

Plains

From the above table it will be seen that the 94 feet shaft which was sunk on
whut is familiarly known as volcano ridge in the county of Placer did not reach
that point at which the drift deposit containing gold may be expected to occur. —
This is proved by the fact that at Alder Springs, a short distance to the west, t'le
basis rock is granitic, and the auriferous deposit is found lying upon it, and belo 7
the conglomerates and fossil beds to the east. The same fact is noticeable at tw >
other mining localities to the south and west of Alder Springs, also in the flats som >
three miles to the north of Beale's Bar. There are then at least five diflerent posi
tions at which the fossil beds are known to lie above the auriferous drift, and ths
positions assigned to the beds under consideration in the table furnish the data on
which to found the conclusion. They occupy the terraced positions as occurring afc
the points designated, denudation having caused the outliers to the west of Aldar
Springs. Similar peculiarities are also noticeable in some of the lower minin 5
localities further to the south, where the workable placers are found to occupy alikj
position among the hills a few miles east of the plains.

The position of those beds as they are found to occur in the lower hills, and where
also the best opportunities are offered for their study, leads us to the conclusion thai

66

during this portion of the tertiary era a submarine deposit of drift was formed and
that subsequently the superior conglomerates had their origin, and are now found
superimposed upon the deposits above named. Should this doctrine be finally
demonstrated by more extensive and well directed improvements in mining opera
tions, and the facts before us at the present moment most certainly favor the pre
sumption that it is probably correct, than a new and wider field for mining opera
tions is soon to open in this district of the State, and we may reasonably expect to
meet with deposits equally valuable beneath these rocks in other parts of the State,
on the same line of elevation, as those which have already been developed in the
counties of Placer and Sacramento.

In this State it is well known that numerous instances have occurred in the min
ing districts where the miners have passed through the sedimentary rocks, (slates,)
and found the deposits of gravel drift beneath, the same containing gold in fully
equal quantities with that found in the surface material above them, and which was
thought the foundation stone below which no gold would be found. These
suggestions are not made as bringing to light any new principle in relation to placer
deposits, for facts of similar character have been known for three years past in different
sections of the State. The present case relating to the placer deposits of the coun
ties of Sacramento and Placer, may be regarded as corroborative testimony of our
former knowledge, and the existence of a much more extensive range of this char
acter, than has heretofore been discovered.

The position of these auriferous deposits in the counties above named, and the
corresponding character of a large portion of country lying north and south of the
above section is adverted to at the present moment for the purpose of directing at
tention to those districts near the foot-hills which present similar features, and which
are as yet untouched. These districts on either hand having the same altitude
above the plains present equal certainties of the existence of the same deposits as
those met with in the county of Placer. Under the head of placer mining, I shall
have occasion to allnde to this subject again.

The other members of the tertiary group on the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada,
consists of sandstones and clays, the most important of which are found upon the
Cosumnes and other rivers south of this stream. The sandstone beds as far as ex
amined have every appearance of being much more recent than any member of the
stratified rocks of which we have heretofore spoken, and their position is evidently
tinconformable with the latter, resting very evidently on rocks having a much high
er degree of inclination. In fav< ;rable localities for their examination, I have found
their depth to exceed 110 feet. An instance of this kind is afforded upon the
banks of the Tuolumne River, at a distance of two miles east of Jackson's Ferry.

As a general rule, these rocks have been but little, if any, disturbed, having
but a slight inclination from the horizontal, and it might be said none, except
that which is found to correspond with the gradiency of the plains beyond, and
seldom exceeding two or three degrees. Immediately east of these deposits,
and as you enter the hills, the other sedimentary rocks are seen cropping out
and assuming high angles of inclination which are found to increase as you
travel in an easterly direction.

Sufficient opportunity did not offer for a more critical examination of the re
cent sandstones than that of a mere passing notice. It would be desirable that
they should receive a closer investigation during the coming season, than was
afforded, from want of time during the past summer. Their proper place in the
tertiary formations must be deferred until that time shall arrive, when we shall
be able to speak with more precision in relation to the peculiarities which they
may present. The older tertiaries in the more elevated portions of the moun
tains are more or less auriferous in n'early every locality in which they have been
examined.

The soft clays which are at times found between the slates and conglomerates,

67

and the gravel beds which are also found beneath the latter, are of the same
character in as marked a degree as the drift beds of the surface which are im
posed upon them. So far as those beds have been opened there appears little or
no exception to the rule.

Within the last year the older conglomerate rocks have been found to contain
gold, but not to that extent which would warrant mining explorations. The
fact, however, is sufficiently well established to require notice in this place.

The sedimentary rocks extend eastward in the more central mining counties
to within twelve miles of the summit ridge of the chain. Here a few imperfect
fossils have been found, but none of sufficient distinctness to determine either their
geological position or character with any degree of certainty. It is proper to
state however that there are some evidences of the cretaceous, or perhaps, the
upper secondary rocks being found in those districts, though as yet it is a mat
ter of much doubt, arising from the imperfect condition of the organic remains
found imbedded within them.

The following table exhibits the approximate depths of the superficial cover
ings of the mountain mining districts, in which that department of industry is
conducted. The table is intended to represent the more central line of country
which corresponds with the trend of the chain, and is usually found at a distance
(air line,) of about forty miles from the eastern border of the plains. It will
include in its range the towns of Forest City, Nevada, Georgetown, Volcano,
Mokelumne Hill, and Sonora.

TABLE.
Sierra.

Gravel drift 60 feet

Light gray and blue clays - 15 "

Blue clays - 15 "

Gravel and sands - 30 "

Clays, with lignites 18 "

Blue clays - - - 25 "

Clays, with leaves 8 "

Auriferous gravel - 18 "

Slates - 22 "
Primitive rocks.

Total, - 201 feet.
El Dorado.

Gravel drift 60 feet.

Blue and brown clays - 20 "

Cemented drift, clays, and lignites 40

Sand clays - - 20 '

Clays, with leaves - 10 "

Sandy clays and lignites - 10 "

Coarse sand, pyritous 4 "

Auriferous gravel - 25 "
Primitive rocks.

Total, 189 feet,

68

Amador and Calaveras.

Gravel drift - - 60 feet

Clays and sands - 40

Plastic clays - - 50

White clays - 30

Cemented gravel and clays - - 45

Clays, with silicified woods 15

Auriferous drift - 30
Primitive rocks.

Total, 2tO feet.

Nevada.

Gravel drift - - 80 feet.

Blue and yellow clays - 20 "

Blue and gray sandy clays, with leaves - 30 "

Gravel and light clays - 50 "

Gravel and brown clays - 10 "

Sands, gravel, and petrifactions - 8 "

Auriferous drift - 40 "
Primitive rocks.

Total, 238 feet.

There is much uniformity, it appears, in the general character of the superior
coverings of the primitive rocks in the placer ranges, and no little coincidence
in the material which makes up the great mass of these beds; as much, at least,
as the different sources from which the detrital materials were derived would
permit; the modifications that may be present in any of the beds being produced
entirely from local circumstances.

There is one feature, however, that is deserving of notice, and which is strongly
marked throughout the State; one of which will enable us to arrive at a much
better conclusion relative to the age of these deposits, than any relations which
their lithological characters present; this is the close similarity which is manifest
among most of the lignites and dycotyledonous leaves found in every portion of
this part of the State, as well also as in many parts of the coast mountains.
The beds that produce these forms in the mining districts have been placed in
the tables as they occur in nature, and we may thus see at a glance theposition
which each of these beds hold to each other.

The peculiarities connected with the distribution of these remains, leads to
the conclusion, that a great uniformity of climate, arid other conditions, prevailed
for a long period after the disturbance of the older tertiary slates; this is proved
from the fact, that comparatively little if any disturbance is manifest during the
age in which the drift beds were being deposited. Kotwithstanding these beds
are elevated considerably above the sea, they do, in most cases, preserve their
conformability with each other, and are unconformable with the slates on which
they at many points rest. This may be regarded as one of the evidences of a
persistent elevatory action going on through all the periods of the latter, as
well as some of the earlier portions of this epoch. It would be a difficult task
for the observer to define, with any degree of accuracy, the differences of age
between the one part of the state and that of any other, so far as these particu
lar deposits are concerned.

69

The close similitude in. most of the fossil vegetation found in the drift beds,
would render it difficult to define from what portion' of the State any one suite
of those specimens may have been taken. I have the impressions of leaves from
the counties of El Dorado, Tuolumne, and Trinity, (the two latter counties
being two hundred and seventy -five miles distant from each other,) that a close
observer would be very likely to declare as having all been taken from the same
locality. These organic forms are now in the hands of gentlemen fully compe
tent to define their generic and specific characters, and whenever their investiga
tions shall have been completed, the same will be placed before you.

PLACER MINING.

This branch of industry in this State has been prosecuted with much vigor
during the past year, and many new discoveries of placer deposits have been
developed within the past season. Those who have engaged in the heavier opera- ,.
tions of this department, have carried their workings to an extent heretofore
unparalleled in the history of mining in this State, the details of which will be
noticed more at length in the following pages.

In the present article I shall review, briefly, the history of this branch of
industry, and adduce such testimony of their probable continuance as has fallen
under my observation, and such as will be found supported by facts alone.

There has been much discussion abroad relative to the probable continuance of
the placer deposits of California, and attending this discussion, a manifest disposi
tion among Atlantic writers to underrate the capacities of the State for the produc
tion of gold. So far as the personal interests of such individuals are involved in
this question we have nothing to do ; but when the publication of such articles are
carried to an extent that a public injury is sustained upon our shores as a conse
quence, then it becomes a duty we owe to ourselves to speak in defence of the
State of our adoption, and place the question before our friends and relatives
abroad upon that basis upon which alone it can stand.

We shall, therefore, confine ourselves to facts, as developed within the past year
and the year preceding, which will define, to some extent, the areas of the placer
ranges on the western slope of the mountains ? and it is to be hoped that they may
prove sufficient to convince such as may be seriously affected with melancholy for
our future fate in this particular, that they are in no danger of sinking deeper into
the slough of that insolvency which their over-heated imaginations have prepared,
from any failure, on the part of this State, to produce even an increase on her past
annual exports. The commercial circles of the East, have been saved from bank
ruptcy by our exports, and we shall still continue to exercise the same paternal %
care over their interests as formerly, provided they will relieve us from accepting <
the entire produce east of the Rocky Mountains. Since 1849, we have had but a
reiteration, from year to year, of this doleful prognostic, and this in the face of a
continual advance on each annual aggregate exported from our shores, until now
the public mind has become less sensitive to the dismal moan, which greets the eye
or ear from some portion of the Atlantic board on the arrival of almost every
mail.

The failure of an arrival of the accustomed number of millions per month to the
Atlantic cities, is found to create a feverish panic among our distant friends, which
is to be regretted, as an injustice to the people of this State, usually follows such a v
contingency, from some portion of the Atlantic board. This arises from the fact (
that parties abroad do not possess the local information of those causes which are '
productive of such a failure, neither could they properly appreciate the same, were
it in their possession.

70

The only regret to which we must submit in this matter is that, as a State, we
have exported too much ; but the prospect is that in the future we shall export
much less gold than formerly. The report of the Controller of State for this year
shadows forth the long wished for advent of confidence in capital investments for
home improvements, and is a true exhibit of our resources ; showing that, not
withstanding we have an increase of one million above our exports of the pre
ceding year, yet we still have added to our home capital, permanently invested,
fourteen millions, within the same period.

In my report of last year, it was stated that the placer ranges were at that time
known to extend nearly to the summit ridge of the mountains ; but this year it has
been ascertained that they pass beyond the ridge, and are now fonud on the
eastern declivity, having nearly the same altitude as those occurring on the opposite
side. Within the past season, many of these deposits have been examined, and
thus far are found to be equally productive with those of similar ranges to the wast,
and, with a favorable season ensuing, they will be largely occupied.

This increases the breadth of the placers, in the more elevated districts, about
nine miles, and the length between twenty-five and twenty-seven miles, on a line
parallel with the trend of the mountains. This additional field is what may be
denominated "dry diggings." Still they will prove available only during the
summer season and early part of autumn, from their altitude and local position.

Since my last report, I have been enabled to trace the " Eastern Blue Range,"
for a distance of thirty miles south of the point at which it was left last year, and,
as far as examined, it possesses most of the general characters that were mentioned
in relation to this district at that time. Its line may be defined to a considerable
degree of accuracy by the following localities :

South of the middle branch of the American River, it is found at what is known
as Cement Hill, being part of the same range of the Mameluke Hill, a short dis
tance south of the former. Extending in a southerly direction from the vicinity of
Georgetown, it is next met with at White Rock, some sixteen miles distant, and
about three miles east of Placerville. In this section of country, the outliers of
the range are distinctly seen, forming level ridges for long distances, the latter
surrounding small basins or forming the flanks of broad ravines, similar to that
known as Coon Hollow, and other adjacent localities. From Placerville it extends
in a southerly course for eight miles, and it is again met with some three miles
east of the town of Ringold, forming a flat table, of small extent, on the side of a
hill facing to the southwest. From this locality it assumes a more southeast
course, and is again seen on the sides of the hills forming the banks of Indian
Creek, in the county of El Dorados This is the most southern limit to which these
placers have been traced with any degree of certainty.

A course a little east of south would bring this line of deposits in the vicinity
of the town of Volcano, in the County of Amador, but it is yet quite uncertain
whether this mining town is absolutely upon this range of placers, or whether it
passes to the east of the high ridge back of this locality. From what observa
tions I was enabled to make at Mokelumne Hill, and also south of this point, I
am inclined to the belief that if it passes through this section of the State it
will ba found to the east of these latter towns, at distances within eight or
twelve miles. The high table ridge to the east of Chilian Gulch possesses many
of the external features which mark this range in other parts of the State; but
the conglomerate beds found adjacent to this section indicate this to be of much
more recent origin than the placers under consideration. The absence of any
fossil remains from this district renders it difficult to form any conclusion that
would be satisfactory on this point; it will therefore be omitted until such
times as farther investigation may be had upon this immediate vicinity.

We will now turn to the more particular consideration of the placer, as far as
known, and examine its capacities for production, with other characteristics that
mark it in its course.

71

The line of the deposit has now been traced distinctly for a distance of one hun
dred and thirty-six miles, in an almost continuous line, and upon it are now
located many of the most valuable mining districts of the State, on which the
heavier investments of capital have been made for its successful workings.
From the nature of the ground and its location, being very remote from the
plains, and in many cases difficult of access from its elevation even above the
adjacent country, it necessarily has required a much greater outlay of capital to
develop its treasures than any of the districts lying to the west of it and im
proved as mining ground, and thus far has yielded a proportionably greater
amount of gold.

So far as these districts have been opened, they have fully sustained the char
acter which they have heretofore acquired, and particularly noticed in the pre
ceding report, viz : that in no instance, up to the present time, has this placer failed
to reimburse the money expended in opening the ground, reaching the lead and
returning a handsome profit to the adventurer. This cannot be said of any other
range of placers in this State.

Up to the month of November last, there had not been an abandoned claim
upon the range where the works had been conducted with the view of reaching
the lower lodes of the range, and no failure has occurred in striking the lode where
the adits have been driven at any sufficiently low point.

From these facts alone, it will be seen that placer mining is not altogether a
game of chance when conducted with skill, well-directed and practical judgment,
and it teaches, also, another valuable lesson, which is, that segregated labor and
capital is not sufficient to cope with the heavier branches of placer mining,
neither is it as profitable in its results as when otherwise and judiciously directed.
This branch of industry in this State has taken that place at the present time,
which strictly entitles it to the appellation of a science, and he that would fully
appreciate it should witness it. Placer mining to California is what coal mining
is to Pennsylvania, and the great coal districts east of the Rocky Mountains,
and we are fast approximating that day when its subterranean operations will
equal, and in many instances exceed the latter. Should there be those who foster
doubt on this point, and doubtless there are many such abroad, I would respect
fully suggest to such a visit to the upper portions of the counties of Placer and
El Dorado, with those of Amador and Calaveras on the south, and those ^of
Nevada and Sierra on the north. In these counties they will find an ample
field of operations, on which they will find but little difficulty in forming an
opinion of the character and extent of the workings beneath the surface and
the means employed to consummate the end. They will find the engineer with
his levels as carefully adjusted and applied as though his survey was instituted
for the leveling of a rail track, and the necessities of accuracy in the selection
of the most feasible point to tap the heart of the mountain is equally as great
in the one case as in the other.

The placer miner of the present day in this section of the State, estimates the
costs of the operation on which he is about to enter with all that care and attention
that would be bestowed upon any other enterprise where the sura of ten to thirty
thousand dollars is the sum to be invested, and where his interests are involved to
that extent. It is not uncommon to find amounts equal to the above, invested in
our larger operations now in progress of working, and a few instances among many,
may serve to illustrate the fact. I will mention but two or three in connection
with this part of our subject.

The cost of opening the Mameluke Hill, near Georgetown, by the parties inter
ested, exceeded forty thousand dollars, while the receipts from the same during the
period of little more than one year, has exceeded five hundred thousand.
Another case is that of Jones's Hill, the opening of which has already risen above
thirty-four thousand dollars, the receipts being above two hundred and eighty-four

72

thousand dollars ; and still another in the County of Nevada, (Laird's Hill) the
expense of opening was nearly forty thousand dollars, while the receipts from the
latter in June last, had reached the sutn of one hundred and fifty thousand — the
resources of either are as yet in any thing but an exhausted condition The
above are mentioned only for the purpose of conveying a better idea of the ex
penses and profits of what is denominated deep mining, in this State, and the
localities named form but a small proportion to the aggregate of similar
workings.

In the counties of Nevada, Sierra, Placer, El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras,
there are scores of adits and other workings of smaller dimensions, which have
already cost sums varying in amount from ten thousand dollars upward to the
figures given above, and from which proportional profits have been derived. The
mining districts abound with evidences of wealth like those above, and they possess
equally as strong evidences ot permanency of chatacter, and it would be no difficult
matter for the incredulous to banish his incredulity, if he will but take the trouble
to investigate the facts which nature and individual enterprize have placed before
him.

An idea of the necessary expenses that must be incurred in conducting these
branches of placer mining, can be obtained only by an examination of the adits
which have been driven in prosecuting these labors. There are but few which are
less than three hundred feet in length, and many that range from ten to twelve
hundred feet, and of a size sufficient to use a horse within for the purpose of de
livering the earth to be washed at the sluice or the attle to the end of the tram-
road. These adits are driven in some cases hundreds of feet through solid rocks,
and when- thus conducted they often penetrate the very centre of a mountain,
or as in the case of the high ridge south of Placervilb, they have not only reached
the center, but have passed entirely through the ridge.

In other parts of the State, the heavier placer operations are conducted in a
different manner. In place of the adit, a broad ditch is carried through the
hill, and the entire hills removed to their base by hydraulic washings. This
system of working, as conducted in this State at present, will compare very
favorably in magnitude with any system of mining operations of the Atlantic
States, or even in many parts of the older continent, and from the success which
has thus far attended it, it bids fair to advance much beyond the limits to which
it is now confined. Five years have elapsed since the mines of this State were
worked to any considerable extent. The area that is now known to contain
valuable deposits of gold, is believed to be at least six times greater than that
which was developed during the years of 1848 and 1849, while the number of
miners actually engaged in the extraction of gold is less than those of 1852, yet
the export of the year last past exceeds by nine millions the total exports of
the former year. Under these circumstances, it is rather a forced conclusion
to arrive at, that the mines of the State are in any way likely to recede from
their former productions ; and we would suggest to our friends abroad, that it
is time they had divested themselves of the idea too long prevalent, that our
placers will soon become exhausted, or that the workings consist in mere surface
scratching, without depth or probable continuance. We have* evidences that
should prove satisfactory to reasonable beings, that they are something more
than an ephemeral show, as all known facts in this State are opposed to that
position, and they are abundant for two hundred miles of the length of the
eastern mountain chain.

In order to convey a better idea of the mining districts they will be divided
into three distinct ranges, denominated the Upper or Eastern Range, the Mid
dle Placers, and the, Valley Mines. This has now become necessary from the
fact that the characteristics of these districts are as distinctly marked as are the

73

northern, middle, and southern portions of the State. It separates also three
evidently distinct periods of the geological history of this part of the continent,
in which marked changes are apparent upon the surfaces that had emerged above
the ocean during that epoch.

EASTERN RANGE.

This district extends from near the summit ridge of the mountains to within
about twenty-five miles of the edge of the plains. It maintains a very uniform
breadth of about twenty miles, and a length of one hundred and thirty, as far
as known. It covers an area equal to about three thousand square miles, a
large proportion of which is available as mining grounds.

In this district is situated the major part of what is known as the " dry dig
gings " which includes the towns of Forest City on the north and Placerville on
the south. At the present time there is but a comparatively small portion of
this district occupied and improved. Admitting, that of the area included with
in the lines of this district, but one-third of the same may be considered as con
taining placer deposits, we shall have for the immediately available purposes of
mining an area equal to one thousand square miles.

A glance at the entire area which is now in actual occupancy on this range,
and employed as mines in active operation, will convince those acquainted with
the district that but a very small fraction of the available territory is as yet
opened or in any manner improved. It is estimated that twenty square miles
will cover that au.ea and even this may be considered a large figure for the grounds
so improved ; amounting to two per cent, only, of the lowest aggregate that
can be placed upon the unoccupied district of the range. It is doubtful whether
there are men enough in this State (aside from those req'uired for the transac
tion of other departments of business,) to occupy and improve even one half of
the available mining lands that lie in the four middle mining counties of the
State which at the present time is untouched, for it is pretty well ascertained
that the absolute amount of ground in fourteen of the mining counties, now un
der improvement for those purposes, does not exceed five hundred square miles.
The amount of territory in each county which is unoccupied forms a heavy ag
gregate against the other.

Of the eastern range of placers there are wide districts intervening between
the settlements on the range, and an approximate idea may be obtained, of the
extent of these placers, by citing districts that are well known, which will con
vey at the same time a better conception of the proportions occupied and the
reverse.

The counties of Placer and El Dorado are fair examples of this district; they
lie adjoining each other and are situated nearly in the middle of the State, and
of the range. The deep workings of the above counties extend north and south
for a distance (air line,) of thirty-three miles, the north fork of the American
being one boundary, and the mountains and its tributaries being the other on
the south ; the breadth included in the above line and extending east and west
is about fourteen miles. The mining towns within this district are Iowa Hill,
Michigan Bluffs, Georgetown, Spanish Flat, Placerville, and other smaller set
tlements situated between the above and to the east of the line as given.

The area of the eastern range in these comities alone, amounts to four hun
dred and sixty-two miles, nearly one half of the aggregate amount for the State
as belonging to this particular range of deposits ; and when we recollect that

10

74

there are four additional counties through which their placers are found, the
estimate of one thousand square miles will not be considered as excessive.

To those who are acquainted with the section alluded to, I have no hesitancy
of submitting the above figures, tor there is no object to be attained in present
ing a fancy sketch of our available resources. We may draw upon facts for
many years to come in regard to matters of this character, for the mining dis
tricts are possessed of an ample fund for that purpose.

It must not be understood that the " deep diggings " of this district are the
only resources obtainable, or that they constitute the only deposits of gold in
the range, for it is far otherwise. The entire surfaces of this range are produc
tive of this metal; it was from the surface washings of portions belonging to
this district of the State that a large proportion of the gold was obtained dur
ing the earlier periods of mining. These placers still continue to yield profitable
returns for labor, though long since they were among the old workings which
were considerrd exhausted. The returns from these old placers at the present
time are attributable to the improved methods of mining that have been intro
duced subsequent to their first becoming abandoned, and the greater care which
is now bestowed in washing the earth.

The placer miner of the present day will not exhaust the same quantity of
ground that he would have done in 1850 or 1851, and at the same time obtain
an equal and, in some instances, a greater amount of gold from one of these ex
hausted placers. We may, therefore, regard the surface deposits of these sec
tions as prolific sources of wealth for years to come. This conclusion is based
on the facts which past experiment has demonstrated, and which are acknowl
edged throughout the State by those who have given any attention to the sub
ject.

In selecting the Counties of Placer and El Dorado as illustrative of the char
acter of the eastern range of deposits, I would not be understood as expressing
any preferences, of productive capacity or of a better defined range of these
deposits; they were selected from the fact that they held a more central position
in relation to the above than for any other purpose, and they do not, to my
knowledge, afford any better illustration of the characteristics of this district,
than the Counties of Sierra, on the North, or that of Amador or Calaveras on
the South; in fact, this range is much better exemplified in the County of Sierra
than at any point south of the latter.

MIDDLE PLACERS.

By this term is expressed that range of country which is situated at an aver
age distance of about twenty miles from the line of the higher foothills, or hav
ing its western border within about lour miles of the edge of the plains, compris
ing a district of country of twenty miles in width and three hundred in length,
having a trend parallel with that of the mountain chain in which it is situated;
it covers an area equal to about six thousand square miles.

On this range is situated what is denominated the surface workings, although
there are some instances in which the deposits of drift containing gold lie nearly
as deep as those alluded to in the preceding article. This, however, is not the
general fact relative to these districts, and the labor and expense of extracting
the metal, consequently, is not as heavy. The ordinary depth of the placer
drift in this district, ranges between twelve and forty feet ; it is composed of a
more heterogeuous collection of stones than the deposits of the higher range ; in
the latter the pebbles and boulders have but few varieties, while those of the

75

middle placers are composed of many; so much so is this the case, that it is
often difficult to distinguish what rocks predominate.

The " bed rock" of these districts is composed mostly of slates elevated to high
angles of inclination, or the same rocks changed by heat, in some cases to that ex
tent as nearly to obliterate their former structure ; their transition has been so
complete that they have assumed the character of true porphyries ; this must have
occurred prior to the deposition of the drift as these deposits bear no marks of ig
neous action since they were deposited. In some localities the drift beds are found
resting upon the granite direct, the latter rock often presenting evident marks of
the action of water.

In examining the gravel from this district, we will often find the stones which
are peculiar to the eastern range mingled with those of more recent date, and which
are often found in closer proximity in situ ; with the above is also found more or
less of the smaller gold of the upper districts commingled with that which is inci
dent to the middle sections of the State.

These facts naturally lead us to the conclusion that at the period in which the
gravel drift of the middle placers were deposited that the country to the east was
subjected to the action of floods which must have been somewhat violent in their
character. I am not prepared to say at this time, that the deposits of this district
of the State, were formed during the period of the NORTHERN DRIFT, for there are
some features wanting to establish that point conclusively. Should the above fact
be ultimately established, there are attendant circumstances that will prove the
eastern range to have preceded that period, and which has been alluded to in
former reports.

The economical value and extent of the middle placers, is the principal object of
their notice in this place, and we will therefore direct our attention to that particu
lar point. It is upon this range of country that the g eater proportion of the mi
ning community of the State are located, and more particularly upon the central
and eastern portions of the same. The cause of this is oovious, for from the nature
of the ground to be operated upon, segregated labor is more prosperous, and small
companies with limited means can prosecute mining with better success and profit
than in the heavier workings of the eastern range of placers. The labor and inci
dental expenses for facilities in the extraction of gold, are much less and more ea
sily obtained as a general rule than in the former case ; hence men who are pos
sessed of limited means usually occupy the middle sections before entering the field
of the more lengthy operations that are conducted in other districts.

This district of the State is but sparsely settled, at the best ; and like many other
portions of the mineral and agricultural sections, there is but here and there a few
scattering cabins or small settlements, often for many miles. The placers that are
spread far and wide throughout this section, are scarcely touched, or if so, they are
marked by a few small shafts only, which have been sunk by some prospecting mi
ners, in their rambles over the State in search for richer fields than those they left.
It is often the case that these shafts have remained for two or three years after they
were driven, when they have again become occupied by others, yielding profitable
returns for small amounts of labor. It is from these very partial examinations of
traveling miners made in preceding years, that some of the most valuable placer
deposits have been developed ; the hints thus given in the former case have been
adopted by those who have subsequently followed, and have thus led to pleasing
results.

The introduction of water by artificial canals into regions lying remote from nat
ural streams has had the effect to develop further the fact, that but limited sections
exist in this district in which the staple product of the State does not abound.
From the above facts we should be led to infer that a much larger population than
that at present found in these districts should follow under the circumstances : it
should be thus, but there are causes which at present operate to prevent such a re-

76

suit, the principal of which, is the want of a sufficient supply of water to conduct
mining operations to that extent which the character of the country require. The
natural supply of this material seldom exceeds four months of the year, in amounts
that would be equivalent to subserve the above purposes, in the greater proportion
of the mining localities of this range, and this too at that season when labor is
nearly suspended from inclemency of the weather. In order therefore that an ex
tensive population should be found upon the unoccupied portions of this part of the
mineral district, the introduction of water by artificial means becomes an essential
requisite.

An increase of our mining population in any district of the State, hax no ten
dency whatever to excite any fear of the exhaustion of the mines of that local
ity to which they may chance to wend their way; for it is now admitted that
sufficient room for labor abounds in any of the mining settlements, for a much
greater number than those who now occupy them. The introduction of water
by canals through an unoccupied portion of the State, is as certain to bring in
an active population along its line, as the fact that such an agent is known to
exist, as it is well known that nearly the entire surface contains a sufficiency to
largely pay for labor in its extraction.

So far as the middle placers have been opened, they have thus far proved
productive to an eminent degree, and the new placers which had been developed
within this range have, as far as known, proved fully equivalent to those which
have preceded them, and there is no good reason that can be advanced for the
untenable position that has been assumed, that the present theatre of operations
is the finale, any more than for a similar opinion which was entertained four
years since in relation to those localities at that time occupied, and which are
still yielding their annual quota nearly the same as before.

YALLEY MINING.

We come now to the consideration of the lower and most western districts in
which deposits of gold have been found, and which constitute the third and last
in the order of arrangement.

The valley mines are those districts which are situated among the lower foot
hills of the mountains, and extend westward from thence into the eastern edge
of the plains of the San Joaquin and Sacramento to the extent of three
to five miles. These mines are distinctly traceable from Chico Creek in the
County of Butte on the north, nearly to Snelling's ranch on the Merced River
to the south, having a linear distance of about two hundred and fifty miles.
The position which they maintain, or whether they exist at any point north of
the first named boundary, and south of Fort Reading on Cow Creek, in the
County of Shasta, I am at present unable to state, not having passed over
that particular district during the past season. But the opinion may be safely
entertained, that they are continued through the latter district, and that the
placers of the Upper Sacramento Yalley alluded to in the preceding pages of
this report are but the northern termini ot this belt. The valley mines are
situated on what has been spoken of as constituting the higher terraces of the
plains, and are composed of alluvial drift mostly, which have been derived from
the lower hills adjacent to their borders. The gravel of the lower beds is usually
small and composed of the pebbles found in the conglomerates commingled
with the smaller stones which have been conveyed by the agency of water from
the approximate portions of the middle districts. The gravel is usually much
discolored by the ferruginous materials with which they are intimately commin-

77

gled, and all the beds containing gold, from the surface to their greatest depth
partake in a high degree of the same peculiar characteristic. The deposits are
found to extend to depths varying from three to eight feet, and rests on sand
stone, slates or clay beds above the latter, and are the most shallow of any of
the placer ranges as yet discovered in the State, and at the same time the most
easily worked. In my report of 1853, the attention ot the Legislature was
directed to the peculiarities of this district of the country under the head of
mineral resources, and which will be found on pages 21 and 22, of Assmbly,
Doc., session 1853. I recur to this subject again at the present time,
trusting that this district may attract that attention to which it is entitled, hoping
that some measure may be adopted that will have the eifect of preventing those
collisions which must ultimately ensue between the agriculturists and miners in
regard to the occupancy of the lands.

It is incumbent upon me to define, as nearly as possible, the probable extent and
local position, both of the agricultural and mineral lands, so far as the same comes
within my knowledge ; and for this purpose, this subject is again introduced, so that
in sectionizing, hereafter, these districts may be distinctly marked, and their bound
aries thus known.

It has been generally supposed that the entire valley lands skirting the foot-hills,
possessed but limited amounts of the precious metals, and that when such lands
containing gold were thus known, the deposits have been regarded as purely acci
dental. Such is not the case, however, and if it were, the same rule would be
equally applicable to every other portion of the mining districts of the State. Since
the days when that opinion prevailed, there have been circumstances occurring, at
different times, respecting the true characteristics of these lauds, which have had a
tendencv to modify the views then entertained respecting them, to that extent that
those views have now become entirely obsolete, and the valley mines are now
considered nearly co-extensive with the middle or upper districts, and they
probably fall but little short of the latter.

So well defined is the mineral district of the plains, that, at the present time,
there are not less than eight water companies who have extended their works to the
foot-hills, and three of this number were distributing water four miles beyond the
hills, into the plains, during the month of December last. In the central and more
northern portions of this range, the extension of these canals is being prosecuted as
fast as the nature of attending circumstances will permit, and from what is now in
process of being completed beyond the line of the lower mountains, there will not be
less than twenty-three of these canals discharging- water on to the surface of the valley
within the current year. In seven of the principal mining counties of the State, there
are one hundred and nine companies engaged in the conveyance of water for mining
purposes, and with this amount, even, there is not sufficient to supply the demand.
"We may therefore conclude that the small quantity which twenty-three flumes will
convey to the valley mines will not probably amount to over eighteen per cent, of
that which will be requisite for their operations.

Should an ample supply of water be furnished to open this entire range of
placers, we have not a population sufficient to occupy and improve it, aside from
those engaged in similar occupations in other parts of the State. A large propor
tion of these mines will, therefore, remain untouched for many years to come, and
improved only in isolated portions, where the conveniences of water are easily
obtained.

Most of those who are at present engaged in this district, are men who have for
merly occupied themselves in the older and mountain districts sirce 1850, and are,
therefore, capable of judging of the comparative value of a placer of this kind, with
those of other sections. Their experimental knowledge is, therefore, of some value,
as a criterion, to judge of the prospects of these mines, as being remunerative for
labor, if no other more conclusive considerations presented themselves.

78

We will not stand upon the basis of individual opinions alone, in this matter,
but will present an outline of the settlements upon this range of country. They
will present the best argument of the capacities, progress and development of the
mines, Jrom the date of their discovery to the present time, and the character of
these valley sections.

The localities situated along the line of these mines are well known in the State,
and as a consequence, their comparative products will be easily estimated by those
who have even but a slight acquaintance with the mineral products of the country.

Commencing in the county of Butte, the first mining locality is on what is
known as Neal's Flat; following a southerly direction to Butte Creek, they are
again found at Kieh and Reeve's Bars, on that stream, and a few miles further
south the mines are occupied in and about the vicinity of Spring Valley, and
thence to the banks of the main Feather River ; crossing this stream they again
occur in the vicinity of Iowa Ranch, nine miles southwest of the town of Bidwell.
Following the line of the foot hills to the Honcut Creek, miners are engaged on
both sides of this stream, and but twelve miles distant from the town of Veazie.

From the Honcut south, the next placers which are improved, are those upon the
banks of the Yuba, in the vicinity of Ousley's Bar, being but fourteen miles east
of Marysville. There are two mining camps near the edge of the plains between
the south banks of the Yuba, before reaching Camp Far West, on Bear River,
which is the next locality of any note. From this place to the American River,
there are four localities in which these mines have peen opened, and which run
west of a line cutting through Massachusetts Bar, the lowest on the latter stream.

From the latter locality, we pass through placers three miles from Alder Springs,
and in a southerly course from thence to the west of Prarie City. On the Con-
sumnes they are again found at Michigan Flat and Cook's Bar, and following the
plains they again occur four miles west of lone Valley. South of the latter and
along the western lines of the county of Calaveras to Jackson Ferry, on the
Tuolumne River, and between that stream and the Merced, there are ten locations,
known as mining camps or towns, the inhabitants of which will equal those of some
of the more inland districts. The number of settlements on this range, at this
time, amounts to thirty-one, several of which have been occupied for the past two
years. This fact alone is sufficient to establish its character as a mining district,
and it is one also that many hundred thousands in gold has been extracted from
during 1854.

I have been thus particular in noting the localities situated upon this range, for
the purpose of quieting if possible, some few of those periodic effusions which flow
from the over-anxious conservators of the public good both at home and abroad, by
exhibiting what may be considered an approximate outline of the area of our min
eral resources so far as known, and to contradict plainly by statistical facts, (the
bolder enunciation which too often appears in the columns of those who should be
possessed of better information) that the mines of this State are in a depreciating
condition, to that extent that either confidence or capital investment in either
branch, may be considered a hazardous enterprise.

Another reason for the local details respecting the valley mines, as given, is for
the purpose of eliciting that attention to the location of lands for agricultural pur
poses, which the statutes of this State and the United States prescribe in relation
thereto, and to define as near as possible, the western limits to ^ich the mineral
lands in all probability extend ; and due care in selecting lands for the purposes of
agriculture along the eastern borders of these plains will ultimately save much ex
pensive litigation and trouble.

The western limits of the mineral lands are generally well defined, and so dis
tinctly marked that even the stranger may readily recognize them in passing across
them. The following are the characteristics that will designate these grounds, from

79

those in which no gold has as yet been found, and which latter approximate and
form in some few instances the eastern borders of the phins.

I will here quote from my report of 1853, the original description of this
section of the State. I have seen no reason to change the opinion then enter
tained, but believe that all subsequent events to the present time are fully cor
roborative of that position.

" This district of country is situated in the lower foot-hills and immediately
on the eastern edge of the valley. It maintains a very uniform breadth of about
four miles, (from the base of the hills,) and is almost uninterrupted throughout
the valleys adjoining the foot-hills to the east. A large part of the mining dis
trict of the county of Sacramento is a true example of these lands, though the
principal range alluded to is situated a short distance west of those points in
which mining operations are conducted at the present time.7'

This district is strongly marked throughout its entire extent, and in passing
over it either from the mountains or from the valley to the mineral districts
proper, -the transition is so marked that it cannot fail to attract the attention of
the most careless traveler. It will recur to the mind of almost every person who
has passed from the valleys into the interior, that at the distance of some four
teen miles east of the Sacramento River, that he enters very suddenly a district
of the plains thickly strewed with small angular pebbles of quartz, the belt is
scarcely less than two miles in width at any point and in some places much
broader, (extending often to four miles.) On reaching the eastern verge of the
plains, the transition is equally marked and sudden as in the first instance; the
angular pebbles disappear and a few round pebbles mixed with alluvium, replace
them for a short distance, when these are immediately succeeded by the outcrop
of the slates."

" From what the writer has seen of this district, I feel no hesitancy in saying
that it must in a few years become the busy field of active and extensive mining
operations, and I think this opinion will meet the concurrence of those persons
who are intimately acquainted with the localities and are engaged in mining
operations, at the present time, within the limits prescribed."

" It is not to be understood that this section of country will prove as highly
productive in a short space of time as the superficial deposits of the interior
sections, nor can it with any degree of propriety be expected, but as a compen
satory principle, they will possess the double advantage of being readily acces
sible and though yielding a lower, they will render a more continued remunera
tion for labor and a surer prospect of success "

In quoting the first part of the last paragraph I would not be understood as
entertaining the same opinion at this time, for the development of these placers
since that day has furnished grounds for a change of opinion in that particular, and
I taka this opportunity to recall it.

"Within the past year, where the advantages of water in sufficient quantity existed
to conduct operations in mining, these districts have yielded as fair average returns
for labor as any district of the State. And though situated so far to the west and
into the plains, where we should have expected to have found little else than fine
" drift gold," it is proved that in the majority of those localities which have been
opened, that metal equally coarse with much found in the more elevated districts
has been taken from the valley mines. This fact is sufficient to do away with the
idea that the deposits of the plains are merely accidental, as they have been termed ;
they have evidently been derived in a great measure from the breaking down of the
adjacent sedimentary rocks, which contain veins of auriferous quartz, the disintegra
tion of which has furnished the material which we now find distributed throughout
the range, and from that cause we may expect that these placers will prove equally
advantageous for operation on an extended scale as many of the more ancient beds
of the Sierra Nevada. ^

80

The limits of that district, containing gold upon the plains, I should estimate as
carrying a line parallel with the foothills and at a distance of four miles west of the
latter, and which should be considered mineral lands in the strictest sense in which
that term is applied, and they should be subjected to the same jurisdiction that now
obtains in the mountain sections. Such lands under our present system of laws
are not subject to entry, and the fact is thus mentioned that their position may be
better understood.

From the best information obtainable from all parts of the State, it is believed
that the amount of ground in actual occupancy and under improvement for mining
purposes does not probably exceed four hundred square miles, one fourth of which
area may be included in what are known as old placers, and which are still produc
tive. During the year 1852 it was estimated that one hundred thousand men were
engaged in the extraction of gold, (this is probably a close figure) a much greater
number than has been employed since that time, and whose aggregate product for
that year amounted to the sum of forty-five millions of dollars. Taking as a basis
the returns of the last census from which we find that the total number of inhabit
ants in the mining counties for that year amounted to one hundred and forty-three
thousand (allowing thirty thousand for El Dorado not returned) of sixty per cent,
of which number were probably engaged in the actual process of mining or a total
of about eighty-six thousand thus employed for 1853.

This is probably above the actual number employed during 1853 and 1854, as a
very large number of those formerly engaged in mining have employed their time,
since 1852, in agricultural pursuits. These estimates may be considered approxi
mations only, but taking the highest possible figure that can be given for those
employed for the years 1853 and 1854, (eighty thousand) the following propor
tional results for labor will be found ; the actual working time, in this branch of
employment, in this State, being about eight months of the year. The figures
below comprise those only which have appeared in manifests, with the exception of
those of 1854, in which the deposits at the Mint for coinage and bars during the
months of November and December are included with that known to have remained
on deposit in different parts of the State, and which was the product of the year
last past. The two latter sums make up an aggregate of little more than eleven
millions, which, with the exports of 1854, amounts to the sum of sixty-one millions
that is known as the product for that year :

TABLE OF EXPORTS, PRODUCT, AND AVERAGE WAGES.

Exports and Product. Miners. Average Per Annum.

1852, - - - $45,000,000 100,000 $450

1853, .... 56,000,000 86,000 670 .

1854, - - 61,000,000 86,000 700

» ¥

The above is certainly a much better remuneration for labor than can be found
in any other State of the Union, and is fully corroborative of the fact long since
stated, that our mines are absolutely yielding a higher income at present, than at
any former period, with a less amount of work expended. There are no preten
sions to accuracy in the above figures, as no fractional amounts are included, which
would have swelled the amounts given, to a material degree. They are intended
to convey but a general idea of what labor will command in the mines of the State,
from one portion of the mining sections to any other extremes thus far known.

From what has been said of the areas comprised within the lines of the different
ranges, as given in the preceding pages, it will be seen that we have still enough

81

and to spare for all who are present, and for all that may hereafter arrive, for at
least the next half century. There need be but little fear of their failing to yield
their annual crop of gold, as long, perhaps, as our valleys will yield their crops of
grain.

The aggregate areas amount to about eleven thousand square miles, that is
known to contain gold ; and, when this is compared with the area actually occu
pied, the latter will be found to comprise but a mere mite of our available
resources. With our present population of the mining districts, and the broad
expanse of territory over which they are spread, they appear like mere specks,
dotting the surface of an inland sea, so indistinct as scarcely to be appreciable on
the broad expanse by which they are surrounded.

QUARTZ VEINS.

In my report of last year, it will be seen that the quartz veins of the State
were divided into separate groups denominated the older and recent groups,
each having a different age and apparently belonging to different geological per
iods. These were again separated into three divisions, each occupying certain
districts of the State, and the divisions of the older group were found run
ning in lines nearly parallel with each other.

It will be necessary briefly to allude to the relative disposition of these veins
among their investing rocks in order to obtain a better idea of the positions and
relations of other veins which have been developed with the year that has pass
ed.

That group which was denominated the " older," and which includes the east
ern and more central line of dikes that traverse the inland districts of the State
pursue a strike which is nearly north and south. This intrusion occurred evi
dently during the period immediately preceding the upheaval of the rocks be
longing to the tertiary epoch, the proofs of which are found in the part that in
no instance are they known to have disturbed the rocks of that date, though
often found closely adjoining the latter, and which in some instances are found
to overlie the dikes themselves.

The uniformity which these rocks present in their latitudes with the rocks by
which they are invested, compels us to admit that they must be regarded as a
distinct group, equally as marked in feature as are any of the different beds
which go to make up any series found in the sedimentary rocks of any portion of
the State.

To the west of this suite of veins, are found the more recent dikes, and which
were called the " recent group." These extend from the edge of the plain
eastward for about fifteen miles, and in some few instances have been found in
truded among the rocks of the preceding period.

The peculiarities that remove these veins from the former, is found in the fact
that they have disturbed not only the primitive but also the most recent of the
tertiary rocks of these districts, and as late as the pliocene group in other parts
of the State, abundant evidences of which are met with in many parts of the
coast mountains.

The course of the recent dikes diverges from those of the older at an angle
of about twenty-four degrees, their mean trend being south twenty-four degrees
east, and north twenty-four degrees west. Were these peculiarities merely local,
we might with some degree of reason assign to the entire series a cotemporane-
ous age, the characteristics noticed pervade so great an extent of country that

11

82

we should find some difficulty in demonstrating that they made their appearance
among the other rocks during one and the same period.

In addition to the preceding series we have now to consider another and dis
tinct set of veins which have been developed and clearly defined during the past
eighteen months. These are the east and west veins, which often cut for
mer dikes at nearly right angles, and when first seen were regarded as branches
of the north and south lodes ; but subsequent observation has established the
fact that they are an entirely independent group.

At present there are eight localities in the State at which these veins are known
to occur, four of which are found to cut the older veins, and the others are located
among the slates of the tertiaries. We have no means as yet of determining the
fact with any degree of certainty, whether the east and west veins are older or
nearer than the tertiary dikes, but what evidences there are existing leads to the
inference that they preceeded the latter. This presumption is based upon the fact
that where the east and west veins are noticed among these rocks, there is not the
same evidences of disruptive agency as at those points where they are found in
contact with the older veins. The information in our possession relative to these
dikes throughout the State, is such at present that we are enabled to arrange them
in somewhat a more systematic order than has heretofore been presented.

The table below will present at one view the different systems that are at present
known, and which are beyond all question ; but it is not to be supposed that those
presented comprise all that will ultimately be developed among the metalliferous
lodes of the State. Others might be added to the present list were we to adopt the
plan of arranging a system from surface features alone, but we prefer waiting until
those lodes which present indistinct evidences of being unconnected with the others
shall have been definitely settled by subterranean openings, for nothing can be lost
by the delay.

SYSTEMS OF VEINS

No. 1 — North and South Veins.

No. 2— East and West Veins.

No. 3 — Northeast and Southwest Veins.

The above are the only lodes yet known, and the former division of the
groups will still be retained until such time as the effects of the east and west
veins on the recent or tertiary dikes shall have been ascertained. The rocks
disturbed by each system will be lound as follows :

SYSTEMS. GROUPS. ROCKS DISTURBED.

North and South Veins. Older. Primitive.

East and West Veins. Median. Primitive.

Southeast and Northwest Veins. Recent. Tertiary Slates and Sandstone.

The dissimilarity in the metallic constituents of these systems is worthy of
remark, as well also as the peculiar dispositions of the metal itself. In the first
and second cases we find but little disposition to the crystalline form in any of
the veins yet explored, while in the other, the metal more frequently assumes
this character, and the percentage of silver is also much greater.

The constituents of the veins are equally well marked, the ores of lead are far
more common in the east and west lodes than that usually found in either of
the others. As a general fact, it may be stated that the metal from the
placers in the immediate vicinity of these veins often bears but little analogy to
to that found in situ among the rocks of the district in which the latter are
situated. It is not uncommon to find gold of a very low carat in a placer,

83

while that of a metallic lode adjoining would be correspondingly high, and the
reverse of this is also true.

The gold of the North and South veins is usually destitute of any crystalline form
with the exception of one or two instances, while that from the east and west veins
possesses this character in a much higher degree These lodes also contain the
largest amount of other metallic compounds, as lead and copper, the first of which
is frequently productive of silver ; I have seen gold from one of these veins pro
ducing five per cent of that metal ; the assay was made at the United States Mint
of this State.

These points lead to interesting inquiries relative to placer gold, and when fully
understood, will settle many of the discrepancies that now obtain in relation to the
variable character of the metal produced from these districts ; and will ultimately be
the means of determining the relative ages of such deposits.

From mining explorations we are constantly acquiring information of the distri
bution of the metallic lodes of the State, and the day is not far distant when all the
different systems of productive veins will be fully understood and their peculiarities
noted with that precision which the necessities of this department of business de
mands, and an intimate acquaintance with the changes that occur in these lodes is
now being understood as necessary in prosecuting this business with advantage.

There is a manifest disposition in the veins below the surface to produce silver,
and as before remarked that tendency is much the strongest in the Median set of
veins. Associated with the galena of those lodes, molybdenum and tellurium are
common attendants throughout, and when these veins shall have been carried to
near those depths to which similar operations have been conducted in other
countries, we may confidently look for a supply of this metal that will be but little
inferior to the present product of gold.

QUARTZ MINES.

The operations in this department have continued active during the past season,
and the number of mines is on the increase. So far as the workings have been
conducted on the lodes during the past year, there are no farther evidences of
pinching out than was presented in my former report. But to the contrary, the
majority of the veins have increased a little in power, or have maintained fully
that to which they had arrived last year. The greater proportion of the mines
have been carried to more depth than before attained.

Of the total number of mines reported in active operation during the year,
there are thirty-one still engaged, nine of the number having suspended during
1854. Of the total number suspended, five can be considered but temporary, as
two are erecting new reduction works, the other three have ceased to reduce ores
from the inefficiency of their machinery, and it is not probable that they will again
resume operations until the means of transportation is such that heavy freights
can be conveyed to near the districts in which the latter are located. At present
the only transportation to these sections is upon the backs of mules and horses,
and those acquainted with the requisites of machinery for the reduction of ores
Tull readily perceive the inadequacy of such material as could be conveyed over
rugged mountain trails by the latter process.

The jjarties owning these mines have not abandoned the enterprise on which
they entered, but will await the time when the avenues of communication afford
advantages superior to those at present in use, and which will undoubtedly be
opened during the present year.

The remaining four companies that have stopped their operations, I am unable

84

to give any cause for, as the parties who had the control of affairs were absent at
the time I visited the districts. The report of those in the vicinity of these mines,
in relation to the cause of their suspension, was not of a favorable character for
their early resumption, but I should be unwilling to say that a mine was valueless
upon such evidence, as private interests often exaggerate unfavorable circumstances
above their true color The four last are in reality all that can be considered as
permanently suspended, and the five preceding are at the best but temporary, as
three of the number will resume work about the beginning of June, and the re
maining two probably as early as September next.

In the immature state of this branch of industry, and the inefficiency of
machinery, with the difficulty of commanding often the necessary amount of capital
to conduct these operations to a succcessful termination, the ratio of ten per cent,
of those who fail cannot by any means be considered as very large. And when it
is compared with similar transactions in this State little more than two years since,
the above sinks into insignificance. Or, if we look to more distant regions, it will
not be difficult to find more than a parallel in the operations that transpired in the
early days of the Lake Superior mines. The history of mining, either in the
United States or Great Britain, when carefully examined, will not present a
broader margin of successes than is to be found in the gold mines of this State
since it became what might be considered a settled business, and the position which
they hold as sources of profit, with an increasing confidence, is the best proof of
their value. As we are situated in this State, these mines are subjected to the
most severe test which it is in the power of man to inflict upon a business of this
character. It is the test of intrinsic merit, and though invidious clamors are at
times uttered, and often by those who have never taken the pains to inform them
selves as to their native richness, still these even grow fainter as each succeed
ing month brings to light new evidences of success.

Had we the sams facilities of exhibiting the characters which our gold
mines present, through the agency of mining journals and jobbing boards, like
those in New-York, Boston, and the English Metropolis, we have no fear but that
the mines of this State would take their position in the front rank of those
operations. But unlike^ the mines abroad, they do not require at home the
prestige which fancy paper throws around the many faltering institutions of our
distant neighbors.

That our mines have thus withstood the violent assaults that have been made
upon them by those who stand behind the scenes of a foreign press, and thus
attempt to give a fatal thrust unseen, is one strong evidence that they inherit a
vitality which it is beyond the powers of those in this State still thus employed to
deprive them of. We have passed that day when either British skill or capital is
required to foster these operations, and the evidences are strong, that under the
circumstances, as they have proved themselves, we should have been far better
conditioned had their attention been directed to ether, and probably to them more
congenial channels.

We had expected to have received instruction in the mysterious art of mining
from a people who boast the knowledge of centuries of experience in that pro
fession ; but to their own astonishment, American miners in California have
become their tutors. I would not be guilty of casting envious reproaches upon
foreign friends, but justice to ourselves demands that the PACTS should come
out.

Another argument which in itself carries weight in regard to the integrity of
these mines, is the fact, that none of ithose at present engaged exhibit the slight
est hesitancy in embarking in additional enterprises. This is proved from the
fact of a constant addition of new reduction works in different parts of the State,
and more particularly in those counties where the mines have been opened to the
greatest extent. It is hardly a supposable case, to believe that men would thus

85

coolly invest in speculations that require sums varying from fifteen to fifty thou
sand dollars, which three years experience before them has demonstrated to be a
failing and unprofitable business. We might torture the fact into such a conclu
sion, but the exercise of a little reason would be likely to dictate otherwise.

At the present time we find parties entering the field with new and increased
facilities at their command, (and who, from mismanagement, in times gone by,
have lost heavily) and are now realizing their most sanguine expectations from a
judicious management of those operations in which they formerly failed to suc
ceed.

The greater proportion of those who have embarked in this business within the
past year, are men who have heretofore lost heavily in the same business. Their
experience of former days taught them somewhat a severe lesson, but at the same
time, they learued enough of the value of these metallic veins to inspire that con
fidence in ultimate success which they are now realizing in an eminent degree.
This proves that their confidence was not misplaced, and the only error committed
in the premises was too hasty and inconsiderate action, and the use of means inade
quate to secure the desired end.

Gold mining in this State has arrived at such a point, that it is now looked upon
by those in the least conversant with the business, as one of the principal and
best employments for Capital and labor ; yielding a higher rate of profit for the
means employed than any one branch of mercantile pursuits at present known in
this country ; and as an evidence of this it will be but necessary to state that sev
eral of the mercantile men of the larger cities have withdrawn their capital from
their former pursuits and invested the same in the latter. It is a rare thing to
find one of these mines doing a losing business, for it has become a settled prin
ciple, that the lodes will pay the expenses of opening the mine, and there are
but few that do not do it.

Numerous instances of this character are found in the State, and so well has
this been demonstrated that those who engage in this business seldom fail to
realize that result. One of the best examples of this is the case of one of the
mines in the county of Amador, the aggregate expenses of which, in opening
their mine and the erection of their reduction works, amounted to seventy-one
thousand dollars, while the receipts from the mine, consisting of ore removed
from the shafts and gallerys in opening, amounted to sixty-two thousand, the
engine of the mill costing over twenty-two thousand. In this case the opening
of the mine paid nearly the entire expenses of the concern. This is not an
isolated instance, it is mentioned as illustrating what we have formerly said on
this subject, and is stated as a fact which speaks louder than words.

Such is a brief history of the general phases which are presented in this branch
of employment at the present time in this State, and with what has been said
relating to this subject in my former reports, may serve, perhaps, to correct some
of the erroneous impressions that still attach themselves to this important source
of wealth, and which are as groundless as the wind. The sun' of that day has
set, when it will again be in the power of any man, or set of men, to again wreck
that confidence which now reposes in the value of the gold mines of this State ;
their results have placed them beyond the reach of cavil, and beyond the shade
of doubt.

In what follows I shall confine myself to such statistics of mines as are at the
present time in my possession, with a catalogue of such new mines as have been
opened during the past year, and also a notice of such mines as were in operation
and unknown to me at the time of the publication of my former report.

86

LAFAYETTE AND HELVETIA MINE.

«

This mine is located in Grass Valley, and the diagram of their workings is taken
from the lode on Lafayette Hill, one and a half miles southwest of the town. In
this mine is found a heavy east and west vein, having a dip of about thirty-eight
degrees, witli a power of four feet at eight fathoms. The lodes of this hill have
been fairly opened, and thus far present a somewhat envious feature to neighbors.
The present depth of the workings are about eleven fathoms at the deepest point,
the lode in the greenstone, with the above power and a tendency to advance from
the latter. The underlie of the vein for about one hundred feet and immediately
adjoining the walls, is a bed of hydrosilicate of magnesia of an extremely fine tex
ture, containing gold. And the adit level of the mine, exclusive of the team-road
for conveying the cattle to the mine-yard, is in its total length 1200 feet. Not in
creased from last year, it will be seen, in consequence of the change in the
course in which they have been driving daring the past year on the east
and west lode. The working on the latter is near one hundred and forty feet,
and thus far proved a fine quality of ore

During the past season the company have erected a new mill directly upon the
last lode. This is a most judicious movement on their part, as it will be the '
means of saving the neat sum of eleven thousand dollars each year which has
been heretofore paid out for teaming. The arsenical ores do not increase much
from last year, and the sulphuret of iron containing and investing the metal, is
more abundant than formerly. The reduction works are carried by a twenty-five
horse-engine, with a double battery of nine stamps each, and when in full opera
tion is capable of reducing about thirty tons of ore per day. This mine employs
twelve miners on the lode, day and night, while the aggregate of the other labor
ers amounts to twelve more ; making a total of twenty -four.

The use of Cram's cylinder and Berdan's amalgamating apparatus, have been
thrown aside as of little use, and inferior to the more simple and far less expen
sive methods that have been suggested from practical experience in this district.

OSBORN HILL MINE.

This mine is located two miles east of Grass Valley, on the above hill, and the
Lawrence Hill adjacent. Vein has a strike north and south, with an easterly dip
of forty degrees. The workings of 1853 have been abandoned for the purpose of
attacking the lode at a lower point, some six hundred feet to the north of the
latter, and thus drain the southern part of the lode. This has been accomplished
by the sinking of their water-shaft to the depth of one hundred and sixteen feet,
and which is fifty-one feet deeper than their former shafts of the old workings,
and cuts the lode about 80 feet below the greatest depth reached at any former
period. The amount of levels driven on Osborn Hill, and principally south of
the deep shaft, exclusive of the extreme south workings, is four hundred and fifty
feet, and upon Lawrence Hill three hundred feet ; making a total of seven hun
dred and fifty feet thus exposing a heavy bed of good ore. The amount of
shafting on both hills is near that of the levels ; the mine is thus well ventilated.
The power of the vein is three and one half feet, at the depth of twenty feet into
the solid greenstone. Arsenical pyrites are plentiful among the ores of this mine.
The full complement of laborers at this mine engaged in the lode, is thirty-two.

87

EMPIRE MINE.

Situated in Grass Valley, near the southern extremity of the town. This mine
has been in active operation for two years, and their works have been uninter
rupted during the greater part of that time.

Their principal lode is situated at Ophir Hill, one and a half miles to the east
of their reduction works. The superior portion of the lode is situated in a decom
posed granitic rock, and enters the greenstone at the depth of 103 feet, at the
engine shaft A. The accompanying diagram is a general plan of their tower
workings which is on a level with the bottom of the above shaft. The entire lode
is very much decomposed, and the quartz matrix heavily charged with peroxide
of iron ; it is very seldom that gold is easily discoverable with the naked eye in
any of the ores from this hill, yet is found to yield remarkably high in the reduc
ing process. At the main shaft, A, is an eight inch lifting-pump, driven by
steam to free the mine from water and also for bringing ores to the surface from
level, B, and gallery, C, the same being conveyed from the latter down to the
level through the winzes, 1, 2, 3, 4. The ores from the galleries, D, are deliv
ered at the whim shafts, E, E.

The ground plan exhibits the extent of the workings in December, 1854, and
from it may be gleaned ^ome idea of the amount of ore immediately available, as
well also as the very judicious manner in which the mine is conducted, both for
convenience and economy. The ores from the lode, like all the other mines of
this section, are breasted out, giving ample and convenient room for the disposition
of the attle. The strike of the lode is north eighteen degrees west, with a dip of
twenty degrees, and power of three and a half feet.

The complement of laborers at the mine is thirty-four, and including the reduc
tion works it amounts to about forty men actively engaged.

JONES' AND DAVIS' MINE, AMADOR, COUNTY.

The mine and reduction works are situated on the east side of a small tributary
of the Amador Creek, the latter passing through the town of Amador one mile
north of this mine. The top of the whim shaft C is one hundred and forty-five
feet above the level of the creek, and ninety feet below the outcrop of the vein
to the south. The shaft 4 on the vein is three hundred and sixty-four feet
above the town of Amador. The design of the company in the working of their
mine, as mentioned in the report of last year, has been carried out, the connec
tion of the lower level throughout having been completed but a few days before I
visited the mine this year. The mine, as now opened, presents the following ar
rangement : whim shaft C, 100 feet ; south shaft, 140 feet ; upper level, 280 feet ;
middle galleries, 150 feet; bottom levels, 180 feet. The amount of work com
pleted within the past year is indicated by the dotted lines, and the total amount
of excavation on the lode is exhibited in the dark shades of the accompanying dia
gram. The characteristics of the mine and the investing rocks, and reduction
works, are seen by reference to the latter.

This company have erected a thirty-horse water-wheel and double-battery of
eighteen stamps, their power is sufficient to reduce 25 tons of ore per day. They
have discontinued the use of steam.

88

The fall complement of laborers for this mine during the ensuing year, will
amount to twenty-three ; they have formerly employed thirty-four doing the
opening of the lode.

KEY-STONE MINE.

Situated about three-fourths of a mile south of the former, and on the same
tributary of the Amador. It is evidently a parallel lode with that of Spring
Hill, and Jones' and Davis's mines, and is situated about twenty-five feet above
the level of the Creek. The adit runs nearly east and west for the distance of
one hundred and ten feet, at which point the lode is cut with a power of three
feet, at nine fathoms from the surface. At the end of the adit, a shaft has been
sunk through the lode for seven fathoms ; its diameter is four and a half feet.
This shaft is heavily timbered, and well ceiled, the planking and frame snugly
jointed. It is one of those operations that partakes strongly of the character of
permanency in its design and construction, like most other of the workings of
1S54 in this branch of business. The diagram presents the work on the lode as
now progressing. The old gallery at the end of the adit has been driven to 100
feet on the south, and 90 feet on the north. The gallery 18 feet above the end
of the adit, has been carried 100 feet in each direction. The level at the bottom
of the seven-fathom shaft is 94 feet, with a power, in the lode of five feet.

This company have also abandoned the use of steam for power, and have erect
ed a forty horse water wheel, and heavy battery at the old reduction works.
They have also built another large mill south of the former, of equal capacity, in
order to work their mine at distant points to better advantage.

The complement of laborers at this mine for the present is sixteen, but on
opening the southern workings they will employ about thirty-five. Many impor
tant and valuable improvements have been made during the past year on this
mine.

MIDIAN MINE (Lea & Johnson's.)

This mine is beginning to show its true character, a handsome lode and much
decomposed at the bottom of the nine fathom shaft. At the bottom of this shaft,
two short levels of forty feet each have been driven, which shows a power of three
feet in the lode at those places. On the south end of the vein an adit has been
driven sixty-six feet, at the end of which the lode was struck with a power of four
feet, on this one level has been driven of fifty-six feet. The vein shows a fair
prospect.

The company have erected their reduction works this year, but were not in
operation at the time I visited the mine.

89

EUREKA MINE.

Situated near the town of Sutter, county of Amador. The whin shaft A, has
been carried from seven to sixteen fathoms during the past year. The adit enters
from the west, and is about one hundred feet in length. The upper gallery has
been carried south of the adit a distance of one hundred and fourteen feet, and
north seventy-five feet. The middle gallery is thirty feet below the preceding,
and opens at the whin shaft, being driven on the north sixty feet, and south
eighty-five feet. The level at the bottom of the sixteen fathom shaft, is one hun
dred and forty-four feet in length. The tramroad which was commenced last year
has been completed for nine hundred feet, and is now within some eighty feet of
the lode. The rocks are a graphic slate, very firm, and often charged with pyritic
crystals.

The rich thread which commenced at the surface, and for fifty feet in depth,
was highly piritiferous ; is found at the bottom of the main shaft much more pro
ductive. The pyrites have ceased entirely at this depth, and the hilo is composed
of metalic gold, not disseminated, but forming a true vein, at times exceeding
three-eighths of an inch in thickness. The vein has been struck in an adjoining
mine, about one thousand feet to the south. This is the only instance of a true
vein of metalic gold having been found in this State.

The compliment of laborers in this vein is sixteen, and the capacity for reduc
tion of ores about ten tons per day.

STATISTICS OF MIXES.

During the past year I have obtained statistics from fourteen of the gold mines
of the State. These consist of mines located in the counties of Shasta, Nevada,
El Dorado, and Amador. The statistics consist of all general and incidental
expenses, the number of operatives employed as miners, engineers, tenders, &c.,
with their wages per month ; expenses of fuel, teaming, dead work, quantity of
ore reduced per day, average product of the same, with monthly and annual
receipts. These statistics were taken from the books of the companies, and may,
therefore, be entitled to confidence as a fair exhibit of the character of this branch
of mining.

To save time, and at the same moment render the subject more comprehensive,
the aggregates of these statistics will be given :

Capital invested, $ 793,000

Net receipts, ..... 1,483,000
Expenditures, .... 507,000

In addition to the above fourteen mines, there are thirty~others which have
continued in operation during 1854, and which, from the known investments of
the preceding year, will give an additional investment of $334,000, From the
net proceeds of the fourteen mines above known, and their expenses, it would be
safe to assume that the thirty not heard from, have yielded fully fifty per cent, on
their capital invested. This, it will be seen, is much below the proportion of the
first. This then would give for the total number of mines, an amount of capital
actively employed, as follows :
12

90

Investments, - - - $1,127,000

Gross receipts, - 2,157,510

Total capital and products, - $3,284,510 for 1854.

From the above it appears that the aggregate product of these mines is about
four per cent, of the product of the State, as far as the latter is known with any
degree of certainty.

The aggregate number of persons actively employed in extracting the ores, and
in reducing the same, amounts to six hundred and ten, bearing a very small pro
portion to the great mass engaged in the other branch of mining in the State.

In regard to the above figures, I would state that they represent rather the
minimum than the maximum of investments and receipts, and it has been a leading
object in collating these statistics, to avoid those extravagant estimates, heretofore
indulged in, with relation to this subject.

The above list of additional mines, with the number still actively engaged from
last year, swellii the aggregate number for 1855, to fifty-three mines in actual
operation, and a net increase of thirteen from the preceding year over all that
have suspended for any considerable length of time.

WATER COMPANIES.

The table below will give an approximate idea of the value and extent of our
artificial water courses, constructed for the purpose of facilitating mining opera
tions The valuation in the aggregate of the counties are placed at those figures
on which they are known to yield a profit of five per cent, per month. The esti
mates are based on a careful examination of the aggregate receipts of eighty-three
of one hundred and nine companies included, and our list comprises but seven of
the principal mining counties of the State. Much interesting local details was
obtained, which the want of time this year prevents from appearing in these pages :

TABLE.

Counties. No. Companies. No. Miles. Valuation.

Amador, 15 129 $298,000

Calaveras, .... 12 165 397,000

El Dorado, - ' - - - 10 173 380,000

Nevada, 27 210 412,000

Placer, 11 160 369,000

Sierra, ----- 14 137 180,000

Tuolumne, - - 20 185 446,000

Total, - - - - 109 1,159 $2,480,000

91

LIST OF NEW AND RESUMED MINES EOR 1854-5,

The following is a list of those mines that have gone into operation within the
year 1854, comprising those which have erected works for the reduction of their
ores.

Name of Mine.

Crcesus, ;" •" ""

Canada Hill, -

Yan Ammon, * -.-

Orleans,

Whitesides & Co.,

Rooky Bar, -

Mount George,

Pacific,

Maryland,

Whitlock's,

Bryant's,

Fort John,

Badger's,

Tuolumne,

Orleans,

Experimental,

San Juan,

Burleigh,

Location and County.

Auburn, Placer county.
Canada Hill, Nevada county*
Wolf Creek, Do.

Grass Valley, Do.

Wolf Creek, Do.

Grass Valley, Do.
Mount George, Do.
Placerville, El Dorado County.

Do. Do.

Logtown, Do.

Do. Do.

Drytown, Amidor County.
Sutter, Do.

Sonora, Tuolumne County.

Do. Do.

Columbia, Do.

Mokelumne river, Calaveras County.
Do. Do.

Mines omitted in report of last year, and still in operation.

Mount Pleasant,
Sierra Nevada,
Eagle,
Pocahontas.

Grizzly Flat, El Dorado County.

Do. Do.

Do. Do.

Logtown, Do.

ALTITTDES,

AS OBSERVED BY ANEROID BAROMETER.

County.

Locality.

Position.

Feet above tide
level.

Sacramento,

Lexington House,

House,

141

El Dorado,

Smith's Exchange,

Natoma Yalley,

325

Do.

Salmon Falls,

Bridge,

325

Do.

Indian Springs,

Top of Hill,

1,827

Do.

Pilot Hill,

Base,

1,288

Do.

Oak Valley,

Road,

1,240

Do.

Greenwood Yalley,

Do.

1,511

Do.

Georgetown,

Main street,

2,484

Do.

Spanish Flat,

Hotel,

2,444

Do.

Kelsey's Flat,

Road,

2,486

Do.

Chile Bar,

South Fork American,

980

Do.

Placerville,

Main street,

2,058

Do.

Coloma,

River,

857

Do.

White Rock,

Top of Hill,

2,300

Monterey,

Infusorial beds,

Do.

310

Shasta,

Shasta city,

Main street,

912

Do.

Red Bluffs,

River,

184

Do.

Mt Washington Mine,

Mill,

2,028

Do.

Mt. Washington,

French Gulch,

3,028

Do.

French Town,

Clear Creek,

1,754

Do.

Mountain House,

Do.

2,000

Do.

Tower's Bridge,

Do.

1,112

Do.

Mountain House,

McLaughlin's Ranch,

3,154

Trinity,

Brown's Mountain,

Summit,

3,361

Do.

Trinity Do.

Do.

3,980

Do.

Weaver nlle,

Main street,

2,116

Do.

Lewis's Bridge,

Trinity river,

1,668

Los Angeles,

Los Angeles City,

Main street,

257

Santa Barbara,

Santa Barbara,

Mission,

188

INDEX

Preface, - ------

Report, ------ 9

Physical Geography Coast Mountains, - 9

Geology Coast Mountains, - - - - 13

Tertiary Rocks of Coast Mountains, 15

Primitive Kocks of Coast Mountains, - - - 17

Volcanic Rocks of Coast Mountains, 19

Geology San Bernardino Mountains, - 20

Stratified Rocks of San Bernardino Mountains, 24

Infusorial Group, Extent of San Bernardino Mountains, - 28

Plains Los Angeles, ----- 29

Artesian Wells, - 31

Soils and Productions of Los Angeles, 36

Mineral Products of Los Angeles, - 40

Country north American River, 43

Mineral District of Upper Sacramento Valley, - 45

Geology Northern Coast Mountains, 46

Local Geology of Northern Coast Mountains, - . . 48

Carboniferous Limestone, - - - • - 50

Trinity County, - 53

Iridum and Osmium, - - - - - 55

Iron, - ----- 56

Structure of Sacramento Valley, - - - - 56

Tertiary Rocks of Sierra Nevada, - 63

Placer Mining and Ranges, 69

Eastern Range, - - ~ * - - 73

Middle Placers, ------ 74

Valley Mines, - ... - 76

Quartz Veins, - - - - - - 81

Quartz Mining, - 83

Lafayette and Helvetia, Grass Valley, Nevada County, - 86

Osborn Hill, Grass Valley, Nevada County, - 87

Empire Mine, Grass Valley, Nevada County, 87

Jones & Davis, Amador, Amadof County, - 87

Keystone, Amador, Amador County, 88

Midian, Amador, Amador Couny, - 88

Eureka, Sutter, Amador County, - 89

Statistics of Mines, - 89

Water Companies, ----- - 90

New and Resumed Mines for 1854, - - 91

Barometric Altitudes, - - - - - $2

NOTE.

During the tour for 1854 a large collection of Marine Secondary and Tertiary
Fossils has been made, with a variety of other mineral specimens, and as soon as
arranged will be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, with those of
the preceding year.

JOHN B. TRASK.

-

Document No. 14.

IN SENATE.]

[SESSION OF 1856.

REPORT

ON THE

GEOLOGY

OF

EMBRACING THE

MINERAL AND AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES
OF THOSE SECTIONS;

WITH

STATISTICS OF THE NORTHERN, SOUTHERN AND MIDDLE MINES,

BY DR. JOHN B. TRASK,

JAMES ALLEN, STATE PRINTER

COMMUNICATION FROM STATE GEOLOGIST.

SACRAMENTO, March 1, 1856.

To His Excellency, J. NEELY JOHNSON,

Governor of the State of California :

MY DEAR SIR:

Pursuant to an Act passed in May last, by the Senate and Assembly of the
State of California, authorizing a further examination of the unexplored portions
of this State, and relating to their geological peculiarities and ^economical adap
tations, I have the honor through you to submit the following Report :

Yours, etc.,

JOHN B. TRASK.

COMMUNICATION FROM GOVERNOR

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, ]
Sacramento, March 11, 1856. )

To the Senate of California:

I have the honor herewith to transmit the Fourth Annual Report of Dr. J.
B. Trask, State Geologist.

Respectfully,

Your obdient Servant,

J. NEELY JOHNSON.

PREFACE

In the early part of June the tour for 1855 was entered upon, and continued
uninterruptedly till the middle of January, 1856, comprising a period of nearly
eight months of actual labor in the field. With the exception of eighteen days,
during which time I lay sick at Shasta City with the malarious disease contracted
in the Sacramento Yalley hi the discharge of my duties, I have been engaged in
examining the mineral and agricultural capacities of those portions of the
State over which my route led me, and noting their economical adaptations.
The first part of the season was spent in the line of counties extending from
Marin to the south part of Mendocino, and included between the coast and Sac
ramento River, and crossing the coast chain, in a diagonal direction, across the
south-east and east part of the County of Humboldt, again to the plains. Sub
sequent to this, my course was directed to the northern counties, through Shasta,
a portion1 of Klamath and Siskiyou. On the Upper Trinity, the head waters of
Salmon and Scott Rivers, much of my time was spent in exploring the tolerably
rugged mountains of this part of the State.

The Salmon was axamined as far down as the junction of the forks, and the
Scott River was followed from six miles above the junction of the South Fork,
down the main stream for twenty-five miles. After leaving the Scott River I
passed down the Scott Yalley, and over the low ridges which divide this from the
Shasta and Yreka Plains, on to the town of Yreka. After leaving this locality
I traveled through the valley of Shasta River and down that river to its junction
with the Klamath. Leaving this stream at this point, on account of the diffi
culty of traveling along its course, I again struck it at two points below.

During this part of the season the Indian troubles that existed in this part of
the State, rendered traveling alone a dangerous undertaking, and as the season
was considerably advanced, being then near the latter part of August, I retraced
my steps, and reached the Sacramento in the early part of September. I then
took up my route for the southern part of the State, and spent the months of
October and November in those districts, as far south as the San Bernardino.

Returning from thence, the balance of the season was spent in the mining
portions of the State, the line traveled over extending from the branches of the
Feather, through to Mariposa, at which time I closed my labors in the field.

REPORT.

This Report will embrace a portion of the counties lying in the Coast Moun-
| tains, north of the Bay of San Francisco. The counties included extend from

Marin to near the northern line of Siskiyou, including the following : Marin,
I Sonoma, Napa, Solano, part of Mendocino and Humboldt, with portions of Shasta,

Trinity, the east part of Klamath and Siskiyou.

I

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

The above portion of the State is made up, for the most part, of mountain
ridges having precipitous flanks, with deep, rugged, and in many cases, al most
impassable canons. The ridges of the mountains preserve a great degree of par
allelism for the greater part of their course, or until after passing the fortieth par
allel of north latitude, when they become more rugged, elevated and confused,
losing the peculiar characteristics noticeable in their more southern parts.

Between these ridges lie more or less extended valleys at different elevations,
some of which are of considerable magnitude and form the great agricultural
regions of this portion of the State. Bounding these valleys are high, rolling
hills, covered with the indigenous grasses and wild oats which furnish the grazing
lands for the large herds that abound in this region. On the line, two or three
large bays indent the coast, the more interesting of which is that of Tourales.

The gap in the mountains which admits this bay, is about fifteen miles long,
and from one to two miles in breadth ; on the south-west point Tourales forms
one side, extending in a south-west direction, and terminating finally in the high
hills running northward from Touralpias, and on the opposite side, the high ridge
which attains an elevation of about 1,400 feet as it approaches the hills in the
vicinity of San Rafael.

Between the two ridges, and near the bend of the bay, a lower gap occurs
which readily admits the strong sea winds met so abruptly in passing up the
straits leading from the Bay of San Francisco to that of San Pablo. This pecu
liarity will be noticed more at length in the following pages, as it will be found
to exert a strong influence on the economical adaptations of the country within i ts
range. From Tourales, northward, until arriving at Bodega, the country is made
up of low mountains ; and after passing this point the mountains assume a much
more rugged and elevated character to Cape Mendocino, being but a succession
of ridges and canons all the way for that distance, with small and fertile valleys
included.

2

10

Eastward from Fort Ross few persons have traveled, and fewer still will proba
bly ever attempt to describe that portion of the mountain ridges ; it is frequented
only by the hunter, its rugged character rendering it unadapted to other uses.

Between the western or ocean ridges and the first high ranges to the east, lies
the extensive valley of Petaluma, the length of which, between its extremes proper,
is forty miles, with a varying width from eight to fourteen miles. Separated
from this by a range of hills is the valley of Russian River, an elevated fertile
plain of about seventeen miles in extent, and which ceases at the great bend of
that stream at the point where the river canons, and in the vicinity of twenty-five
miles from the coast.

Near the head of Russian River, and between that stream and the waters of
Clear Lake, stands the high truncated summit of Mount Helen ; upon its summit,
fastened to the solid rock, is a plate of copper bearing a Russian inscription.

North and west of the mountain extend a line of ruggedr barren, volcanic
peaks at a short distance from the edge of the valley which skirts the lake ; and
again, upon its north-west and northern end the same wild features abound.
These mountains are covered, to a greater or less extent, with volcanic glass, most
unmistakeable evidence of their recent origin.

This lake, situated at a considerable elevation in these mountains, is not far
from twenty-five miles in length, with a variable breadth of from one to seven or
nine miles. The valley forming its shores is well timbered and possesses high
productive capacities if properly tilled. This lake furnishes the principal water
for Cache and Puta Creeks, which reaches the Sacramento through tte tule
marshes that border that stream to the south-east of where those streams emerge
from the mountains.

Traveling in a northerly direction from the north border of this sheet of water,
you cross two ridges giving rise to several streams that flow into the Sacramento
for forty miles beyond, when an oblique line of ridges commence, bearing a more
westerly direction than those of the preceding portions of the. mountains spoken
of, and whose western flanks form the shed, furnishing the southern tributaries
of the South Trinity and Lower Klamath with part of their waters, which are
thus discharged directly into the Pacific Ocean. South of the preceding, there
are several other streams furnished from these mountains, which discharge their
waters at various points along the line of the coast.

From the head of Stone Creek I reached the valley sections of the Sacramento,
and arriving at Shasta, again went over a portion of the route of the preceding
year, to the base of that part of the Coast Mountains known as the Trinity
Mountains, and crossed the latter from the waters of Clear Creek about eighteen
miles above the point crossed in 1854. These mountains maintain an average
hight for their entire length of nearly or quite four thousand feet and bear a
westerly bend ; the distance from base to base being about twelve miles. I
have crossed this ridge at four different points, but never at a less distance than
nine miles. They divide the waters of the Trinity and Clear Creeks ; the one
flowing into the Pacific by the Klamath, and the latter into the same ocean by
the Sacramento. After crossing these mountains and the streams at their base,
the route lies for the most part on or near the river. This portion of the stream
is Steward's Fork, (improperly called the " North Fork," the North Fork proper
being situated some thirty miles below Gribb's Ferry,) and may be followed with
ease nearly to its sources, being fordable at short distances for its entire length.

The ridge dividing the Trinity from the Salmon is an elevated, rough and
rocky group of jagged peaks, having an average hight of about five thousand
feet. On their southern slope'there is nothing of interest, but on the northern
declivities there are to be found the local drift deposits, which are observable on
the flanks of the Sierra Nevada.

11

The route usually followed leads to the east of these mountains at a distance
of eight miles, arfd up the canons of Steward's Fork to the base of Scott's
Mountain, which is bufo a spur of the Salmon Mountains, and divides the waters
of the Trinity, Salmon and Scott's Rivers at this particular point.

The distance across the Scott's Mountain is about eight miles, though usually
estimated much higher than this amount, from the difficulty of making passage
and the time required in consequence of the rocky character of the trail.

Immediately on reaching the base of this mountain to the north, you enter the
head of Scott's Valley near Callahan's Ranch. At this point the South Fork
of the Scott joins the main stream, which winds through this broad plain on the
western side and its center, for twenty-eight miles, or to a point nearly opposite
Fort Jones. From there the stream assumes a more westerly turn and joins the
Klamath some forty miles from the above named point.

At a short distance beyond the Fort the road down the valley turns short to
the right and -follows this northerly course for about twenty miles all the way
on the level of the plain. At this point a low mountain intervenes, which
separates the Scott's River Yalley from that of the valley of the Shasta River,
lying to the east, and that of the smaller valley of Yreka about seven miles to
the north of its base. The latter valley is but a branch of the valley of Shasta
River and has received its name from the building of the city near its center.

Among the higher southern ridges of those mountains which divide the two
large valleys above noted, the Shasta River has its rise, and not as has generally
been supposed and stated, in the mountains of Shasta Peak. This mountain and
adjacent hills furnish the waters at the sources of the Sacramento on the south,
east and west, and on its northern flank throws off two of the southern tributa
ries of the Klamath. I think that at least six-tenths of the waters derived from
Mount Shasta, find their way to the ocean by the Sacramento, and this mountain
furnishes the principal, and in fact the sources of that stream.

This, it will be seen, modifies our views much respecting the geographical fea
tures and positions of this part of the State, and teaches us the fact that the
latter river belongs strictly to the Coast Mountains, and not to the Sierra Nevada,
as heretofore represented.

I am thus particular in this respect, for the reason that so many palpable
errors have crept into our local geography, that the utmost disorder at present
prevails, and thus far this matter seems governed by one general law, viz : the
law of general confusion only. After crossing the Shasta River, we find little
else than rugged hills, until arriving at the Klamath, and here those hills assume,
and pass into thefange known as the Siskiyou Mountains, which continue nearly
to the coast, the Klamath winding its course at their southern base. To speak
of these mountains would be but a reiteration of what has been said of others
belonging to the coast mountains, and it is unnecessary to say more relating to
them until we come to consider their geological structure, and influences on the
climate of the surrounding country.

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF COAST MOUNTAINS NORTH OF
THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO.

The geological structure of this portion of the State has been treated of to
soiie extent, but there are additional points relating thereto that require some
attention. The district of country from the northern shores of the Gate to the
head of the Arroya San Antonio, have heretofore been treated of by others;
that portion will therefore be passed over in order to avoid repetition. Our
present examination will commence near the head of the above arroya, and con
tinue through those parts of the mountains not before noticed.

12

COUNTY OF SONOMA.

From the known character of the rocks, both primitive and sedimentary, th*
abound along the shores of our large bays, and from thence extend to some dis
tance into the interior, it might at first be thought that an easy inference could
be drawn of the character of the country to the north-west — having so many of
the general external features that appear in preceding districts — but such is not
the fact, for soon after leaving the coast line of the bays, we enter a widely dif
ferent character of rocks from those found near them on the head of the San
Antonio, the serpentine and other primitive rocks which are found from this
point southward, cease. The country from thence northward, to the town of
Petaluma, assumes a new aspect, the rocks changing from the primitive groups
to those of recently volcanic origin. So far as my examinations extended, these
latter did not in any case present the slightest trace of any one of the sedimen
tary rocks, excepting the local drifts.

The entire group which underlies this part of the country is of a basaltic char
acter exclusively, having in some cases the massive form, in others again the true
columnar structure. At the distance of about one mile westward of the town
of Petaluma the latter characteristic may be conveniently examined, for at this
point the basaltic columns are being quarried for the purpose of erecting build
ings at this flourishing place. At this locality the prisms are usually about six
feet in length each, and regularly pentagonal in form, standing upright, and on
a prism of equal diameter in breadth. This enables them to be thrown down
easily, after which they are cut into sections of the required thickness", and used
for the purpose above named.

This group of rocks extend in a westerly direction, to within three or four
miles of the coast, but are not found upon the shore line, with the exception of
one instance, and this occurs about six miles south-east of Lopes Embarcadero,
on Tomales Bay.

In a northerly direction and among the high hills skirting the valley of Peta
luma, these rocks are traceable for thirty or forty miles, after which they give
place to the primitive rocks again, which continue on the ridge fronting the
coast for fifty miles further on towards Mendocino.

To localize more particularly the boundaries of the volcanic rocks westward
from Petaluma, it will be necessary to state, that near the crossing of the Estero
Americano, on the Bodega Road, the first out-cross of the primitive series is found,
surmounted by the same fossiliferous rocks as those of Monte Diablo. This is the
first instance in which the latter rocks are met with on this ifne of travel. It is
interesting to observe the regularity that presents itself in these particulars, for
this deposit of marine fossils fixes the relative age of these distant points, and
shows us more plainly their cotemporaneous origin. The primitive rocks and the
fossiliferous group resting upon them are tilted to the west, and at the contact of
the volcanic and primitive groups the most unmistakable evidences of change in
structure is apparent.

In view of these facts it may not be amiss in reasoning upon this subject, and
in considering the relative ages of plutonic rocks, not to place too strong a stress
on more isolated facts, which might lead us to suppose that a primitive group may
be of more recent age than those of known modern deposits.

The basaltic rocks of this district are clearly post-tertiary, but I am inclined to
the belief that the statements made, of the primitive rocks of San Francisco being
of that age, will admit of some argument, though I do not design to discuss that
question in this place.

From Tomales Point (which is of granite), southward, and from the same point

Ib

northward, the coast line of mountains to Fort Ross are of the same primitive
character, being made up of rocks of the granite series, imposed upon which are
those of sedimentary origin.

The latter class consists for the most part%f a coarse conglomerate, alternated
at distant intervals with small beds of the coarse brown and yellowish sandstone
incident to almost every other part of the coast line from one extreme of the State
to the other. The latter beds contain marine mollusca in the fossil state, but none
were observed in the conglomerates which lie superior to them. At Bodega Head
several beds of these conglomerates are found ; and the point forming the reef at
this place is of the same character.

There is reason to believe that this conglomerate is auriferous ; and subsequent
to my visit to these localities gold was found in small quantities among the debris
of these rocks. At Point Tomales on the west shore of the bay, gold also abounds,
but in small quantity. It is found about one mile from the northern end of the
point, near the settlements on that shore.

Leaving the coast line and passing into the interior, we find the geological char
acter of the country changing in a material degree. At the distance of twenty
miles from the coast and east of Fort Ross, the volcanic rocks again make their
appearance, and continue northward and eastward almost uninterrupted for sixty
or seventy miles. Occasionally an isolated group of some of the primitive series
is met with in these ranges, and when this is the case more or less of the marine
tertiaries accompany them. All that were met with have apparently the same
relative age as those of the Monte Diablo groups.

Aniong the mountains on the south-west and west of Clear Lake, there are large
masses of scorial associated with alsidian, (volcanic glass), which is spread broad
cast among these hills, thrown out from recent craters, often met with in this part
of the State.

Among the basalts of the country south and about the Petaluma district, no
scoria was found in place that had the appearance of having been ejected in the
vicinity, but a plentiful supply is found upon the surface, all of which are evidently
transported masses from the more northern sections.

At first it is somewhat difficult to account for these features in the lower lands
of this plain, as there seemed no adequate cause for producing so extensive a local
deposit, as no river runs through this valley at the present time. In some exam
inations made in the earth thrown from a well on the premises of Judge Thom
son, the secret was in some measure explained; for here the shells of several fresh
water molluscas of the genus unio, and parts of a crustacean, (probably astacus),
were found at the depth of eighteen or twenty feet below the surface.

On subsequent examination of the plain, an old river bed was traced for nearly
its entire length, having two distinct terraces on each side. This ancient bed was
followed to within about two miles of the present bed of Russian River, from
which it is divided by a very low range of hills, and here the former bed is
entirely effaced.

Near this point, (which is called Russian River Valley,) the Russian River
Canons suddenly breaks through the primitive rocks in a broad chasm, the bend
at this place forming almost three sides of a parallelogram.

I have no doubt from the present position of the stream that it has been divert
ed from its course, which was originally through the great valley of the south,
and forced into its present bed during those violent convulsions that, at a compar
atively recent period, must have disturbed this entire section. A stream of the
capacity of the above would be amply sufficient to account for the local drift of
this plain, and which cannot be well explained on any other hypothesis.

On the eastern side of the Petaluma Valley, a range or spur of low moun
tains separates the former from the Valley of Sonoma. These mountains are made

14

up of fhe same materials as those to the west, but at their southern extremity
there is a small out-crop of the primitive rocks.

These two valleys unite a few miles north of the Guilicus, and are, in fact, but
one plain, being divided into two branches by the group of low mountains above
alluded to.

On both flanks of the ridge in the middle of this plain, and at elevations vary
ing from two to five hundred feet above the sea, are to be found beds of an
infusorial deposit in a fossil state, of considerable thickness. These beds are
made up of the siliceous coverings of the Diatomacne principally. On the west
flank of the mountain north of Santa Rosa, they extend for a distance of twelve
miles, making the entire length of these deposits on this line of ridges about
twenty-eight miles.

Crossing a similar ridge from Sonoma to Napa Valley, which is about twelve
miles across, the same deposits are met with on both flanks of the mountain
skirting the Napa Valley, and they extend in an easterly direction across the
southern spurs of the range to the declivities of the Coast Mountains, forming
the west boundaries of the Sacramento Plains, and as far north on that flank as
Puta Creek, beyond which point I have, as yet, been unable to trace them.

This deposit bears the common name of " Chalk Rock " throughout this part
of the country. In all the points at which an opportunity has offered for exami
nation, these fossil deposits were found reposmg on the primitive series, associated
or unassociated with others of the sedimentary group ; in some cases the latter
were filled with other marine fossils, but in most instances they were destitute of
organic remains. "••Nfcij-

MINERAL CHARACTER OF THE PRIMITIVE ROCKS OF THE COAST

MOUNTAINS.

Among the primitive rocks of the above district the granite series was most
predominant. These consisted of coarse granite, mica, schists, sienites, with occa
sional patches of the serpentine rocks. The granites w'ere mostly micaceous, and
the seams often contained epidote.

It was a frequent occurrence to find small veins of quartz running through the
series in almost every part of it. The drift derived from the breaking down of
this series, contains a large proportion of this material, sufficient to attract atten
tion in passing over almost any part of these plains.

Magnetic sand was observed in most of the small streams, and the sulphuret of
iron in a few localities. In the vicinity of the Sulphur Springs at the head of
Napa Valley, and in the trappean rocks of that district, this latter mineral is abun
dant. It is owing to the presence of this mineral at these springs that they de
rive their sulphurous odor.

SOILS OF PETALUMA VALLEY.

From the character of the rocks above described, and which compose the
mountains that surround this and the adjoining valleys, it will be easy to infer the
character of a soil derived from such materials.

Accordingly, we find on most of the lower bottoms, a compost, it might almost
be said, that in itself would be adequate to the production of almost any crop that
might be placed upon it. In the immediate vicinity of the recent volcanic rocks
the soil is soft and mellow, being much superior to that on the bottom lands of
the plain. On these bottom lands there is an intimate mixture of the arenaceous

15

materials found upon the hills to the north, which causes the texture of the soil to
become much lighter and more susceptible to the influences of heat which super
vene in the earlier part of the seasons.

On the more elevated portions of this plain the soil is made up of a coarser ma
terial with *a strong admixture of small gravel, which gives the impression of
harshness and sterility to some extent, but a closer examination develops the fact
that these grounds are equally capable of production with those of the bottoms.

All portions of this plain and its branches are not susceptible of cultivation to
the same extent as the above, for the reason, that in the vicinity of the lateral
plains there are to be found beds of coarse, arenaceous rocks resting on patches
of the granite, which have played an important part in making up the soils of
those districts. • Although the material composing these, grounds is sufficiently
comminuted for ordinary purposes of agriculture, still they will prove unprofitable
for cropping, from the uncertainty to which they will always be liable, resulting
from a deficiency in the elements necessary to produce the cereals in particular.
In grounds of this character, two years has been sufficient to render these lands
totally unadapted to the production of wheat, though barley and oats thrive fairly
upon them still ; this results evidently from a deficiency of the phosphates and
lime, which are almost imperceptible in their productions or the soils themselves.
I have conversed with farmers in this and the adjoining valleys, and found a very
erroneous opinion existing as to the character of the soil and the presence of lime
in the adjoining hills. The white, siliceous deposit of the infusoria was mistaken
for calcareous' rocks, arising probably from the name of chalk being ordinarily
applied to this material.

That the grounds forming the main body of the Petaluma Valley proper are,
for the most part, well adapted to the produce of wheat, barley and oats, still it is,
in my opinion, very questionable if these crops can succeed well in this district,
those of oats and wheat more particularly. The reason of this is most obvious,
and is dependent on climatic influences entirely.

One of the great causes operating to induce a loss in this species of cropping
b|jng the universality of the rust, to which they must be constantly liable —
according to our present information respecting the causes of its appearance. It
is a matter of no small moment with the agriculturalist of this part of the State
to determine this matter satisfactorily and weigh all the evidences pertaining to
this point ; and if he proceeds otherwise he incurs the risk of a loss of his labor
and expenses in the introduction of crops. During the past year an extended
range of the agricultural portions of this part of the State was traveled over by
myself and nearly all the peculiarities relating to the grain crops noted ; and
I may state it as a general fact, that all the wheat, and of whatever variety,
suffered almost total destruction from the supervention of the rust at the period
of the milk, in this and the adjoining valleys to the east, as far as the Bucca /
Valley, that came within the range of the cool winds of the ocean. A field that /
was healthy to-day would in forty-eight hours become valueless, so sudden were
the effects produced upon these crops.

The wheat alone is not the only thing that suffers, for we find that the wild
oats that cover the hills is affected in a like degree, and to that extent that
cattle refuse to feed upon it. I heard of but four instances in which the culti
vated oat was affected.

This, however, is sufficient to show that there is an uncertainty existing touch
ing these two grains, that should demand the careful attention of the farmer
situated in these sections.

On a preceding page of this Report I stated, under the head of " Physica\
Geography," that the position of the mountains forming the Coast Range woulf
be considered again in relation to this subject.

16

The trend of the ridges extending from the interior to the Coast Line is usually
about north-west, and this position is maintained from Fort Ross to PuntaReys.

The winds that prevail on the coast during the summer and spring months are
in nearly the same direction, and thfts finds a long line of direct avenues whereby
it reaches the interior loaded with moisture from the ocean, appearing, as it
enters the interior through these gaps, in the form of dense, cold fogs.

It is from this cause that we experience the strong winds on the Bay of San
Pablo in the e^ning, similar to those of San Francisco at the same time.

In the Valley of Petaluma these winds also prevail, reaching the lower part of
the valley about four o'clock in the afternoon. In the Valley of Russian River
I find a more westerly wind prevailing, which enters that section through the
canon of that stream. Thus, it is evident that plains of this section, and situa
ted in the depression of these mountains, must always be subjected to the influ
ences of these breezes in almost every part of them.

Our present knowledge relating to the peculiar causes inducing the rust in
wheat, leads us to the conclusion that the crop on these plains must (from the
above circumstances, and the relative position of the valley,) attach to itself
that degree of uncertainty in its ultimate product as to render its introduction a
hazardous enterprise.

Thus far, barley and root crops have succeeded without injury, and so far as
quantity in product is concerned, have netted a large return ; and it is to this
variety of cropping, that I consider the district better adapted than to any other.
Were these deficiencies in the soil, they could easily be remedied by artificial
means, but where climatic influences are the causes of discrepant and unremuner-
ative results, it is beyond the power of man to control them. As a grazing coun
try, this entire section has no superior on this coast, and its advantages in this
particular have not been overlooked by many residing here. In fact, this entire
range of valleys and hills, from the shore line to the western edge of the Sacra
mento Valley, is the great dairy of California. Some idea of this may be gained
from the fact, that upwards of fifty tons of butter alone was shipped from the
town of Petaluma during 1855, and a much larger amount of cheese from |}ie
same locality — all of which is used in the market of Sa« Francisco.

The advantages of this country for dairy purposes consists in the fact, that
from the coast line, eastward, the amount of moisture absorbed from the ocean
fogs as they pass over the grounds, is sufficient to keep plants and grasses, (of
which there is abundance,) in a fresh and green state, during the greater portion
of the summer months ; while the interior, during the same periods, are parched
and dried up almost entirely.

I would take this opportunity of suggesting to the people of this section of the
State, the culture of the honey bee. It is the only portion with which I am
acquainted that holds out the slightest hope that that insect can be reared with
advantage and profit ; for, it is only on the shore districts of this country that
flowers are abundant during the summer season.

Thus far the production of honey, by the natural process of manufacture, has
failed in this State, but this portion of it certainly ofl'ers the strongest induce
ments to attempt the production of this article as a source of profit. I think
that the bee might be sustained for forty miles along this coast line.

PLAIN, WEST OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER.

After leaving the Sonoma and Napa Districts on an easterly line of travel,
you enter immediately on the southern end of the Sacramento Valley, west of
the river. The Bacca Plain may properly be considered the commencement of
the valley at this point.

The soil along this line of country northward, to the County of Colusi, differs
somewhat from that of the coast valleys preceding. They are made up for the
most part of the debris of the trappean and other primitive rocks, which as a
general rule, present but few traces of the serpentine rocks or its derivatives.
Syenites and green stone, the equivalents of the eastern mountain range, are
found here.

The grounds are soft and mellow, easily tilled, and highly productive in char
acter. It is evident, however, that a continued succession of the wheat crop
alone in these lands, must in a few years render them unprofitable for this cul
ture, for the reason that the materials from which the soils have been derived do
not contain those elements in sufficient amount to insure with certainty a long
series of cropping with this grain. The calcareous and phosphatic minerals are
limited in quantity, which, as every informed farmer must know, will sooner or
later seriously impoverish those lands, unless attended to early, and their grounds
kept in condition, either by artificial application of the materials thus annually
exhausted, or an intermission of the barley and oats, which will enable them to
recover by a natural, and perhaps more profitable process.

These remarks will apply to the entire range of country included between
Puta Creek on the south, and Stony Creek on the north. It would be well for
agriculturalists in this part of the State, (those at least who are permanently
located there,) to consider this subject well, as a heavy interest, in a pecuniary
point of view, attaches itself to this matter.

This part of the State (and also that on the east side of the river, included
within the same parallels,) must become the main wheat producing districts of
California. Other portions of the valley sections, though in many instances
possessing a soil of superior fertility, cannot be relied upon with certainty for the
production of this crop, although those districts will produce both wheat and
barley beyond any question whatever. The reason of this is obvious, and it
needs but a glance at the geographical positions of each to readily perceive why
this is so. The relative position of the coast valleys and plains to the ocean, is
such that the moist winds of the latter, with the chilling coldness that usually
attend them must, and will, exert a pernicious influence on the wheat in any por
tion of them.

The experience of rigid investigation for many years past in other countries,
lead us to the above conclusions, and we should certainly profit by what that
practical experience has demonstrated.

Had we a series of meteorological observations instituted along our valley sec
tions, situated in the Coast Mountains, and upon our great interior plains, we
should not be left to fall back upon so many of those vague surmises that at the
present time forms not only the basis of opinion, but of subsequent action also,
relating to the constant discrepancies that arise touching the matter of agricul
ture in all its varied departments. But so long as the present system exists, we
must expect to suffer from what we now look upon as unaccountable results, when
the loss of a crop (save in some half a dozen counties,) is found to occur. When
these crops are successful, ample reasons are found to account for the fact why
tnuy arc so, the fertility of the soil is made to shoulder and support the weighty
fabric, as though no other agent had even the shadow of an existence in such

3

18

results. „ But the succeeding year this same crop is a total loss, and thousands of
our laboring farmers are bankrupted as the consequence. What, then, is the
reply ? An hundred wild vagaries are put forth to shelter presumptuous igno
rance, which finally falls back on the principles adopted by a coroner's jury, where
the causes of death are not distinctly apparent, viz : " death by dispensation of
Providence," " died by a visitation of God."

This reminds us of the reply of an ancient philosopher, touching an important
question in hydraulics, " Nature abhors a vacuum beyond thirty-two feet ;" and
we may safely infer that the fertility of our soils in such cases "abhors" the produc
tion of the crop, although the evidences of inexhaustibility in the soils are never
more apparent than when that crop is successful.

This is our present condition relating to this matter, and the usual number of
causes assigned for such discrepancies are equaled only by the groundless premi
ses on which they are based. As this subject touches a vital interest in this
State's welfare, it should merit that attention which its importance demands, and
measures taken to develop the facts which have a bearing upon this subject, leav
ing the fancies that have hitherto attached themselves to this subject, to their
own support.

To avail ourselves of such means of demonstrative evidences, should be one
of our first motives of action, for in this subject the whole people have a direct
interest, it being a matter that affects each person pecuniarily, and the State in
the same manner, but to a more extended degree. To accomplish this result, a
series of meteorological observations should be instituted, that would extend
from Siskiyou to San Diego. Sixteen stations, at as many different parts of the
State, would not be too small a number, which could be thoroughly equipped
with all necessary instruments for about $1,800. The result of such observa
tions would place us in possession of facts, whereby legitimate deductions could
be made as to the influences that climatic changes and conditions exert on the
different varieties of crops that our lands are capable of producing, and which
have been made so wofully manifest during 1855.

These are the only means by which this matter can be demonstrated, and until
adopted, and systematically carried out, the uncertainty and doubt that now
invest this subject must continue, the State, and private citizens being subjected
to losses, in the failure of certain kinds of grains, without a hint even of the
medicate causes producing the sad effects that it has been our lot to witness
within the past year.

SAN BERNARDINO.

During the months of October and November, the country intermediate
between Los Angeles and San Bernardino was partially examined. This district
is made up of an elevated plain, ranging from two hundred to nine hundred feet
above the sea, the ascent from Los Angeles to the highest part of the plain
being gradual and uniform. The north side of the plain is flanked by high and
rugged mountains, the mean trend of which is nearly east and west, and belong
to the San Bernardino range. It is this same range that at Santa Barbara, and
for a considerable distance eastward, has found a place on local maps, bearing
the name of Sierra Madre, which is very inappropriate, and only serves to pro
duce confusion. The range should bear the name of one of the principal moun
tains, San Jacinto, or San Bernardino ; the latter would be preferable, as it is
most prominent, and better known. As it is a distinct range, and of considera
ble length, probably not less than two hundred miles, or even more than this,
and running in a direction almost transverse to every other mountain chain,
either in this State or the adjoining province of Sonora, a name that would sep-

19

arate it from the chain, bearing the appellation of Sierra Madre, in the latter
province, should be adopted, for it is only by knowing the positions of our moun
tains that the geography of the State can ever be clearly defined.

On the south side the plain is skirted by a range of high hills and low moun
tains, derived apparently from the high mountain near the coast, and on the east
side of the Bay of San Pedro, known as the Santa Anna, deriving its name from
the river which flows and discharges its waters into the sea at its base.

The country after leaving the Monte, which is ten miles east of Los Angeles,
gradually attains elevation for sixty miles, at the rate of about twelve feet per
mile, and terminates near the western edge of the valley, on which the town of
San Bernardino is built. From here the ground descends for several miles, form
ing the beautiful valley bearing the latter name.

For the distance of about twenty miles of the route, the country is almost a
perfect desert, producing but- a scanty vegetation, consisting of almost leafless
shrubs, with a few scattered species of the low palm tribe, and cactus.

After crossing this desert, you enter one of, the most beautiful valleys in the
State, surrounded on every side by water, and a stream of considerable size, (the
Santa Anna,) coursing its eastern and southern border. This valley contains
about twelve leagues of land, and is situated about twenty miles west of the
mountain. Similar in climate to the plains, of Los Angeles, it is capable of pro
ducing the fruits and flowers of either the temperate or tropical zones. Indigo,
coffee and tobacco, will flourish here, and either, as a crop, would prove more
remunerative than those now raised in this or any other portion of the State.
The introduction of either, or all of these staples of trade and commerce, in this
locality in particular, is a subject that should command the attention of our citi
zens residing there.

The production of wheat in this valley, must, for the reasons given in preceding
pages, prove too doubtful a crop to be relied upon as a source of revenue entirely,
for the blasting effects of the sea winds reach this place with ease. The charac
ter of the immediate and distant country that surrounds this section, must, so
long as they exist in their present form, induce a frequent re-enactment of the
disastrous results to that crop, which befel alike them and their more northern
and western neighbors the past year.

The soil is possessed of almost unlimited capacities, and a fine climate exists.
This may be aptly illustrated by a statement of the fact, that after the blight of
the cereal crop in 1855; the grounds were re-plowed, and planted to maize,
which was nearly ready for harvest in the month of October of the same year.
This district, like %the primitive sections of the Sierra Nevada, produces gold in its
rocks and streams, sufficient in quantity to warrant mining explorations to a consid
erable extent. But with me it would be a matter of doubtful policy, to abandon
the more certain results of agricultural pursuits, with the advantages that soil and
climate here present for the production of those staples of trade, which as a State
we now so heavily import, for the more uncertain, but at times the more ready
product of the mine and placer. When all other means fail, they have the mate
rial about them that will furnish all the necessaries of life that are purchasable
for a long period of time-

The streams that produce gold in this part of the State, are those of the San
Gabriel, Arroya del Gabon, the Santa Anna and its mountain tributaries, with the
valley at the base of San Bernardino, known as Valle del Oso, (Bear Valley).
The metal is in coarse, thick scales, and small, pin-head grains, usually but little
waterworn, and often quite rough. Between the mountains and Temescal, and
also in the direction of San Jacinto, in the entrance of the Pass of San Gorgouio,'
an iron-shot auriferous quartz is found.

I regard this deposit of gold, and that of the northern slope of the San Ber-

20

nardino Mountains, as but the terminal portion of an auriferous belt, extending
nearly two hundred miles northward, and is again met with at the Armagosa
Mountains, a short distance from the immigrant road leading from Salt Lake to
San Bernardino.

GEOLOGY OF TABLE MOUNTAIN, TUOLUMNE COUNTY.

This celebrated locality, of which so much has been said and written of late,
is one of the most remarkable and interesting places to be found in this State.

That portion of the mountain which has so recently attracted attention on
account of the placer deposits found beneath its surface, is situated near the
towns of Sonora and Columbia, being about equi-distant from either locality. A
portion of Shaw's Flat is situated immediately at its base. The superior portion
of the mountain is composed of basaltic rock having the prismatic form ; but in
a few instances, at different points, it assumes the pentagonal shape, so common
to the columnar form of this rock.

I have traced this basaltic overflow in an east and west direction, for the
distance of nearly forty miles on its course, and it is probable that it will be
found to extend to a much greater distance eastward than at present known.

As yet the origin of this volcanic outbreak is somewhat obscure, as no decided
volcanic vent is yet known to the east of this range, though such has been
reported ; nor is it necessary that a crater should exist to produce the features
that are throughout its extent observable.

From all the evidence existing on the subject and in our possession at the
present time, it appears most probable that this immense mass of igneous mate
rial found its way to the surface through a large fissure produced from subterra
nean forces, and is in itself purely local.

The vertical position of the columns prove, that for twenty miles of its course
at least, it must have flowed in a horizontal direction, and at the western end of
the bed, where it approached the plains and began to thin out, there we find it
following the accepted rule as regards the crystallographic forms assumed by this
rock. Although it is prismatic it loses to a certain extent its vertically, (as
may be seen at Peppermint Falls,) and the columns are inclined to various
degrees of the horizon.

Its super-position is another proof of its horizontal movement, as well as its
comparatively modern age. The rocks over which it flowed on the south side of
the mountain are primitive in character, being composed of mica schist and
others of the granitic series, the former at the points of contacl having suffered
in texture and compactness from the heated mass.

Its breadth is very variable throughout its course, in no instance, I believe,
less than four hundred feet and often to one-fourth of a mile. It seems to have
followed the course of a stream, filling its bed and banks, and to have flowed in
this course for the entire length that it is now observable upon the surface.

To the east of Columbia it crosses the present bed of the Stanislaus at two
different places, but what its position beyond this may be is at present unknown
with any degree of certainty. From the relative position of the Stanislaus at
the present time the evidences are almost demonstrative, that at the period of its
occurrence it flowed into and down the former bed of this river, displacing the
latter and filling up the space between its banks. The depth of the banks to
the bed may be pretty accurately measured by the thickness of the basalt above
that bed, which is about one hundred feet on a general average.

Subsequent to the deposition of these rocks the drift-banks of the stream have
been gradually removed, which has left the basalt in relief above them. A

21

portion of the ancient banks still remain on the south side of the mountain for
about one mile in length, and this is found to rest on the same micaceous schist
that is found at various points, as before mentioned. The drift is composed of
the debris of primitive rocks alone.

Within the outcropping mica schist on the flanks of the mountain and beneath
the basaltic mass, is found a very modern aqueous deposit, consisting of clay,
sands, fine and coarse gravels, similar in all respects to present river beds.
Among these are found the shells of alosmodon and a few small univalves, the
casts of which closely resemble some forms of physa — present inhabitants of the
adjoining streams. Of the former shell I am unable to distinguish it from alas-
modon yubaensis, a shell found in all our streams throughout the State at the
present time.

The fine clays contain an abundance of leaves of present existing genera and
species, most of them may be found in the adjacent country distributed along
the banks of the streams and in the deep ravines adjoining.

The " bed rock " is primitive, like the present baiik of the Stanislaus to the
north, being composed of mica schist and the older trappean group. Time is yet
required to determine with certainty the period to which this basaltic overflow
belongs, but from present appearances it seems improbable that it should extend
beyond the pliocene.

The examination of the fossils, made by Messrs. Evans, Shumard and Newb.erg,
about the Dalles, and other parts of Oregon and Washington Territories, may
throw some light upon this subject, as these gentlemen have observed the overflow
of basalt in those regions over the modern aqueous deposits to an extent that
would make " Table Mountain " a mere secondary affair.

The gravel arid clay beds of this locality have been found to prove extremely
rich in placer gold, but like all. new discoveries of this kind, much that has been
said is only conjectural.

There is good reason to believe that the range will furnish a large amount of
gold, from one extremity to the other, as it flows over a deposit which has been
derived from the primitive rocks exclusively, from which the greater portion of
the placer gold of this State has been set free.

Another reason that confirms this opinion is found in the fact, that the drift
deposits which lie beyond the western terminus of the Table Mountain, and
inferior to the same, are well charged with gold. They are likewise co-extensive
in an easterly direction with the mountain, so far as that limit is at present known.

This being the case it will require no dangerous tension of the mind to believe
that for many years hence, this district will yield ample rewards for labor, though
in a minor degree to what either anticipation or report would make it.

This mountain has been often blended with the table lands that skirt the base
of the Sierra Nevada in many places. There is but one locality with which I am
acquainted, that bears any resemblance to it, and that is in the vicinity of Pose
Creek on the Upper Tulare. The relationship here existing is found in the
character and age of the material, but not in the forms that it assumes; for in the
latter case the overflowed matter is mostly scoriaceous and massive, and not
prismatic.

The table lands (called Table Mountains since the opening of the locality at
Sonora) of other parts of the State are the remains of the ancient shores of the
ocean, and are of marine origin exclusively, having their origin from aqueous
causes alone, not from igneous. The peculiarities of form seen from a distance,
has been the cause of confounding them together.

Beneath the basaltic rocks of the Table Mountain, and below the fresh water
deposits that immediately succeed the latter, are found a series of marine tertiary
rock, composed of sand-stone, conglomerate and slates regularly stratified, and

22

Laving a westerly dip of eight or ten degrees. These aqueous rocks can be
studied to the best advantage about two miles east of Dentville, on the Stanislaus
River. At the locality known as " Two Mile Bar " these rocks are cut through
by the river, exposing their surface and those of the basaltic columns above them,
to the hight of more than two hundred feet above the primitive rocks on which
they rest, and which are exposed for a hight above the surface of the stream for
about sixty feet more.

The scenery at this place is romantic in the extreme, but not more so perhaps
than at other points further up.

Above all the aqueous rocks the basalt appears in the columnar form, at places
standing vertical, and again the columns lying horizontal resting upon the vertical
masses. The mural walls of the aqueous rocks with the above, and their hight
above the river, give to the district a wild, rugged, and at the same time, a fan
ciful aspect. About three miles above Dentville an adit was driven into the
aqueous rocks, by Judge Stakes and others associated with him, in which several
marine shells were met with. This work is still going on, and during the coining
season will test most fully the character of these rocks.

Gold was met with in the course of the works, but not in sufficient amount to
justify them in stopping at this point for its extraction.

This is but another instance corroborative of my former statements, of the
existence of this metal in the marine sand-stones and conglomerates that skirt
almost the entire line of the base of the Sierra Nevada, and is but an analogue of
the present existing state of things along 'our coast line, from Oregon southward.
We need no better evidence of this than the beach washings along that line at
the present period.

CARBONIFEROUS ROCKS OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICTS.

In my report of last year, attention was called to the existence of a group of
rocks belonging to the coal measures. The line of country traveled over in this
part of the State, has developed their existence as far north as the Shasta and
Yreka Valleys, and westward of the points at which they were noticed last year,
as far as the head of the Cottonwood. Those groups of the above district are
much superior in position to those observed in 1854, and contain a series of fos
sils of higher organization. They are consequently further removed from the
coal beds than those rocks situated between the Pitt River and Cow Creek, east
of the Sacramento. On the Cottonwood, small seams of a highly bituminous
coal is frequently met with, but as yet no vein of sufficient power to warrant
mining operations for this mineral.

In the district east of the river two additional veins have been found, neither
of which have yet been opened to any considerable extent. Within the ensuing
year this section will be more thoroughly explored for this mineral, as its exten
sion southward from Cow Creek we are now pretty certain is not less than thirty
miles.

SALINES OF THE UPPER SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

Among the table lands of this part of the State, are found an extensive group
of sedimentary rocks belonging to the lower Eocene period, abundant in marine
fossil remains. In the vicinity of Antelope Creek, extensive saline deposits are
met with, which, if properly worked, will furnish large supplies of salt for com
mercial purposes. Associated with the latter mineral in solution, and as an efflo
rescence on the rocks and earth, is found the tincal, which, when purified, forms

23

the borax of commerce, so much used in all metallurgical operations as a flux for
the purification and smelting of metals and metallic ores. The capacity of this
district for the production of this mineral alone, is equal to eight hundred tuns
per annum.

Considering the very few localities which furnish this useful agent in sufficient
quantities to make it an object for commercial purposes, this locality, in this State,
assumes an important position, and adds another to the many of our valuable
resources. The day is not far distant when this mineral will be found to form an
extensive article of export to foreign markets, and to compete with the produce of
Tuscany, China and Thibet, at present the three main sources of supply for the
world. It is found here in the form of bi-borate of soda, boracic acid, borate of
lime, and of magnesia. In addition to this, iodine and bromine occur at the same
locality.

The springs which furnish these materials are abundant, and thus far have
proved highly efficacious as medicated waters, a great variety being found in the
immediate vicinity. Sulphurated hydrogen gas is found in some of these springs,
forming an active medicinal agent, in the form of sulphur springs, a few of which
are thermal.

From all the springs heavy volumes of carbureted hydrogen is evolved, which
burns freely, and with a clear flame. This latter is furnished in sufficient quanti
ty to serve the purpose of evaporating the waters, for the manufacture of salt
and borax.

The elimination of this inflammable gas in such large quantities, and the occur
rence of the coal-bearing rocks and occasional seams of coal a few miles to the
north is, to say the least, a strong inducement to believe that a bed of bituminous
coal underlies this entire section of the State. The evidences are sufficiently
strong to warrant an exploration to determine this point by boring. It is not
probable that a depth to exceed three hundred and fifty feet would be necessary
to determine the fact. •

MAMMOTH MINE SEVENTY-SIX, JAMISON CREEK.

This mine is situated on Jamison Creek, in the County of Plumas. It was loca
ted and opened in 1851. The lode is heavy, and belongs to the primitive ranges,
situated near the eastern line of the State, and near the main ridge of the Sierra
Nevada.

It is beyond doubt but a continuation of that line of lodes on which the Ariel
Mine is located in the County of Sierra, eighteen miles southward of Downieville,
on the south branch of the North Yuba, and also that of the National Mine, on
the ridge of South Fork of the Yuba, in the County of Nevada, the Copper Hill
and German Bar Mines lying intermediate, and between the Middle Yuba and
Downieville.

In 1852 the company commenced work with a set of arastras, and have con
tinued with the same until the present year. During 1855 they have erected a
Chili Mill at an expense of $18,000, employing water as a motive, with a capacity
equal to thirty horse power. The expense of opening the mine, with the improve
ments prior to 1855, amounts in the aggregate to a little less than $10,000, mak
ing the cash capital invested equal to $28,000 at the present time.

The present condition of the mine is as follows : A main shaft has been driven
near the center of the lode, to the depth of seventy feet, and ten feet in diameter,
occupying the power of the lode only ; an adit two hundred and sixty feet in
length cutting the vein thirty feet below the bottom of the main shaft, (the adit
is five feet by six feet,) which will deliver the ores from the mine with greater

24

facility and quantity, than by the course heretofore pursued, and with a great
saving of expense.

An adit is to be connected with the reduction works by a train road. The adit
has been driven through the trap rock for a distance exceeding one hundred and
forty feet, at an expense of thirty dollars per foot.

On these large lodes, wherever they have been opened, we find the same gen
eral rule holding good that have been repeated previously, viz : that a very gen
eral increase in power is manifest the greater the depth attained.

In this mine the increase is eighteen inches in twelve fathoms, the vein at this
depth being twelve feet in power.

The Chili Mill reduces two and one-half tons per diem, the ore yielding thus
far an average of forty dollars per ton.

It will be seen from the above statement that this mine, as imperfectly worked
as it appears to have been by the slow process of the arastra, together with the
absolute amount of ore reduced, which amounts to seven hundred tons only, has
paid the entire outlay of capital in its opening, and to the present time the yield
being $28,000 with the contingent and incidental expenses.

RECAPITULATION.

Mine opened, 1851 ; erection of new reduction works, 1855 ; expense incurred
for same, $18,000.

Tuns of ore reduced per day, two and a half; average value of same, forty
dollars.

Depth of main shaft, seventy feet ; length of adit, two hundred and sixty feet.

Cost of adit, $5,320 ; cost of shaft, $1,260.

Strike of lode, N. 30° E. ; dip 40° W. ; power, twelve feet.

Walls of lode, talcose schist ; ores, pyriferous and gossan.

McGHEE, Director.

EXPERIMENTAL MINE, COLUMBIA, TUOLUMNE COUNTY.

This mine is situated about one and a half miles north of the town of Colum
bia, in the County of Tuolumne.

It was first located in 1852, and some little money and labor expended upon it
sufficient to fairly test the character of the vein.

From this time until the early part of 1854, little or no labor was bestowed in
developing the mine. During that year a company was organized with a small
capital, who proceeded to erect a mill and reduction works, driven by water, and
continued in operation until the failure of a sufficient supply of the motive power
compelled them to suspend their operations for the time being.

The capital invested in erecting their reduction works amounted to $3,602 ; and
at the end of a little more than four months, the mine yielded $16,150 from fif
teen hundred tons of ore, giving an average of a little more than ten dollars per
ton.

This, however, is but a preliminary movement to a larger operation, as the
aggregate yield was found to pay a large interest on the capital invested.

25

SPRING HILL MINE, AMADOR, AMADOR COUNTY.

Cash capital $18,000.

The Spring Hill Mine is situated on Amador Creek, about three-fourths of a
mile from the town, to the westward.

The lode comprising this mine was located in 1851, by Rice & Co., who com
menced operations on the vein in 1852.

It is from this year that the mine must take the date of its existence, for during
that period the first mining improvements were instituted.

From 1852 to the beginning of 1855, the lode was worked with variable suc
cess by the original owners.- This was attributable to the loose manner in which
the mechanical and engineering departments were conducted, and the lack of
application of those means that were available and most effective during that
period. Mechanical skill and a sad want of knowledge of the requirements of
mining engineering marked its progress for three years, at the end of which time
the mine was in a condition little better than valueless, and the motive power
nearly on a par with the subterranean workings. The whole appearance of the
property was that of a "present" interest only, and each department of its con
duction was but a reflection of the same image, too frequent still, even at this time.

The result of the above operation was the disposition of the property at a mere
song, a moiety of its true value, which took place in the latter part of 1854.

At this period a new company came in possession of the entire property by
purchase, and commenced the first improvements that partook of the character
of permanency in the slightest degree. Their first movement was to place the
mine in something like a safe working condition, which required a heavy outlay
of capital in addition to the purchase, they being obliged to repair the defects of
the workings of previous years. This done, they then commenced the extrac
tion of such ores only as could be removed without subsequent injury resulting
to the mine, and secured their excavations, as they proceeded, in a permanent
manner. In the course of these workings, from their directions and the relative
position of the older excavations, it became necessary to cut the latter, in order
that easy and efficient communication might be had with the reduction works, for
the transportation of the material of the lode; and in pursuing this course it was
not unfrequently that the old works, as they approached them, would give way,
from the total insufficiency of the artificial supports that were placed in them.

Thus, after encountering obstacles of the above character, the company have
succeeded in not only placing the mine in a safe and accessible condition, but have
also taken from the lode an amount of ore sufficient to meet their outlay in repairs
and other improvements, and a handsome profit on the capital investment.

Since its occupancy by the present company a new building has been erected
over the mill and wheel, and another for the accommodation of their men em
ployed, which is twenty-six by fifty-two feet, at an aggregate expense of $3,500.
The dead work consists in driving their upper adit one hundred and fifty feet, at
an expense of six dollars per foot, and the sinking of the eleven-fathom shaft at
its termination, at an expense of five dollars per foot, which in their aggregates
amount to $1,230 more.

The improvements on the mine for 1856, and which are in course of construc
tion by contract, are one adit of ninety feet, at seven dollars per foot. This adit
begins at the north shaft of the old workings and runs diagonally into the hill,
and when on the vein will afford a line of level about five hundred feet in length.
A new sixty-horse-power engine is in process of erection to replace the dilapidated
machinery now in use, and a heavy Chili mill in connection with the former, the
whole of which will be driven by a sixty-horse-power.

26

Statistics for 1855.

Number of men employed, 11.

Five miners at §60 per month : $300

One Stoker t 50

One Whim-tender 50

Two Battery-tenders at $60 per month 120

Two Engineers at $65 per month 130

One hundred and forty-four cords of Fuel at $5 per cord. . 720

Provisions 240

Incidentals v 240

$1,850

Average amount of ore reduced per month, 246 tuns; aggregate for nine
months, 2,221 tuns; average value per tun, $21 ; aggregate receipts, $46,000.

Aggregate deads and improvements $4,730

Average monthly expenses 1,850

AsfOTea*ate of expenses . 16,650

oo o Jr

Total expenses $23,230

Net balance over all expenses $22,770

CONDITION OF THE MINE.

Fathoms.

One Whim Shaft 19

One Air Shaft 19

One Air Shaft. . 11

Total Shafting 49

Feet

Lower Level at bottom of Whim Shaft 130

One Adit V 274

One Adit 30

Total Levels and Adits 434

Strike, north and south; dip, 68° east; power, nine feet. Ores, pyritous.

PACIFIC MINE, PLACERVILLE, EL DORADO COUNTY.

The ground occupied by the mine of this company was located in 1852, and
like many others of that period, had an existence only in the highly elated hopes
of those who found the lode. Until 1854 the ground remained unimproved,
when the present stockholders, becoming convinced of the value of the lode,
commenced operations by opening the vein through shafts and adits, and subse
quently by the erection of reduction works during the summer of the year.

The mine was continued in active operation from that time up to the present
without intermission, during the period in which water was obtainable, wliich is

their motive power. The absolute running time for the year (ending November,
1855) was nine months and twenty days.

The cash capital invested in the beginning of operations in 1854, was $11,000,
about $7,000 of which was expended in the erection of their mill, and the balance
in opening the lode and the construction of conveniences to convey their ores to
the reduction works.

The amount of work done upon the lode within the year, will perhaps convey
a better idea of the activity with which the work has been prosecuted than any
other means that could be adopted.

The lode has been opened and is in good workable condition for more than two
hundred feet and at an average depth of nearly sixteen fathoms for the above
length below the surface. Near the center of the lode one thirteen-fathom shaft
has been sunk and is used at the present for bringing the ores from the upper
galleries to the surface.

From the west side of the hill an adit has been driven to intersect the lode on
a line with the main shaft, and which cuts the lode at twenty fathoms from the
surface.

From the entrance of the adit to the reduction works a train road has been
carried on the side of the hill, about five hundred feet in length, which is now
used for the delivery of all the ores of the mine ; this has been constructed during
the past year at an outlay of $4,500.

During the month of December the company were engaged in erecting more
effective machinery for the purpose of amalgamation, at an expense of about
$3,500. This is a judicious movement, as it is most evident that a serious loss of
metal has been sustained during the past year's operations.

At the end of the year, terminating the 29th September, 1855, the company had
declared six dividends, above all current and incidental expenses, and above original
capital investment during the following months. The dividends are on forty-five
shares :

Per share. Net receipts.

March 31st $25 00 $1,125 00

May 26th 60 00 2,700 00

June 30th 100 00 4,500 00

July 28th 20 00 900 00

August 25th 40 00 1,800 00

Sept. 29th 25 00 1,125 00

The following is the statement of operations at this mine for the past year and
its present condition.

RECAPITULATION.

Tuns.

Amount of ore reduced per month 164

Aggregate for nine months 1,524

Average value per tun $25 00

Aggregate yield for 1,524 tuns . 39,778 61

Current monthly expenses 1,650 00

Aggregate of monthly expenses 14,850 00

Net profits 24,928 61

28

Fathoms.

Length of lower level 34

Upper gallery, north 8

" " south 16

Main shaft 16

Main adit 31

Strike, north and south; dip, 58° east; power, 9 feet; dead work, $4,500.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LODE.

The lode is situated in talcose slate, the superior portions of both being much
decomposed and easily removed. A large amount of the upper portions of the
vein contains cavities holding free gold. At the depth of about forty feet the
vein becomes more compact and pyritous, having a slight ribbond appearance,
from a small quantity of gruphite being distributed through the seams. The
rock is thoroughly impregnated with thin, glistening scales of greenish and
whitish talc, the latter often covering the surfaces of fractures entirely, and the
latter containing microscopic particles of gold in considerable quantities; at times
the surfaces are well filled with fine spangles of gold visible to the naked eye.

This lode contains lead and molybdenum in small quantities, in «khe form of
sulphurets, at times distinct but most commonly combined in the same mineral.
Among the ferruginous sulphurets a small quantity of arsenic is noticeable, but
to no considerable extent.

This mine is situated in the corporate limits of the City of Placerville, and
immediately south of the center of the corporation.

EUREKA MINES, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY.

Cash capital invested, $32,000. The location of this mine was made in the
early part of 1852, since which time it has been actively worked up to the present
date. Among the early adventures in gold mining proper, the persons who com
pose this company were among the first who entered the field of research to de
velop and demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of this branch of industry
in this State.

Their first operations were cotemporaneous with the fe\v who launched on this
tide of speculation in the County of Nevada, and with others in the Counties of
Ainador (Calaveras) and Mariposa.

The difficulties encountered by these parties at the outset were such as to dis
hearten most of mankind, but a cool determination and prudence in the manage
ment of their affairs has enabled them ultimately to overcome the multitudinous
obstacles that opposed their way, and ride out safely the wild tornado of public
opinion that made its inception against them during the latter part of 1852 and
the beginning of 1853.

From the early part of the latter year the company progressed steadily in their
operations, and in the latter part of that year the following was the condition of
their mine :

Near the center of the lode which forms their property, they had sunk one shaft
to the depth of seven fathoms ; at the bottom of this shaft a level was carried
south one hundred and forty-three feet, and north ninety-five feet, making two
hundred and thirty-eight feet of levels at the close of that year.

During this year a heavy and long adit was commenced on the east side of the

29

hill, which was* driven through solid rock three hundred and seventy feet, and at
an expense of eighteen dollars per foot.

During the year 1854 the main shaft was carried to the depth of sixteen fath
oms, and an adit of one hundred feet driven on the west side of the hill, which
intersects the main shaft at the depth of seven fathoms, and the upper galleries at
the same point. The upper galleries were driven one hundred and fourteen feet
further south and seventy-five feet north.

At the bottom of the sixteen-fathom shaft' levels were driven north sixty feet
and south eighty-five feet, making one hundred and forty-five feet of levels, fifty-
four feet shafts and one hundred feet adits, on the lode and west side of the hill
during that year ; the train-track and adit on the east of the vein having been
completed to the length of nine hundred feet during the same period.

At the close of the year ending December 1, 1855, the main shaft had been
sunk four fathoms, and a level driven south ninety-four feet and another north to
the depth of thirty feet, and the long adit driven to the depth of five hundred and
thirty -five feet below the surface ; at this depth the vein carries a power of twelve
feet.

Prior to 1855 a portion of the lode only had been taken out, from the meager
character it presented — seven or eight feet being the maximum of the strength of
the lode used- for mill-work. But since the commencement of 1855 that position
of the vein formerly rejected has, at the depth of one hundred and thirty-two feet,
assumed sufficient value to warrant its extraction, and the result is, an increase of
one-third more ore in the same depth opened.

The ores now taken from the mine are one hundred and twelve feet below the
water line.

During the months of January and February the Directors declared three divi
dends of one hundred dollars per share. The mine is free from debt.

The limited capacity of the reduction works, and the increase in the power of
the lode, bears little relation to each other; and the company, in place of stopping
their present battery to erect one of greater power, purchased during the past
year an adjoining mill, with its water privileges, of nearly equal capacity to their
own, at an outlay of $6,000, and with an additional expense of $1,500, have put
the same in operation, thereby doubling their former capacity for reduction. Ex
penses in repairs on the reduction works for 1855, $1,200.

The scarcity of water in the creek from whence their power is derived, during
the past year, has been such that but six months full running has been made,
during which the average amount of ore reduced was fifty tuns per week. During
the dry season the average of reduction amounted to twenty ,tuns for the same
period of time.

The following statement will gire the comparative expenses in conducting the
operations of this mine for 1854 and 1855 :

Statistics for 1854.

Cash capita], $32,000.

4 Miners $400

2 Stokers 120

2 Battery Tenders 150

1 Carpenter 100

1 Blacksmith . 100

1 Horse Team , 216

1 Ox Team . • 192

Provisions, etc : •. 900

,. Incidentals 80

$2,258

30

Dead work on shaft and equipments, 54 feet, at $20 per foot .....' $1,080

Adit and train, 370 feet, at $18 per foot 4,660

West Adit, 100 feet, at $8 '

Aggregate monthly expenses for nine months 20,322

Aggregate receipts per month, for nine months, at $4,000 per month. . $36,000

Expenses 26,862

Balance . $9,138

Statistics for 1855.

4 Miners $280

2 Stokers 120

2 Battery Tenders 150

1 Carpenter 75

1 Blacksmith 75

1 Horse Team 216

1 Ox Team * 192

Provisions, etc 600

Incidentals.. 60

$1,768

Dead work on adit, 165 feet, at $7 per foot $1,155

Expenditures on Mine and Mill 13,298

Total ore reduced for 6 months, 1,296 tuns; do. do. for 6 months, 396 tuns
Aggregate Expenses 14,496

Total receipts 33,000

Total expenses 28,949

Balance $4,051

Balance to credit on purchase New Mill 6,000

The greater proportion of the latter has been expended in improvements and
liquidating liabilities.

The balance for 1855 is over and above all expenses and dividends for the year,
a very material decrease in the expenses of conducting the operations of the
mine from that of 1854, which is a general rule throughout the State.

The following recapitulation will show the condition of the subterranean works
on the lode :

RECAPITULATION.

Fathoms.

Depth Main Shaft . . 22

Feet.

Length Upper Level 230 •

" Middle " 145

" Lower " 124

Total length of Levels 499

31

Feet.

West Adit 100

East " 535

Tr ain Track. . . 430

Total length of Adit Tracks 1,065

Power of Lode, 12 feet; dip of Lode, 70° east. Strike, north and south.
Aggregate amount of ore reduced, 1855, 1,692 tons. Average value, $20.

KEYSTONE MINE, AMADOR, AMADOR COUNTY.

This mine, like that of the Eureka, was one of the pioneer operations of the
State. The mine and reduction works are situated but a short distance west of
the town of Amador, on a small tributary of Amador Creek.

The first permanent workings of this mine were commenced in the early part
of 1853, and though superficial in their character, were prosecuted with vigor for
a considerable part of that year. At the close of 1853, and in the early part of
the following year, the old workings were abandoned, from the insecurity of the
artificial supports used during the preceding period.

It was at this time that the necessity of more permanent supports for the exca
vations became apparent to the conductors of the mine, and during that year
they commenced their permanent structures in the underground operations, their
first movement being the cutting of a main shaft of sufficient capacity to afford
easy ingress and egress from the main adit to the lode below its level. During
1854 this shaft was driven to the depth of eight fathoms on the vein, and con
forming to its dip, and from the top to the bottom was timbered heavily with oak,
and the angles snugly tenoned and jointed, the ceiling being put in with heavy
planking, and closely squared. By this tedious and expensive process the mine
was safely secured from falling in, the 'upper part of it at least, a result which
must have ensued had the old system of working been persisted in. The old
works above the main adit were still in a weak condition, and began to present
many features of falling in, and which would have produced serious inconvenience
had they neglected to secure it in a proper manner.

An inclined shaft was accordingly commenced that would connect that sunk
from the end of the adit with the surface, in a direct line of inclination. This
was done during 1855, and the depth of that portion of the shaft above the adit
was seven fathoms.

This whim-shaft was cased with solid timber from top to bottom, and put in
with close joints, as it became necessary to use this heavy material in place of
planking, from the loose character of the surrounding ground. The ores are
now raised by a horse whim, through the line of shafting as described, and landed
at the* end of the main adit, from whence they are conveyed on train-ways to the
reduction works, about four hundred feet north of the entrance to the mine.

During 1855 the sinking on the lode in a line with the whim-shaft, has been
five fathoms, and from this depth the lower level has been driven one hundred
feet north, and south about twenty feet. The upper gallery has been driven each
way but twenty -five feet.

The lode at the depth of twenty-one fathoms, has a power of nine feet for one
hundred feet in length. The ores of this mine are highly pyritous, and strongly
impregnated with graphite, the latter mineral imparting at times a black, mottled
appearance to the ores, and at others a ribbond-like form, giving the idea of true
lumination.

32

At the depth of seventeen fathoms the ores lose the character of porosity
which in the superficial ores was a striking characteristic, the cavities containing
free gold. The walls of the lode are of a graphic slate, often impregnated with
arsenical crystals of iron, and the simple sulphuret of that metal.

During 1854 this company declared monthly dividends through the year of
$200 per share. The following statement will show the condition of the mine
and the relative expenses of working for 1854 and 1855 :

Statistics for 1854.

Number of men employed, eighteen.

Six Miners, per month $390

Two Engineers 180

Two Stokers 120

Two Battery Tenders 120

One Teamster 70

One Blacksmith 70

One Carpenter . . . . 70

Provisions 416

Incidentals 288

Eighty-five cords Wood per month 425

$2,149

Supplies, Repairs, etc $185

Dead Work and Improvements 6,181

Average ore reduced per month, 192 tuns — 2,204.

Average value per tun, $21 $46,284

Aggregate monthly expenses 25,780

" deads and improvements ' 6,368

Total receipts $46,284

Total expenses 32,148

Balance $14,136

Statistics for 1855.

Number of men employed, twenty.

Eight Miners - . $420

Two Engineers 150

Four Stokers 200

Two Battery Tenders 120

One Teamster 65

One Blacksmith 65

One Carpenter 65

One Whim Tender 70

Incidentals 200

Seventy-five cords Wood, at $4 50 336

Provisions * 400

$2,091

33

Dead work and repairs $'1,200

Ore reduced, 3,000 tuns.

Average value, $20 per tun $60,000

Aggregate monthly expenses 26,282

" Deads and Improvements 1,200

Total Receipts $60,000

Total Expenses 27,482

Balance , $32,518

During the month of March a dividend of five hundred and fifty dollars per
share was declared, since which period two others have been declared, the amount
of which is not ascertained.

The following recapitulation will show the amount of work performed upon the
mine :

RECAPITULATION.

Fathoms.

North Shaft 4

Main " 21

Total 25

Feet.

Upper Gallery 190

Middle " 200

Total , 390

One adit of 140 feet.

Strike, north and south ; dip, east. Power, nine feet.

UNION MINE, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY.

The Union Mine is situated in the town of Sutter, formerly known as Amador
No. 2.

This mine was located in 1852, though but little work was done upon the lode
during that year or the following. In 1854, an attempt was made to reach the
lode by driving an adit from the west side of the hill to the length of about three
hundred and fifty feet ; at this point the vein was tapped and worked with varia
ble success, but owing to the insecure manner of supporting the walls, and a
rather reckless method of working the lode, it became abandoned for the time
being in order to settle up the affairs of the concern.

The work during this period was performed under lease and contract — a most
disastrous course to pursue in gold mining in ttiis country. The result of the
operation was, that at the time the ninety-foot level on the south was completed,
the property was in worse condition and of less value, so far as those works were
concerned, than in the original state in which nature had placed it. In the latter
part of 1854, the company had decided upon a systematic plan of working, and
in the course of the past year have put that plan into execution.

The whole of the old works are abandoned for the present, and will not be used

34

for the extraction of ores until levels are driven at the bottom of the present main
shaft, when by stopping a winze between the upper and lower levels, and putting
the main adit in repairs, good ventilation and an easy delivery of the ores to the
surface will be made. .

With tl^is view, and plan before them, the company commenced their first per
manent operations in the early part of 1855 by 'driving a six-foot shaft in the lode
to the depth of twenty-seven fathoms. The shaft is heavily timbered and planked
from the top to the bottom, and is. separated in the center by a partition, on each
side of which a pair of train rails are laid for the purpose of guiding the " ribble
tubs " in which the ore is placed to be taken to the surface.

In all the mines of this portion of the State having inclined shafts, this system
is now adopted. Each tub when loaded will bring up about four hundred pounds
to a cargo.

At the bottom of the twenty-seven fathom shaft, two levels have been com
menced, and are driven north and south about thirty-five feet ; at the distance of
one hundred feet north of the main shaft, another shaft has been commenced and
carried to the depth of nine fathoms.

At twelve fathoms from the surface, and connecting with the whim shaft, two
galleries have been driven of ninety feet each ; the south gallery connects with
the end of the old adit of three hundred and fifty feet, and may be used for the
/transportation of ores at a future day.

At the bottom of the main shaft the lode has a power of twelve feet and
possesses all the characteristics heretofore mentioned of the lodes of 'this part of
the State, being more or less pyritous and streaked with graphite derived from
the investing walls of the lode.

On the east side of the lode a rare feature is noticeable for this system of veins,
and one wholly anomalous in this country. The ores are uniformly of a dark
color, with a tint of blue in every mine thus far opened; but the east side of the
lode of the Union carries a vein of pure white quartz, free from sulphurets or
other admixtures, but containing pure metallic gold imbedded in coarse nuggets.

The mine employs fifteen men at an average rate of seventy-five dollars per
month each, with board, and up to the present period has paid the entire expenses
of labor and all the incidentals pertaining to the operation for the year, from the
ores extracted during the opening of the mine.

RECAPITULATIONS OF WORKINGS.

Fathoms.

1 shaft of 27

1 " 9

Total ". 36

Feet.

2 galleries, 90 feet each 180

1 adit, 1854 350

Strike, north, 50° west; dip, 70° east. Power, 12 feet.

35

MEDIAN MINE, HERBERTVILLE, AMADOR COUNTY.

This mine was located in 1852, under the name of Lea & Johnson, and during
1853 a small amount of work was 4one upon it. In 1854 it passed into the
hands of the present parties, holding it by purchase. The latter part of the year
was spent in exploring the mine and the extraction of ore preparatory to reduc
tion. During the past year the company have erected their reduction works and
other necessary buildings, at an expense of $10,000; the power employed being
water. During the past year the lower south level has been driven ninety feet
and a shaft sunk to the depth of seventeen fathoms. From the bottom of this
shaft, which is used for hoisting the ore from the mine by a horse whim, a level
has been driven fifty feet, and the distance between levels is sixty feet.

At this mine the sulphuret of molybdenum occurs associated with lead, and
usually combined with the sulphuret of iron containing the gold.

The characters of the ores have changed materially at the depth of seventeen
fathoms. From the surface down to the depth of twelve fathoms the pyritous
minerals were much decomposed, and at times a considerable amount of red
oxide of iron impregnated the ore. At the present time the ores comport in
their dark blue color with those of the surrounding district, being highly charged
with pyrites which develops gold after calcination.

The shafts and levels on the east side of the hill are not used at present on
account of their distance from the reduction works, as a greater amount of
mineral is obtainable from the workings in close proximity to the mill, the power
of which latter is used to raise the ores from the mine, and a heavy item of
expense is thus saved in teaming.

The failure of water to supply power during the past summer, prevented the
reduction of ores beyond the period of four months, which constituted the entire
running of the mill for 1855; but this failure will probably be obviated the
coming year by the introduction of a greater amount of water from other sources.

The walls of the lode are of graphic slate on one side and an impure serpentine
rock on the other; this latter is highly pyritous, and in the adjoining Herbertville
Mine has proved highly auriferous. An examination of this rock will be found in
the table of analysis and assay.

No statistics can be given of receipts and expenses, from the short period that
the mine was reducing ore.

RECAPITULATION OF WORKINGS.

Feet.

1 adit 60

1 level 90

1 « 50

2 levels, 1854 '. 30 *

Whole amount levels and adit 230

Fathoms.

1 shaft 8

1 « 17

Whole amount shafts 25

Strike, north and south; dip, east 70°. Power, 9 feet.

•

36

BADGER MINE, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY.

The Badger Mine is situated about 1,000 feet south of the Eureka, and is a
continuation of the same lode. The reduction works belonging to the company
are situated on the creek, half a mile west of the town.

This mine was opened in 1854. During that year an adit was driven to the
length of three hundred and fifty feet, at an average cost of eight dollars per foot.

Between the latter part of that year and the month of December, 1855, a shaft
was sunk to the depth of twenty-nine fathoms on the lode, at an expense of six
teen dollars per foot, including timbers and equipments for a whim. At the depth
of twenty fathoms from the surface, a level has been carried north twenty feet,
and south to the same distance, and at two and a half fathoms below the latter
another level has been driven south of the main shaft to the same distance.

From the bottom of the twenty-ninth fathom shaft, a level has been driven
south sixty feet and north fifty feet. A winze is carried from the middle level to
the lower one, through the depth of five and a half fathoms from the end of the
south level, and the ground intervening between the end of the middle south
level is being removed in order to connect the two at the depth of sixty feet south
of the main shaft.

From the latter part of 1854 up to date, the company have erected their reduc
tion works and other necessary buildings at an expense of $12,000, and an addi
tional expense of $2,500 in the construction of roads and kilns for the conveyance
and calcination of their ores.

The character of the ores of this mine are precisely of the same character as
those of the Eureka, next adjoining on the north.

The average running time of the mine during 1855, amounts to six months
only, and a scanty supply of water part of the time.

The power of this lode has increased about thirty per cent, at the bottom of
the shaft over the size at the anterop. The ores are heavily charged with arsenic,
iron and molybdic sulphurets, in which free gold is disseminated.

The amount of assessments called on the opening of the mine and the erec
tion of their works, was five hundred dollars per share, of five shares, and the
balance of expenses for the period which they have been in operation, has been
derived entirely from the proceeds in the opening of the mine.

The mine has employed during the entire year twelve men, at an average of
sixty-five dollars per month and board.

The following statistics will show the general expenses incurred in getting into
operation :

Cost of Mill and Equipments $12,000

" Main Adit .... . Y . . ; 2,800

" Roads and Kilns 2,500

" Teaming 1,080 tuns ore 1,080

" Shaft, Timbers and Equipments 2,820

" Fuel 192

Total general expenses $21,392

The average amount of ore reduced per month, with full head of water, is one
hundred and eighty tuns. The aggregate for the six months was 1,080 tuns,
yielding $35,000, or nearly thirty-'three dollars per tun.

The condition of the subterranean condition of the mine will be found from the
following recapitulation :

RECAPITULATION.

Feet.

1 Adit 350

1 .Level, upper , 20

1 " " 20

1 " middle 20

1 " lower 60

1 " « 50

Total Levels . . 170

Fathoms.

1 Main Shaft ...... . .......... . ...... . .............. 29

1 Winze ........................................... 5-J-

Total Shafts

Strike, north and south ; dip, east 70°. Power, four feet. Working twenty-six
fathoms below water line.

HERBERTVILLE MINE, SUTTER, AMADOR COUNTY.

This mine has been alluded to in former reports, and is among the earliest that
were opened in this State. Its operations have continued almost uninterrupted
until during the past year. During this year but a small amount of ore has been
reduced, in consequence of the failure of water to supply the motive power, the
company having removed their engine on the erection of their large water-wheel
in the latter part of 1854.

This has proved a serious inconvenience, not only to this company but also the
Midian, adjoining, both of which were dependent on the water of an adjoining
canal to continue operations in reduction.

After the failure of the water the Director of the mine continued the sinking
of the two whim-shafts, and the driving of the levels between them. Little, there
fore, has been done other than to open the mine to a greater extent than formerlj
existed. This has been done at a heavy expense, and the small amount of ore re
duced has nearly met the liabilities incurred.

The condition of the mine at the close of 1854 was as follows:

The south shaft had been sunk to the depth of twenty-three and a half fathoms
and the north shaft to sixteen fathoms, with levels, uniting the shafts which are
distant from each other, one hundred and twenty feet, and extending beyond the
shafts the length of two hundred and eighty feet, inclusive.

The work this past year consists in the sinking of the south shaft to the depth
of thirty-six fathoms and the north shaft to thirty fathoms. From the bottom of
the thirty-six-fathom shaft, levels have been driven each way and between shafts
to the length of three hundred and twenty feet, the middle gallery to the length
of one hundred and eighty feet, and the upper gallery two hundred and thirty
feet; distance between levels sixty feet.

At this depth the ore maintains the same features as formerly, being highly py-
ritous.

38

RECAPITULATION.

Fathoms.

1 North Shaft. 30

1 South " 36

Total Shafts 66

Feet

Lower Level 320

Middle " 180

Upper " 230

Total levels 730

Power, 10 feet; dip, 68° E.; strike, N. 18° W.
Working, 28 fathoms below water line.

ROCKY BAR MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY.

The Rocky Bar Mining Company was organized and went into operation as a
gold mining company in the early part of 1852. The grounds belonging to this
company are situated on Massachusetts Hill and upon Gold Hill, in the town
above mentioned.

Owing to the lateness of the season at which they commenced operations, and
the sudden advent of the rains when but a small part of their adits and shafts
were completed, they were obliged to relinquish the working on Massachusetts
Hill for the balance of the season, or until the rains should cease, their works not
being in condition to afford sufficient drainage.

* The company, therefore, proceeded to purchase a group of claims on Gold Hill,
from which they commenced the extraction of ore, and its reduction by the ma
chinery which they had erected. The reduction continued until the month of
June, at which time the company settled up their affairs ; and it was found that,
notwithstanding the inordinate high price of labor and necessaries, that the com
pany had met the outlays, which amounted to $47,000.

This was accomplished in the face of every obstacle which the times in which
they operated presented ; and those acquainted with those early days are best
capable of judging what men engaged in this branch of employment had, as a
resultant, to encounter.

At the close of 1852 the condition of the workings on Massachusetts Hill were
as follows :

An adit had been driven two hundred feet, mostly through soft material, at an
expense of ten dollars per foot, and another below it, of the same length, through
hard trap rock, at an expense of $8,000.

In addition to the above, five shafts, averaging fifty-five feet in depth, were sunk,
at an expense of $500. On Gold Hill, two shafts of fifty feet each, at the same
cost as the above.

From the first part of 1853 up to the latter part of 1854 but little work was
done upon the mine, from some dissatisfaction of the stockholders abroad. At
this period the resumption of operations took place under a new Director, who
has proceeded to erect a system of working similar to that proposed in 1853, to
free the mine from water, which was the only impediment to progress at the time
the operations were relinquished. The present Director has erected a fourteen
horse-power engine near the summit of the hill and near the lode, and by the use

39

of heavy pumps succeeded in freeing the mine and sinking a whim-shaft in con
nection, that now affords easy communication and ample facilities for all the
underground operations that may be required.

The depth of the engine shaft is twenty fathoms, with a diameter of eleven
feet by six. It is well timbered and planked, and divided by partitions in such a
manner that no impediments can interfere with the working, caused by ingress or
egress and the many other incidents that occur in operations of this character.

From the bottom of the shaft, an adit level has been driven eastward two hun
dred and ten feet, and another westward one hundred and forty feet, each being
well timbered and ceiled, and the whole mechanical department is done in a strong
and workmanlike manner.

The amount expended in dead work, in the re-opening of this mine, inclusive
of the engine, has amounted to $25,000, and the enhancement in value to the
property is more than double that sum. In the month of December little more
than 1,000 tuns of ore had been removed and reduced since the lode had been
reached, and it is to be regretted that with the prospects before them, there
appeared a disposition among some of the stockholders to withhold the necessary
means that would place their property on a stable foundation and valuable
source of profit for many years to come. There requires an outlay at the present
time of a sum not less than $23,000, to put that mine in what would be consid
ered a safe and good condition for future operations. The pump shaft should be
carried to a depth of not less than thirty-six fathoms, in order to be able to
remove the ore on the lode to advantage, and not subject themselves to the neces
sity of skinning where the lode is at any moment liable to become pinched, from
its loose and decomposed character. There is more of irregularity in lodes where
much decomposition of their mineral constituents has occurred, and more liability
of nipping out in such cases, and should such an accident occur in any mine, it
will frequently cost a greater sum to obtain it again than it would to have sunk to
the firm rock, inclosing it in the first place at a greater depth.

Another improvement at this mine is most obviously required. This is the
erection of their own reduction works ; nearly one-third of the amount that
would be required to erect a battery of sufficient capacity, and the necessary
equipments, has been expended during the three months that they had been redu
cing ores, or up to the middle of December.

It is to be hoped that the proprietors of this mine may not be blind to their
own interests to that extent as to allow so valuable a mine as they evidently pos
sess, to remain a second-rate affair, when such fair prospects of large returns are
manifest as in the lode which constitutes their property. But it will be impossi
ble to make that mine what it ought to be, with so small an expenditure of that
which has been applied to its opening.

. No person in the slightest degree familiar with mining operations, can expect
that the bare opening of the mine will in all cases pay not only expenses but a
dividend on the investment, yet such seems to be the prevailing idea even at this
late day, with the experience of years before them to the contrary. And it cer
tainly seems singular our friends abroad should expect- such a thing, as they man
ifestly do under the circumstances.

Those who will examine this mine, and the work that has been performed upon
it in its re-opening, cannot but conclude that the money has been judiciously
expended, and the only thing to regret is, that a sufficient amount was not invested
at once to do the work which is absolutely necessary.

*The following statistics will show the present condition of this mine, its
expenses and receipts :

40

Number of men employed, thirty-four.

20 Miners, at $4 per day $1,920

6 Stokers, at $3 per day 432

2 Engineers, at $125 per month 250

2 Whim Tenders, $100 per month 200

1 Blacksmith, $100 per month 100

1 Carpenter, $100 per month 100

2 Carmen, $80 per month 160

• Incidentals 200

$3,362

Aggregate amount of ore reduced in three months, 1,000 tuns. Aver
age value, $40 per tun $40,000

Cost of reduction, at $6 per tun 6,000

Length of East Adit, 210 feet, cost $5 50 per foot 1,155

" West Adit, 140 feet, " « ' 740

Depth of engine shaft, 20 fathoms.

Aggregate expenses on mine for three months $10,086

Aggregate of dead work, and value of engine since re-opening 25,000

Aggregate receipts $40,000

Whole amount Adit Levels, 350 feet.
" Shafts, 20 fathoms.

Working eighty feet below water line, pump discharges 260 gallons per min
ute.

BOSTON MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY.

This mine is at present owned by a French company. No general history of
the mine was obtained. The following are their statistics for 1854 and 1855 as
nearly as they could be obtained :

Statistics for 1854.

Number of men employed, nine.

4 miners, $5 per day $480

2 engineers, $160 per month . , • 320

1 battery tender 120

21 cords wood per day, $4 50 264

2 stokers 160

Incidentals . , 280

$1,624
Amount of ore reduced per day, 13 tuns ; average value $15.

Aggregate receipts for 9 months $36,630

expenses 14,616

Balance in favor $22,014

41

Statistics for 1855.

4 miners $384

2 engineers 200

1 battery tender - 100

2J cords wood per day, $3 50 192

2 stokers 160

Incidentals 200

$1,236
Ore reduced per month, 338 tuns ; average value $15. . . $4,010

Aggregate receipts for 8 months $32,560

" expenses " 9,888

Balance in favor $22,672

The workings of this mine thus far have been confined mostly to the surface.
No considerable depth has as yet been attained upon the lode. The affairs of
the company appear to be managed in a prudent and economical manner. Their
machinery is light but effective for its weight.

OSBORN HILL MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY.

The Osborn Hill Mine and that of the Lawrence Hill, adjoining, and which is
the property of one company, are situated about two miles east of the town. The
reduction works of the company are situated on Wolf Creek, near the middle of
the village. The mine was one of the earliest that was opened in the State, and
has continued in active operation since the early part of 1853. As was the usual
case with most of the veins that were worked during that period, this mine, like
others, was worked without much system until the latter part of 1853, when the
company adopted a much more systematic course than had been N previously
observed.

During 1853 the following work was done upon the lode of Osborn Hill : An
adit was driven to the intersection of the vein on one side, to the length of one
hundred and ninety feet. At the contact the lode was found to have a dip of
twenty-seven degrees. From the termination of the adit two levels were carried
to the length of one hundred and twenty feet each, and one winze sunk to the
depth of twenty-five feet. At the bottom of the four-fathom winze the lode had
acquired an angle of forty-one degrees. Subsequent to this another adit was
commenced fifty feet below the former and carried to the length of one hundred
and twenty-five feet, the last fifty feet of which was carried into the green-stone
trap, which was very hard and compact.

From the very heavy expenses attending the driving in this rock and the great
distance that it would be necessary to carry it, the enterprise was abandoned.

At this time there was considerable water in the mine, and as the season
advanced it was judged most prudent to abandon this part of the lode for the
present and attack it at a more advantageous point, with the exception of the
extraction of such ores as were available above the points of drainage. Accord
ingly in 1854 the lode was opened on Lawrence Hill some six hundred feet to

6

42

the north of the old workings. On this hill the company put in what may be
considered their first permanent workings.

On this hill they commenced and carried down a large whim shaft to the depth
of nineteen fathoms. From the bottom of this shaft a level was carried north
about one hundred and sixty feet and south one hundred and thirty feet. These
two levels laid out a heavy bed of good ore two hundred and ninety feet in length.

The advantage of this deep whim shaft will become apparent when it is stated,
that it cuts the lode fourteen fathoms below the lowest point worked in the old
operations of 1853, and for a length of six hundred feet will drain that part of
the mine, thus affording an opportunity to extract that mass of ore at any future
day. During 1855 the works have been continued in this part of the mine. The
north level is carried to the length of two hundred feet, and the south level to
one hundred and sixty feet. On the north level two winzes have been sunk to
the depth of five fathoms, and on the south level one winze to the same depth.
A breast of fifty feet has been carried down to the depth of six fathoms below
the winzes. The lode is now opened and in condition for drainage to the depth
of twenty fathoms below the old workings and with which the vein is continuous,
and will keep the mine clear of water to the depth of thirty-nine fathoms for the
length of eight hundred feet south. The engine now discharges the water from
the main shaft, and with its lateral attachments, to the depth of one hundred and
forty-two feet.

The cost of sinking the engine shaft was thirty-three dollars per foot, and in
fact the best investment ever made upon the mine. They are now working sixty-
eight feet below the water line on this part of the lode.

The following statistics will show the comparative expenses of working during
1854 and 1855 :

Statistics for 1854.

20 Miners, $80 per month $1,600

2 Engineers, $112 " 225

2 Battery Tenders 150

5 Stokers 250

2 Shaft Tenders 200

1 Blacksmith 75

1 Carpenter 75

2| cords wood per day, at $4 50 240

Teaming 900

Total $3,715

Dead work on engine shaft at $33 per foot $3,828

Average amount ore reduced per month, tuns 520

Average yield per tun 29

Average yield per month 14,880

Aggregate yield for 7 months $104,160

Aggregate expenses for 12 months 48,408

Balance in favor $55,752

43

Statistics for 1855.

18 Miners, at $75 per month $1,350

2 Engineers at mill 200

2 " at mine 160

2 Battery Tenders 120

2 Shaft " 120

3 Stokers 150

1 Carpenter 65

1 Blacksmith 65

2| cords wood, at $3 156

Teaming, $20 per day 480

Total $2,866

Engine and dead work for mine $10,000

Amount ore reduced per month, tuns '. 520

Average value per tun $25

Aggregate receipts for 6 months $78,000

Aggregate expenses for 12 months 44,828

Balance in favor $33,172

RECAPITULATION OF WORKINGS.

For 1853.

Feet

1 Adit 190

1 " 125

Total Adits 215

2 Levels, 120 feet each 240

1 Winze, 5 fathoms ; 6 Shafts, 240 feet.

For 1854.

Fathoms.

1 Whim Shaft 19

Feet.

1 Level, north 160

1 " south.. 130

Total Levels.. 290

44

For 1855.

1 Level, north 40

1 " south 30

Total Levels 70

Fathoms.

3 Winzes, 5 fathoms each 15

1 Breast 6

It should be borne in mind, that during those periods in which improvements
are going on, the companies are obliged to retain their men at ruling rates,
though no ores are reduced in the interim. This frequently subjects them to
heavy expenses, as in the case before us, and also with most of the other mines in
the State who 'date their opening in 1852 and 1853.

The ores of this mine still retain'their peculiar characteristics as in the preced
ing year ; the arsenical sulphurets predominating.

EMPIRE MINE, GRASS VALLEY, NEVADA COUNTY.

The reductions of this company are situated in the town of Grass Valley.

The lodes, which constitute this mine, are situated one upon Ophir Hill and
another upon the hill known as the Ben Franklin, and about one and a half miles
east of the town.

The company commenced its operation in 1852, and have continued almost
uninteruptedly since .that year, or more particularly so from the early part of
1853.

Most of the workings during 1853 were of the superficial character that was
so general throughout the State in this department of mining, owing to the then
prevailing idea that was promulgated by pretenders, that the lodes would, in all
probability, give out at small depths below the surface.

In the latter part of 1854, the company, like their neighbors of Osborn Hill,
commenced their first permanent improvements. This was done by sinking a
large whim shaft to the depth of seventeen fathoms, and the driving of a series
of adits and levels from the bottom of the shaft.

The opening consisted in driving what are known as the east and west levels,
which are one hundred and twenty feet apart.

The west level was driven north of the main shaft three hundred and twenty
feet, and south of the same one hundred and forty feet ; and the east level cor
responding to the former.

Between the levels and south of the shaft two winzes of one hundred and
twenty feet each were driven, and north of the shaft another winze of the same
length and which extended east of the east level sixty feet, connecting with
another smaller level which had been driven to the length of ninety feet ; a winze,
one hundred and eighty feet was also carried to the depth of thirty-five feet
between the east and west galleries, and was subsequently carried entirely
through to the depth of one hundred and twenty feet.

The mine was, therefore, divided into six compartments of about one hundred
feet square, and all connected directly with the main shaft, affording easy com
munication with the surface and the advantage of uninterrupted workings in all
parts of the mine.

45

During 1855, a large proportion of this ore was sloped out and reduced, and
at the time I visited the mine the company had commenced opening another
level one hundred and seven feet west of the engine shaft, and had made a
cross-cut seventy-six feet in length.

On the Ben Franklin lode an adit had been driven one hundred and seventy
feet, at which point the vein was cut, and a level was being driven to the south,
which, in December, had attained the length of thirty-five feet. A considerable
body of ore had been delivered to the surface, having many of the characteristics
of Ophir Hill.

The character of the ores of this lode are such, that the gold which it contains,
is in a free state, owing to the extensive decomposition of the pyritous elements
originally contained within it. There are some portions, however, which require
calcination, in order to liberate the metal. The depth of seventeen fathoms has
not been sufficient to produce a solid wall to the lode, though all the mines which
have opened in this vicinity have presented this feature usually at about half that
depth.

From the position of the green-stone, it is highly probable that a few feet below
their present workings, this rock will be met, as in the adjacent country.

The following statistics will give the operations of this mine for 1854 and 1855 :

Statistics for 1854.

Number of men employed, thirty-six.

20 Miners, $5 per day $2,400

6 Stokers, $4 u 576

2 Engineers, mine 200

2 " mill.... 260

2 Battery Tenders 180

2 Shaft Stokers 120

1 Amalgamator 1 30

1 Carpenter 130

1 Blacksmith 130

4 cords Wood per day, $4 50 per cord 432

Teaming, $25 per day : 600

Total $5,158

Sinking Engine Shaft 1,500

Aggregate expenses for 10 months $51,580

Dead work . 1,500

Total expenses $53,080

Aggregate ore reduced, 5,200 tuns.

Aggregate value ore reduced. 130,000

Balance in. favor $76,120

46

Statistics for 1855.

Number of men employed, thirty-eight.

21 Miners, at $4 per day $2,184

6 Stokers 432

2 Engineers, mine 180

2 " mill 200

2 Battery Tenders 180

2 Shaft Stokers » . . . 120

1 Amalgamator 100

1 Carpenter 100

1 Blacksmith 100

4 cords Wood per day, $3 per cord 288

Teaming 500

Incidentals . 500

Total $4,884

Aggregate expenses for 9 months $43,884

Dead work 2,000

Total expenses $45,884

Aggregate ore reduced, 4,680 tuns.

*" Aggregate value, at $25 per tun 116,000

Balance in favor $70,000

In regard to the figures given, touching the valuation of ores not only of this
mine but those of several others, I will state that I am fully aware that they are
actually below what they have averaged for months consecutively ; and in these
statements I prefer to err by being below the absolute yield than to commit an
error in being above their value.

My object and aim in these statements has been to place the results of these
adventures before the public in such a form as will have a tendency to convey a
more lucid idea of the probabilities of success or failure in this branch of employ
ment. In giving these figures, it may be that I have overstepped the bounds of
prudence, and perhaps, to some extent, the confidence of those who have from
time to time furnished me with the statistics of their operations ; and if so, my
only apology for so doing is, that we have arrived at that period in our history
when it has become incumbent upon us to demonstrate the practicability or im
practicability of operations of this kind within this State, and to divest the busi
ness, as much as possible, of either the suspicion that rests upon it, arising from
the precedents of gold mining in other States and countries, or, the surmises of suc
cess or failure, by which it is at present encompassed.

Original capital paid in (cash) $32,000

Nominal capital 600,000

Month of August, one dividend on nominal capital, 1 per cent.

" September, " " " £ "

. " October, ' « " " i "

HELVETIA AND LAFAYETTE MINE, LAFAYETTE HILL, GRASS VAL
LEY, NEVADA COUNTY.

The above mine was located in 1851, and soon after its location the company
commenced operations in the opening of their lode. It was not, however, until
the early part of 1852 that any considerable amount of excavation was made; and
it is from this period that the mine should date its beginning.

During the general crash that befel most of the gold mines in that year, this
company pursued a uniform and continued course of working throughout the
panic, and carried their operations through, almost uninterrupted, up to the pres
ent date. It is therefore one of the oldest established mines in the State, and
ranks one of the first among the pioneers of gold mining in California.

From the first opening of the lode on Lafayette Hill, up to the close of 1855,
the reduction works of the mine were situated nearly two miles from their vein ;
they have, consequently, been subjected to a heavy expense in transporting their
ores to the mill. During 1855 they have erected a new and capacious mill di
rectly upon their lode, the machinery of the reduction works doing nearly all the
labor of hoisting of ores, pumping, etc., that had previously been done by hand,
on the mine.

During the years 1852 and 1853 the workings on the lode at Lafayette Hill
consisted in the following amounts :

An adit was carried from the north side of the hill to the length of two hun
dred feet, and from the end of this a level was commenced and driven on the vein
to the length of eleven hundred feet, at an average depth of nine fathoms below
the surface. On the strike of the vein some eight shafts were sunk, four of which
were nine fathoms, three eleven fathoms, and one thirteen fathoms ; each of
these shafts were supplied with a hand-windlass, and from most of them ores were
delivered to the surface alternately.

After the level had been carried through, and a connection formed with the
surface by means of the adit, the shaft delivery of ores was abandoned, and the
mineral matter taken to the surface by the latter means. During 1854 all the
ores were taken out by this channel on train-ways laid for the purpose.

During 1854 the underground workings consisted in breasting down the lode
for nearly its entire length, which was carried to the depth of seven fathoms.
The walls of the lode being for the best nine fathoms, a very compact and hard
greenstone trap, the lode and walls requiring blasting every foot that was exca
vated.

During the year 1855 the company have' completed the erection of their new
mill, as above mentioned, and the subterranean workings to connect with it, are
as follows :

From the end of the adit a heavy cross-cut has been carried northward forty-
six feet, at an average expense of forty dollars per foot ; at the end of this a shaft
(engine shaft) six feet by eight, has been sunk to the depth of fifteen fathoms,
heavily timbered and planked throughout. The cross-cut connects with the 1,100
feet level, and thus easy and efficient communication is established with the sur
face of the mine throughout.

From the bottom of the engine shaft a level is to be driven during the coming
year, the end of which is to be equal to that of the main level of 1,100 feet, and
at its completion a body of ore will be placed in position to be sloped down, hav
ing an average depth of twenty-eight fathoms below the present line of workings.
This, it will be seen, will afford facilities for obtaining ore to any amount that may
be desired for at least three years to come.

The reduction of ores during the past year, have not been as extensive as for-

48 1 • .

merly, from the fact of heavy and costly. improvements going on, and the desire
to avoid the burdensome expense of the transportation of ores to such a long dis
tance. This expense will be entirely saved during the coming year, and will mate
rially increase the net receipts to an amount little short of $11,00.0.

The greatest depth attained in the lode, at the close of 1855, was twenty-four
fathoms ; at this point the vein carries a power of four feet. At this depth there
appears to be a material change in the mineral character of the ore from that of
the preceding year, with the exception, perhaps, of a slight increase of the arsen
ical sulphurets, but even this is questionable.

Lead and a small quantity of molybdenum, with occasional traces of zinc as
formerly, are among the products of the ore.

The following statistics will furnish some additional information of the opera
tions of this mine, and also its present working condition :

Statistics for 1854.

Number of men employed, twenty-four.

16 Miners, at $100 $1,600

2 Engineers, at $125 250

2 Battery Tenders, at $100 200

2 Stokers, at $75 150

1 Blacksmith 125

1 Carpenter 125

2£ cords Wood, at $4 50 299

Teaming, $30 per day 780

Incidentals 650

$3,529

Aggregate ore reduced in eight months, 4,160 tuns.

Average yield, at $18 per tun $74,880

Amount dead work 6,450

Total receipts $74,880

Total expenses 42,348

Balance $32,532

Statistics for 1855.

Number of men employed, forty-five.

34 Miners, at $80 ". $2,720

2 Engineers, at $125 250

2 Battery Tenders 200

4 Stokers, at $55 . 220

1 Blacksmith 125

1 Carpenter 125

2-|- cords Wood, at $3 195

Teaming, $30 per day 780

Incidentals 650

$5,265

49

Aggregate ore reduced in eight months, 4,000 tuns.

Average yield, at $25 per tun $100,000

Dead work on mine 30,000

Cost of Mill 20,000

Total receipts $100,000

Total expenses 92,120

Balance $7,880

Below will be found a recapitulation of the condition of the mine on the 1st of
January, 1856.

RECAPITULATION.

Feet.

1 adit „ 200

1 level 1,100

Fathoms.

4 shafts, each 9

3 " 11

1 " 13

1 engine shaft 15

1 air" shaft 12

, Total 60

Strike, east and west; dip, north 41°. Power, four feet.
Working fourteen fathoms below water line.

MOUNT WASHINGTON MINE, FRENCH GULCH, SHASTA COUNTY.

In the northern part of the State this company were pioneers in this branch of
industry. The mine and reduction works are situated on French Gulch, about
two miles from the town, and on the Shasta and Yreka Roads.

Simultaneous with many of the openings made in the early part of 1852, in
the middle and south part of the State, this company located and opened their
lode in this region. During that year and the subsequent one, a considerable
amount of loss was sustained in their operations, arising from the unsystematic
methods adopted in working. The lode was found to be valuable, and the utmost
confidence was reposed in its productions, but the necessity of a radical change in
the conduction of their operations became apparent to all concerned, in order to
insure success and profit from their property.

Accordingly a new directorship was the first result of the above conclusion,
and which saved the mine literally from total abandonment.

On the advent of the new administration the mine was heavily involved, but
by the month of September, 1853, the entire liabilities were discharged from the
proceeds of the mine, over and above expenses. During that year the company
drove an adit at an expense of $1,800, which was 130 feet in length, and opened
a line of level together with the adit, which amounted in their aggregate to
nearly 300 feet. During the latter part of 1853, and to the close of the year

50

ending August, 1854, they had expended in improvements on the mine, $1,080
additional, in placing the workings in a stable condition.

The employees upon the mine during the latter period averaged nine men for
each month during the year, at an aggregate expense of $1,360 per month, inclu
sive of board; and the incidental expenses amounted to about $175 per month
additional.

The receipts from the mine during the same period were as follows :

September, 1853 $7,341 20

October, " 5,012 00

November, " 4,508 58

December, " 3,262 80

January, 1854 5,246 40

February, " 4,170 20

March, " 6,777 20

April, " 5,420 45

May, " 3,280 40

June, " 2,618 80

July, " 2,594 40

August, " 3,000 00

$53,232 43

Cash capital $7,000

Expenses for year 16,320

Dead Work ' 2,880

Receipts $53,232 43

Expenses 19,200 00

Balance $34,032 43

From the above statement it will be observed, that from May to August there
is a diminution in the monthly receipts. This occurred from the failure of water
during those four months to that extent that not over one-half running time was
actually made, the water for the motive power being derived from the creek on
which the mine is situated.

The lode is situated superiorly in slates, and inferiorly in the trap rock. The
ores are peculiar, and differ somewhat in their general appearance from most of
the ores of other mines. The attendant metallic compounds are lead, molyb
denum, arsenic, iron, and a small quantity of copper, all in the form of sul-
phurets, but much more intimately blended than is usual in other parts of the
State. Associated with these is metallic gold, easily visible, but more commonly
invested by its associated minerals. It is probable that a considerable per cent-
age of silver abounds in these ores, though no absolute experiment has as yet
been instituted to ascertain that fact. The following is the present condition of
the mine and its workings, with expenditures and receipts for 1855 :

Since the latter part of 1854 an adit has been driven two hundred and twenty
feet, which cuts the main lode ninety feet from the surface. The upper level's
have been driven to the length of five hundred and twenty-two feet, and from the
western end of the latter an inclined shaft has been driven on the lode to the
depth of thirty-two fathoms. In the course of driving on the lower adit of two
hundred and fifty feet, several beds of ore amounting to twelve feet in thickness

.

51

were driven through, each containing gold, but insufficient to warrant its extrac
tion in preference to the main lode.

The train-way from the mouth of the mine to the reduction works has been
completed, and is three-fourths of a mile in length. It is carried over two inclines
of eight hundred and twenty-seven feet in length each, and has cost for its com
pletion, $5,400. The running time for 1855 has amounted to eight months only,
the balance of the year being lost from insufficiency of water for power in part,
and necessary improvements.

RECAPITULATION.

Number of men employed, 12.

3 Miners, $90 per month $270

2 Battery Tenders, $60 per month • 120

1 Superintendent, $150 per month 150

4 Stokers, 50 " 200

1 Blacksmith, 70 " 70

1 Cook, 60 " 60

Incidentals, 50 " 50

$920

Ore reduced per month, 117 tuns. Average value, $24 62 per tun.
Aggregate ore reduced for eight months, 936 tuns. Aggregate value, $22,132.

Dead Work $6,090

General Expenses 7,360

$13,450
Balance in favor $8,682

CONDITION OF MINE WORKS.

Feet

1 Level , 522

1 Level 222

1 Level . 97

Total Levels 841

Fathoms.

1 Shaft 30

1 Shaft 12

1 Shaft 23

Total Shafts 66

Depth below water line, twenty-two fathoms.

52

MARBLE SPRING MINE.

This mine is situated on a "branch of the North Fork of the Merced River, in
Mariposa County, and the highly metalliferous character of the quartz and the
uniformity of its yield in gold renders it one of the most interesting of the quartz
mines of California.

The ore is a grayish blue quartz, very hard and solid, containing large quanti
ties of sulphurets of iron, zinc and lead, the latter predominating. From ten to
twenty per cent, of the ore consists of sulphurets. The gold yielded is of a low
degree of fineness, not averaging over 790-1000, and giving so great a proportion
of silver, that taken in connection with the argentiferous galena produced and the
general appearance of the ore, it is not unlikely that the mine may, when more
extensively and deeply worked, prove to be a silver mine ; it now bears all the
appearance of what the Mexicans call oroche.

Thie mine was discovered and located in the summer or fall of 1851, by Silcott,
Bunyon, McPhane, Harvey, Humphries and Davenport, and by them sold to the
Empire State Quartz Mining Company. New claims have been located in con
tinuation of the same vein by the present proprietors, and it is now claimed by
them to the extent of about 1,760 yards.

The general course of the vein is nearly north and south, passing along the
back of a ridge of high hills, along whose base, Upon one side, flows the Marble
Spring Creek, and upon the other, the North Fork of the Merced.

The vein lies between trap rock upon the upper side and slate on the lower,
and all the ore is obtained by blasting. It stands at an angle of about fifty
degrees, and . has kept an average width of two to three feet, and increasing in
bieadth downward.

The advantageous position of the vein has rendered it unnecessary to sink
shafts. Four tunnels have been run in, each twenty to twenty-five feet perpen
dicular hight the one above the other, and starting at the base of the hill and
continuing upon and in the direction of the vein, northerly. Their respective
lengths, commencing at the lowermost, are three hundred and fifty, two hundred
and fifty, two hundred and one hundred feet. They have been opened up, one
into the other, and the trap rock taken from above the vein has been used to stow
away in the place of the quartz taken out, leaving the tunnels about six feet high
•and five feet wide, for the conveyance of the ore from the drifts. The ore is con
veyed in cars upon train ways from each tunnel direct to the mill, which stands
within one hundred yards of the mouth of the openings.

The total amount of ore taken out, to the commencement of the present work
ing season, has been 1,300 tuns,, the whole of which has been reduced without
selection, and has yielded $56,197 in gold, being an average of forty-three dollars
per tun of 2,000 pounds.

The ore is delivered in the mill at a cost of about five to six dollars per tun.
The works at the mines, in addition to the necessary out-buildings, smith-shops,
etc., at this time consists of a steam mill, having an engine of fifteen-horse power,
running ten stamps of five hundred and thirty pounds each, and capable of reduc
ing to a fine powder ten to fifteen tuns of crude ore per day of twenty hours.

The process of collecting the gold consists of blankets, Goddard's Amalgamat
ing Tubs, and lastly, a newly 'invented riffle box.

The fuel used is pine wood, of which great abundance is found in the imme
diate vicinity, and is deliveied at the mill for four to five dollars per cord.

The number of hands required and the wages paid are as follows :

53

Superintendent of Workmen, per month $100

" Amalgamating 150

First Engineer •. . 130

Second Engineer . 75

Carpenter 60

Teamster 50

2 Stamp Feeders, each $50 100

Cook 50

6 Miners, $80 each 480

$1,195

In addition to salaries, all the employees are boarded, which costs the establish
ment about twenty dollars per month for each man.

PITTSBURG MINE, NEAR NEVADA, NEVADA COUNTY.

This mine was located in the month of September, 1850, by the present pro
prietor, R. S. Whigham. After its location and during the following year, the
engine and appurtenances for reduction were manufactured for this mine in Pitts-
burg, and shipped in November of the same year.

On the 20th of June, 1852, the engines and batteries were erected and ready
for running, and during that month went into operation.

During the erection of the mill, house and machinery, a shaft had been sunk
on the vein to the depth of seven fathoms, and an adit driven two hundred and
sixty feet, which cut the lode at this point, at right angles to its strike ; a level
was then driven northward for two hundred and sixty feet, which gave the same
length of backs on the lode ready for excavation.

In addition to the above, a train-road was laid from the mouth of the adit to
the mill, a distance of five hundred and sixty feet.

From the month of June, 1852, to the end of the year (June, 1853,) the mine
was in active and constant operation, obtaining the ore exclusively from the Pitts-
burg lode, the yield of which varied from ten to fifty dollars per tun, the aver
age for the year being twenty-four dollars and ninety cents per ton. At this time
the mine was leased to the West Mariposa Quartz Mining Company for a period
of two years, their lease expiring on the 25th of June, 1855.

The operations of this company were under the principal superintendence of
S. M. Murry, the English company's agent, who, with his attaches, commenced
operations in their characteristic style, and closed out their labor department in
1854, with the exception of such as required the use of ink and paper only.

At the time this company took charge of the Pittsburg Mine it was well
opened, and in good working condition. They had driven an adit but a short
distance south of the former workings, when a peculiar idea seized the minds of
the Directors, that the lode would run out at some future time, if they persisted
in following its legitimate and well-defined course. Accordingly, an order was
issued to cease operations on the lode, and to drive in a direction at nearly right
angles to the strike of the vein, that they might strike it again at a point some
distance ahead, where the merest novice would see that such an event would be
a total impossibility, from the line of cutting adopted, and the distinct, well
marked course of the river.

At the point of the new workings they left a lode whose power was sixteen
inches, and had increased nearly four inches in twenty-seven feet on the line of
strike ; and after driving as directly as possible to the distance. of ninety-three feet

away from the vein, they arrived at the sage conclusion that the lode had run
out, and reported accordingly to the parties by whom they were employed.

In this case we hare one of those strange feats of nature, that are so remarka
bly rare in their occurrence that they are regarded as phenomena of great inter
est, and find a place in annals of science, to be handed down to posterity.

This was no other than an optical delusion on the one hand, and an extraordi
nary pre-vision on the other. For in the one case their optical powers would not
permit them to discern an eighteen-inch lode two hundred and sixty feet in length,
over which they were obliged to pass constantly in and out of the mine, and on
the other hand their mental powers were of sufficient strength to descry a lode
one hundred feet beneath the surface, and ninety-three feet from any point that
one could possibly exist.

The result of these operations was, that they had the effect of nearly ruining
one of the most valuable mines in the State, and at the expense of about $20,000
for their stockholders at home. This magnificent failure (to call it no worse
name,) of the foreign company, soon made the Pittsburg Mine a by-word
rather than anything else, and injured that property to an extent, that had it
been put under the hammer it is doubtful if the whole concern would have
brought the first cost of the engine, and a more sad mistake was never made than
the lease of this property under the circumstances.

There is no censure that is too severe for conduct like the above. On the 25th
of June, 1855, the proprietors again came in possession of the property by the
expiration of the lease, and at the time I visited the mine they had repaired their
machinery, and had commenced the reduction of ores again from the mine. The
period in which ore had been reduced from Pittsburg Hill was about two
months, and at no time had it yielded a less sum than twelve dollars per tun, and
ranging from that to forty-six dollars per tun, thus showing that the mine was
worked with its former success.

How is it that men unskilled in metallurgy and mining can succeed in this man
ner, and such universal defeat mark the progress of men making high pretensions
in those departments, who have been, and still are, engaged in the same branches
of industry in our midst ? I am not disposed to reproach or criminate where it
is not justly due, but at the same time I cannot permit some things to pass unno
ticed where a State is to be the sufferer, even though it may prejudice the private
interests of friends, acquaintances or individuals.

This subject is by no means exhausted. Much more might be said than here
committed, not only in relation to this, but other operations similar in character.
But I have no desire to drag personal conduct and management into a public
document, it is far more fitting for a private journal.

I have thus far seen no reason to retract one syllable from 'the remarks that
may be found on page Eighty-Four, Document No. Fourteen, Session of 1855, but
each additional feature that presents itself relating to this subject would only
place that language in a still stronger position.

The following statistics will show the operations of this mine for 1853, the full
running time being nine months, the period named would constitute at that time
the workings for one year.

Number of men employed, eighteen.

8 Miners, at $100 $800

4 men at Mill, $4 per day 416

1 Carman 50

1 Shaft Tender 60

1 Engineer 100

1 " 75

55

2 Battery Tenders, at $75 150

3 cords Wood per day 234

Incidentals 208

Total monthly expenses $2,093

Engine and Mill $30,000

4 Shafts 1,344

1 Adit 2,080

1 Level 3,120

1 Train Way 6,720

Total dead work $43,264

Aggregate ore reduced, 4,680 tuns. Average yield per tun $24 90.

Aggregate monthly expenses $18,937

receipts 112,320

Balance in favor 50,000

RECAPITULATION.

,

Fathoms.

4 Shafts 7

Feet.

1 Adit 260

1 Level 260

1 Train Road 560

Working three fathoms below water line.

This brief history and statistical matter of those mines, from which we have
the returns of their operations for the periods given, is sufficient to show the
healthy and stable condition of this branch of employment, and their yield is
fully sufficient to warrant all that I have said in former reports relating to their
intrinsic value. The rapid increase in the number of mines, during the past
three years, may also be taken as an evidence of success ; more particularly so
when it is known that this speeies of property does not appear as stocks either in
foreign or domestic markets.

Their rise and advancement, therefore, cannot be attributed to speculation, or
jobbing, at home more particularly, for here this property has not, as yet, divested
itself of those opprobriums that unprincipled speculators (who were more willing
to earn their living by any other means than legitimate labor,) on the one hand,
and the inconsiderate manner of investment and working on the other, attached
themselves, like deadly parasites, during the days of its comparative infancy.
But a kind Providence interposed, and soon produced a finale to their brilliant
career.

Unsupported by any of those extraneous influences usually brought to the sup
port of faltering mining property, they have lived beyond the possible reach of
further injury from the causes that have hung with so heavy a weight upon the
reputation and integrity of gold mining in California. It would be interesting
to review their past history in full, did time permit, for each mine would furnish

56

a goodly amount of valuable instruction of itself; but, as a condensed view will
serve our purpose equally well, and at the same time convey a clear idea of their
advancement and progress, this course will be pursued. I will thus state the
number of mines that could be considered in full operation from 1852 to the
close of 1855, a period of three years, the figures being the aggregate at the end
of each year.

In the beginning of 1852, the number of mines that continued to the close of
that year was fourteen. At the close of 1853, the number had increased to
thirty-nine. At the end of 1854, their numbers amounted to fifty-one. And at
the close of 1855, the total number is sixty-five.

In addition to the total for 1855, as above, there are thirteen companies open
ing their lodes, preparatory to the commencement of erecting reduction works
and the reduction of their ores. But as no reduction works are, as yet, erected,
they are not included as in actual operation.

I have pursued the uniform rule, never to consider a mine as having a legiti
mate existence until it has been in operation one full year in the reduction of
ores. For if it can sustain itself during that period, and prudently managed, it
is certain to do more than this subsequently, in this State.

The strict adherence to this rule has brought us to the above result, as regards
the number actually engaged, and which may be considered among the perma
nent things of the State. But had a departure from this rule been adopted, and
every little vein on which a mere scratch had been made, recorded as a mine in
operation, we should, if honest, have, been obliged to chronicle failures equally
numerous with those that occurred during the " great crash " in this business in
1852. The greater part of those failures were in mines of this character, and
many of them even worse than this, viz : failures from having no lode whatever.

Such operations are not legitimate mining, and it is a harsh rule to judge
legitimate operations by. To apply such a rule would be equally consistent with
the striking illustration of Mr. Everett, who, a short time since, in lecturing
before a public body, elucidated the comparative value of gold and the products
of agriculture, by which, through immense labor, he proved to his wondering and
delighted audience, that the product of that metal from the mines of this State,
for five years, amounting to nearly three hundred millions, did not equal in value
the entire products of agriculture of all, the States inhabited by our Atlantic
neighbors. If their aggregate had not been sufficient to have swamped us, in
this herculean estimate, he could have fallen back on the world at large, and the
wonder is that he did not do so.

It was to be hoped that the day had passed by, when we were to suffer such
prejudicial detraction from men of high character and education, but it seems
otherwise. In years gone by, men of small capacities indulged in such material
to astonish and delight. "Former precedent " of our capacities in the production of
gold was their guide, but that pedestal has slipped from beneath their feet, and
they are now silent. But the above comes from a higher source, and conveys
more meaning than floats upon its surface. What heinous act have we, as a
people, committed, that Atlantic savans should thus seize every opportunity to
detract from even the small amount of credit, which, on fitting occcasions, they
are willing to acknowledge is our due. It is not enough that we send them from
fifty to sixty millions per annum, for the material which each year they force
upon our markets, and furnish large sums for many of their internal improvements
to the prejudice of our own, but we must then be coolly told that the labor of
eighty-six thousand men does not equal that of the balance of the Union. And
would thus insinuate an idea, which their tongues would parch at, did they
attempt boldly to utter. I hope I may not have misconstrued the import of the
remarks alluded to, but I can place no other construction upon them.

57

In the appended tables will be found tlie aggregate product of eighteen mines,
for the years 1854 and 1855, presenting, in a condensed form, the results of
each ; and for the items from which these figures have been derived, the reader is
referred to the history of the individual views in the preceding pages.

From these returns, some approximate estimate may be made of the character
and importance of this branch of employment, and the position that we maintain
as a mining State, compared to one of the greatest mining nations on the globe.

In carefully reviewing the operations of the English, Welsh and Irish mines,
for forty-three years, and those of Cornwall and Devon, the close of 1847 pre
sents us with some interesting facts and figures relating to the product of those
mines, and by which we may form some estimate of the value of our own.

From the Welsh, Irish, and English, mines, there were raised and sold in
forty-three years the amount of 417,040 tuns of copper ores, being the product of
ninety-one mines for the above period. Upon this ore I place an average value of
fourteen pounds sterling per tun, being a higher sum than would be claimed for
those ores by those best acquainted with their value.

Their aggregate would therefore be equal to $29,192,800, giving an average
product for each year from the ninety-one mines of $681,730 per annum.

The product of one hundred and three mines of copper in Cornwall and Devon,
ending in 1847, amounted to 37,000 tuns, which, at the same price as the above,
gives us an aggregate of $13,076,015 as their value.

The total number of mines engaged, it will be seen, amounts to the number of
one hundred and ninety-four, the aggregate product of which in value, is $42,-
268,815.

This shows us an average per annum, from the total number of mines, of the
sum equal to $972,763.

During 1854 eleven of the gold mines of this State produced $777,790 ; and in
1855 eighteen mines produced the amount of $2,216,697, being an increase of
$1,438,907 over that of the preceding year. The aggregate product in value
from the total number of mines in two years being $3,016,951. Tims we find
that the mines of copper of the United Kingdom, and amounting to one hundred
and ninety-four in number, do not produce an annual aggregate in value equal to
eighteen mines of gold in our own State.

RECAPITULATION OF THE PRODUCT OF ENGLISH COPPER MINES.

91 Irish, Welsh and English Mines produced in forty -thrfce years

the value of $29,192,800

103 Mines of Cornwall and Devon, ending at same date 13,760,015

Total. $42,952,815

Aggregate and average product per annum $972,763

RECAPITULATION OF THE PRODUCT OF CALIFORNIA GOLD MINES.

11 Gold Mines of California produced in one year, 1854 $777,790

18 " " " " " 1855'.... 2,239,161

Total $3,016,951

Aggregate and average product per annum $1,625,520

8

58

Prior to this time speculation has been the principal guide in the estimates of
gold mining in this State, but at the present time we have something more tangi
ble to rest upon ; and it is to be hoped that hereafter those engaged in this
employment will not so stubbornly withhold statistical matter, so necessary in
forming opinions in regard to any branch of business whatever. We cannot
establish the integrity of our mines by any other means, and so long as it is with
held it must, and will, cast a shade of doubt on all such operations. It is a known
fact, that nearly every mine in active operation in 1854 declared at the end of the
year a handsome profit on investment and labor, yet it is impossible almost to
draw any facts from the proprietors of the greater portion of them.

I have in my possession at the present moment the receipts of eight additional
mines for 1855, obtained from parties indirectly interested, and on whom reliance
can be placed, but with whom it would be a breach of confidence to make public
the figures furnished. I have omitted their publication for this and an additional
reason, viz : that the expenses of these mines for the same period are unknown.
These figures would swell the amount already given for the past year to
$3,641,090.

Had we the full returns of the product of the fifty-two mines that have con
tinued in operation through the past year, it would be safe to presume that their
aggregate product would fall but little short of $6,000,000.

59

TABLE

Exhibiting the number of Mines from which returns have been received up
to 1854 and1S55J with their depth, in fathoms, below the water line and
amount of ores in tuns reduced ; together with the aggregate receipt from
the same.

NAMES.

Depth be
low water

1854.
Ores raised.

1855.
Ores raised.

1854.
Keceipts.

1855.
Eeceipts.

Badger

feet.
26

tuns.

tuns.
1 080

$35 000

Midian

12

840

9000

Union

21

1 000

18 000

Keystone . .

23

2 204

3 000

$52 000

60 000

Eureka

It

1 400

1 296

48 000

33000

Pacific

9

1 924

39000

Experimental « . .
Mammoth

4
3

1 095

1,000
1 095

12,000

28 000

Sprin(r Hill

It

900

2 074

20 000

46000

Herbertville . .

28

3 400

1 200

72 000

20 000

Rocky Bar

14

1 200

1 000

47 000

40 000

2 088

2 674

32 000

36 000

Osborn Hill

12

4 680

3 120

104 000

78 000

Empire

12

5 200

4 680

130 000

116000

Mt Washington

16

2 670

936

56 000

22 464

Helvetia & Lafayette .
Marble Springs
Pittsburg . .

14
9
3

4,160
To date.
3 000

4,000
4,320
1 000

100,000
112 000

74,000
56,197
19 000

Totals

.. . $777,790

$2,2*39,161

Total f

or 1854

and 1855

. 1

13,016.951.

EXAMINATION OF THE SULPHURETS OF IRON FROM QUARTZ
CONTAINING GOLD.

These sulphurets were taken from the tailings of mines in different parts of the
State, and examined, to detect any metallic gold that might be contained in them.

The process pursued to extract the metal is one that would be practicable on
the large scale, and was adopted as a means of illustrating the practical results
obtainable by those means if fully carried out, and long since suggested.

A detail of the process may not be amiss, though containing nothing that is
new.

The sulphurets were separated from the sand by washing, and dried. After
being thoroughly dried, they were introduced into a shallow porcelain capsule
and roasted at a clear red heat, being constantly stirred, and the heat continued
until all fumes of sulphur were dissipated. The mass at this time has the appear
ance of a coarse brownish-black powder, which, on being reduced to a fine pow
der, presented all the appearances of being entirely peroxydized, and in this state
was of an red iron-rust color.

It is to this condition that it is necessary to bring this mineral in order to
extract any gold by amalgamation that it may contain.

After thus reducing to a powder the calcined sulphuret, it was washed and
amalgamated, and from the amalgam the following results were obtained :

The quantity used being one ounce avordupois in each case.

Spring Hill Mine gave 6-Sths grain, equal to $270 per ton.

Mt. Washington Mine, " 3-16ths ' 135

Osborn Hill Mine, " 5-16ths * 225 ' "

Empire Mine, " l-8th ' 90 "

Eureka Mine, " 3-16ths * 135 "

Badger Mine, " l-9th ' 80 "

Lafayette and Helvetia Mine, 1-8 th " 90 u

The grain of gold in these cases is estimated at the value of three cents, its
fractional value being omitted.

The results are what may be expected in mill work, if properly conducted, and
do not represent the absolute amount of gold contained in these minerals. Chem
ical analysis will show a much greater amount of metal, and would have been
presented in connection with the above had it been completed in sufficient time
for this report.

I am well persuaded that if the above process had been conducted with that
strict care pursued in close and rigid investigations, that at least twenty-five per
cent,, would have been added to the above figures. My object was to present the
probable amount of gold that might be expected, from the reduction of those
minerals by a similar process on a large scale, and which are now rejected and
thrown away.

It would be difficult to estimate the amount of gold that is thus thrown away
each year from these mines, but a comparison of the average yield of the ores of
the mines of the State generally, will show that the amount is certainly very
large.

The yield of these sulphurets is about seven times greater than the produce in
the first instance in the majority of the cases, and they compose about twenty
per cent, of the ores as they come from the mine. This being the case, we cer-

61

tainly sustain a loss of at least two hundred per cent, above the aggregates that
are realized from the working of these ores, which would place the amount of
metal that escapes equal to six millions of dollars from the eighteen mines, whose
operations are reported for 1855.

I have repeatedly suggested to miners the saving and separation of these sul-
phurets, by those means that are used for the separation and saving of metallic
minerals less dense than the sulphurets of iron, and much less valuable. But, as
yet, no such means have been adopted, or, at least, but very imperfectly, and is
to be regretted that more attention is not bestowed upon this subject.

ANALYSIS OF SALINE WATERS FROM LICK SPRINGS, SHASTA CO.

The analysis of these waters was recently made by Dr. L. Lanswert, and the
results are as follows :

The quantity used for quantitative purposes was one gallon.

Solid matter contained in one gallon water —

Grains.

Chloride Sodium, (common salt) 1,168 • 0

Sulphate Soda 104 • 0

Borate Soda 9*6

Borate Lime 12 • 8

Proto Sulph. Iron | 270 •()

Sulphate Lime, Alumina and Silica j

Loss 35*6

Total grains per gallon 1,600 • 0

In addition to the above, considerable quantities of the boracalcite of hazes is
found upon the surface and on the rocks adjoining.

These springs yield about twelve gallons water per minute, or an amount equal
to 17,280 gallons per day.

From the analysis we find that at the present time they are capable of pro
ducing of solar salt, 2,628 pounds; borax, 331 pounds; borate lime, 458 pounds,
together with a heavy amount of free boracic acid.

"This product will be equal to the amount of $3,793 tuns of salt, 556 tuns borax
and 659 tuns borate of lime.

On comparing the waters of these springs with those of Tuscany, (which is the
principal source of supply of the borax of commerce for the world,) it is found
that they produce naturally an amount nearly equal to four times that of the
Italian Springs.

The Tuscan springs require two hundred pounds of water at their highest point
of saturation to produce one pound of the boracic acid of commerce ; this latter
contains but about fifty per cent, of the article when refined.

The springs of Shasta produce from one hundred and sixty-five pounds water
one pound of the refined borax of commerce, in addition to the other associated
salts.

It will be seen then, from the character of these waters, that in a short period
hence these articles will become materials of export from our shores, and form an
important article in commercial transactions.

63

GOLD MINES IN OPEEATION IN 1855.

NAMES.

Location.

County.

When
t>peU

Power.

Directors.

Mt. Washington,

French Gulch,

Shasta,

1851

Water,

Mr. Swartz.

Eureka,

Seventy-Six,

Plumas,

1851

14

" Coulter.

Mammoth,

i «

u

1851

«

" McGee.

Ariel

Downieville Buttes, Sierra,

1852

It

Copper Hill,

Minnesota,

(4

1855Steam,

" Gaston.

German Bar,

Middle Yuba,

14

1853 Water,

Lararnie's,

Grass Yalley,

Nevada,

1852 Steam,

" Laramie.

Whiteside's,

u

1852

It

" Whitesides

Boston,

«

1852

tl

" Cheevan.

Lafayette & Helvetia

«

1852

It

" Conaway.

Empire,

14

1852

It

" Hotaling.

Osborn Hill,

«

1852

tl

" Crossett.

Orleans,

EToaston Hill,

u

1854

It

" Stackhouse

Gold Hill,

jrass Valley,

u

1851

tl

" Atwood.

Mt. George,

Vft. George,

it

1852

tl

" Roberts.

Canada Hill,

Canada Hill,

u

1852

It

Pittsburgh,

Nevada Road,

11

1851

It

' Whigham.

Wyoming,

Deer Creek,

It

1851

Water,

' Lambert.

Gold Tunnel,

Nevada,

11

1851 Steam,

' Kidd.

Illinois,

Deer Creek,

ft

1851 Water,

' Adams.

Rocky Bar,*

Glrass Valley,

tl

1855 Steam,

1 Seyton.

North Carolina,

Rough & Ready,

It

1855

«

1 Hirsch.

National,

South Yuba,

tl

1855J Water,

1 Raymond.

Cro3sus,

Auburn,

Placer,

1852 Steam,

1 Langdon,

Pennsylvania,

Humbug Cafion,

it

1855

K

1 M'Martree

Volcano,*

Sarahville,

it

1855

it

' Hancock.

Sierra Nevada,

Grizzly Flat,

El Dorado,

1851

Water,

1 Knox.

Eagle,

14

1852

u

1 McKain.

Mt. Pleasant,

11

1851

11

' Steely.

Maryland,

Placerville,

1854

11

Pacific,

a

1854

11

" Smith.

American,

n

1855

11

Union,

Aurum City,

1852

Steam,

" Foster.

Tennessee,*

Consumnes River,

1855

44

11 Ray.

Columbus,

Cold Springs,

1855

Water,

Marion,*

Volcanoville,

1855

Steam,

" Baker.

Cornucopia,

Logtown,

1854

u

Mills & Co.,

Cousumnes River,

1855

Water,

" Mills.

Hermitage,

Ridge,

1855

Steam,

" Hoover.

Pochontas,

Logtown,

1855

n

Ranchoree,

Ranchoree,

Amador,

1853

Water,

" Williams.

Amudor,

Amador,

(4

1852

Steam,

* Resumed Mines.

64

GOLD MINES— CONTINUED.

NAMES.

Location.

County.

When
ope'd.

Power.

Directors.

Spring Hill,

Amador,

Amador,

1852

Steam,

Mr. Burke.

Keystone,

ii

1852

ii

" Manning/

Midian,

Herbertville,

1854

Water,

" Maxan.

Herbertville,

(i

1852

u

" Davis.

Eureka,

Sutter,

1852

it

" Murray.

Union,*

u

1855

ii

" Tibbetts.

Badger,

«

1854

u

" Hay wood.

Onieda,

Jackson,

1852

Steam,

Grass Valley,

Grass Valley,

1855

Water,

" Smith.

Drytown,

Drytown,

1855

it

" McGrady.

Palmer & Co.,

Dry Creek,

1855

u

" Williams.

Kingston & Co.,

Drytown,

1855

u

" Glover.

Butte,

Butte City,

1855

II

" Huffalker.

Foote & Lindsay,

Mokelumne River,

Calaveras,

1855

(1

" Lindsay.

Lone Star,

N. F. Mokel. River,

u

1855

II

" Wade.

Texas,

N. & M. F'ks Mok.,

u

1855

II

" Raymond.

Wood House,*

« a

il

1855

il

Experimental,

Columbia,

Tuolumne,

1854

1C

" Pownell.

Wheeler & Co.,

Big Oak Flat,

n

1855

1C

" Wheeler.

Marble Springs,

N. Fork, Merced,

Mariposa,

1851

(I

" Wheeler.

Washington,

Quartsbnrg,

«

1852'Steam,

Ortega,

Bear Valley,

u

1852

11

Agua Frio,

Agua Frio,

II

1852

u

" Atwood.

Kesumed Mines.

65

ALTITUDES

BY BOILING POINT AND BAROMETER.

COUNTIES.

Town and Position.

No. Obser
vations.

Boiling Point.

Altitude.

Levels.

Barometer.

Yuba,

Camptonville,

8

0 ' II

207 20 20

2,388

2,401

a

Foster's Bar,

6

209 30 00

1,371

1,300

n

Oregon Hill,

2

204 80 00

3,677

San Bernardino,

San Bernardino,

6

210 20 00

909'

(4

El Chino,

4

210 80 00

636:

Los Angeles,

Hill San Pedro,

1

209 40 00

1,544

a

Los Angeles,

12

211 40 50

250

Nevada,

Nevada Bridge,

12

209 80 25

1,852

1,810

ii

Sugarloaf Peak,

5

207 00 20

2,535 2,475

2,551

n

Grass Yalley,

4

207 80 30

2,090

2,021

"

Omega,

4,800

tt

Omega Hill,

••5,750

5,650

n

Omega E. Ridge1

"6,380

6,350

ft.

Ridge B. Yalley

-•7,000

7,088

"

Hodge's House,

"5,162

5,300

BearY alley Gapj
" 'Omega Gap,

f5,376
;f5,162

5,400
5,200

Cabin Gap,

f5,088

5,110

" .'Mountain Gap,

f5,239

5,210

JBear Valley,

f4,786

Steep Hollow, j

t4,720

4,780

" tMount'n Spring,:

5,340

a

Alpha,

5,266

Placer,

Auburn, 4 208 80 30

1,072 1,080

1,372

"

Illinois town, 3

207 80 00

2,234

2,301

u

Mineral Bar, 3 209 00 30

1,121

it

Mount'n Spring, 4 208 00 30

2,090

a

Iowa Hill, 12

205 60 30

*3,299

H

Brush Can. Brg. 2

208 20 00

1,947

Brush Can. Hill,
" Yankee Jim's,
" Michigan Bluffs

o

<L)

3

207 60 30
205 80 00
205 20 30

2,230
3,185
3,492

3,241
3,504

jBaker's Ranch, 1 205 60 30

3,285!

^Forks' House, \ 2 205 00 00

3,622

El Dorado, Placerville,

' H i 207 80 20

2,109

2,058

" ,Coloma,

4

210 20 30

835

857

" Georgetown,

4

207 10 30

2,433

2,484

[Bottle Hill,

1

207 00 00

2,389

" El Dorado,

2 209 30 20

1,371

1,430

Araador, Herbertville,

3 ! 210 20 30 980

1,004

* Corresponds wfth a series by Dr. Blake.

9

t By Mr. Homfrey, Engineer.

66

ALTITUDES— CONTINUED.

COUNTIES.

Town and Location.

No.Obser-
vations.

Boiling Point.

Altitude.

Levels.

Barometer.

Amador,

Sutter,

5

0 ' "

210 20 15

919

988

n

Jackson,

3

210 00 30

934

Calaveras,

Mokelumne Hill

8

208 60 30

1,681

Tuolumne,

Sonora,

6

208 00 30

1,971

a

Shaw's Flat, 3

207 20 30

2,270

t

Columbia, - 3

207 00 30

2,314

2,166

i

Montezuma, 3

207 40 ' 30

1,787

Sierra,

Downieville,

2,044

n

Galloway's,

3,586

u

Ariel Mine,

6,090

" JButte,

I

8,846

Mariposa,

Agua Frio,

-2,665

Mt. Ophir,

-2,635

Killaly's Ridge,

-5,000

Bullion Knob,

-5,000

Steptoe's Lode,

-3,020

Harodia's Ridge

-5,125

! Simpsonville,
Quartz Station,

-2,865
-2,880

! Ridley's Ferry, ;

-1,450

t By Mr. Homfrey, Engineer.

•