[Albert S. Evans, White Pine, Alta California, November 26, 1868]

 

WHITE PINE.

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The White Pine Silver District, Nevada, as Seen in November, 1868 — Its Location, History, Geological Formation, Present Development, and Future Prospects — Immense Deposits of Silver — Sudden Wealth of the Mine Owners — Characteristics of the Locality — Condition of Society — Etc., Etc.

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            Having returned from the White Pine silver region on the 23d instant, the writer will now drop the correspondent's role and proceed to describe the new La Plata as he found it, endeavoring to give the simple, well authenticated facts as they came under his observation.

Location of the District.

            The White Pine Mountain and group of parallel hills comprised within the White Pine District, are situated on the southern boundary of Lander County, Nevada (possibly extending partially over the line into Nye County), 120 miles (by the road) in a southeastern direction from Austin, and about 720 miles from San Francisco by the route now travelled. As near as can be ascertained, in the absence of complete surveys, they are located in latitude 39° 10' north and longitude 38° 30' west. The principal mines (on the summit of Treasure Hill) are supposed to be at an altitude of about 9,000 feet above the level of the sea.

Topography of the District.

The District takes its name from the White Pine Mountain, a bold peak rising from the plain like Mount Diablo (which it resembles somewhat in outline and apparent altitude as seen from the valley below), on the western slope of which veins of silver ore of fair quality but not very great extent were discovered three years since, and where the Monte Cristo mill, erected by an Eastern Company, is now located. But the mines, which are now astonishing the world and setting our population half crazy with excitement, are not located in the White Pine Mountain proper. The White Pine Mountain runs nearly north and south, and may be about ten or twelve miles in length. Its estimated height above the sea is 10,000 feet. Running parallel with this mountain on the eastern side is a lower mountain, called the Base Range, which is five or six miles in length, and supposed to be 8,000 feet in height. Parallel with this range is Treasure Hill, on which the richest mines are situated. This hill or mountain is nearly 1,000 feet higher than the Base Range, and the supposed altitude is 8,500 to 9,000 feet. East of Treasure Hill lies a low, broken range of hills, of much less height, in which no mineral deposits have been found. The distance from the eastern line of the Treasure Hill deposits to the western line of deposits on the Diamond Valley side of White Pine Mountain cannot be more than six miles, and the metalliferous belt is perhaps five or six miles in extreme breadth from north to south. In the Base Range are numerous deposits as yet but little developed, of which we shall speak hereafter.

Geological Formation.

            As yet, it is impossible to give a dear and reliable diagnosis — if we may be permitted the expression — of the geological formation of this wonderful district. No shaft has been sunk more than sixty feet perpendicularly into the hill, and nowhere has the horizontal drifting extended more than 100 feet; so that the geological formation can only be judged from the superficial indications and outcroppings. The entire country east of Austin (where the country rock is granite) shows the effects of remote volcanic disturbances, and abounds in igneous rock and lava. The formation of the White Pine District is an anomaly, and it sets at defiance all known laws and rules of geology. To begin with Treasure Hill — starting up the steep acclivity above Hamilton, towards the bench on the summit, on which Chloride Flat is located, you come first upon deposits of silver ore at the Virginia mine, some four or five hundred feet above the town. There is no outcropping ledge visible here, but numerous masses of rich ore were found at the surface, and following these down, the country rock has been found.

            Still ascending towards the summit, you come upon a singular outcrop of dolomite, or coarse, brown sugar-colored limestone. This ledge, if such it may be termed, runs along the hill in nearly a northerly and southerly direction for some two miles, but is most sharply and clearly defined for about a mile. The hill slopes rapidly from the summit towards the westward, and on the eastward has a sharp, precipitous side, the limestone having been broken squarely off, exposing layer upon layer from one foot to ten feet in thickness, and in some places uncovered for two hundred feet perpendicularly. The dolomite, or limestone, here dips towards the west at an angle of twenty degrees on the average, though more acutely at some points.  It is along the edge of this precipitous face of this hill, between the layers of limestone, that the great deposits of silver now being worked are found.  The ground above the ledge of limestone abounds with detached fragments of lime rock, filled with marine fossils, among which the ammonite, spirifer, corals and seaweed are most abundant. In some places there is a layer of coarse calcareous slate, like red earthen tiles, under the top dirt, and the deposits of silver lie between this and the limestone, while in others the limestone both overlies and underlies the silver deposits, and in places  there appears to have been an upheaval or cross action, which has displaced both and jumbled together the country rock and metalliferous in apparently inextricable confusion, making it impossible to judge at this stage of development whether the deposits run in a horizontal or perpendicular direction. The float rock was found at the bottom of the hill, on the eastern side, and the outcroppings of metal are all near the top. In following these deposits the miners all work westward, descending somewhat more abruptly than the outward slope of the hill. Under the metalliferous deposits more fossiliferous limestone is found, and it is believed by many that the silver deposits will be found sandwiched in between each of the successive layers of dolomite, as the hill is cut down, like jelly in a Washington cake. East of Treasure Hill, across a valley a few hundred yards in width, is a range of lower irregular hills, the western frontage of which presents exactly the same appearance as the eastern face of Treasure Hill, the limestone outcropping in the same manner, and appearing to have been broken off from it and thrown over to the eastward by volcanic action; but notwithstanding that the formation appears to have originally been identical, in that the only difference now is that one dips to the westward and the other to the eastward, it is a singular fact that while Treasure Hill which dips westward is full of deposits of silver of incredible richness, the corresponding hills on the eastward do not contain, as far as is yet known, a single pound of metal of any kind. On the western slope of Treasure Hill, immediately adjoining the town of that name, is Chloride Flat, where hundreds of shafts have been sunk through the limestone to a depth of ten to thirty feet, and deposits of horn silver and chlorides of great value are found to underlie the whole ground, few shafts missing the precious metal entirely.

            The silver is found along this crest of the hill in vast irregular deposits, in the form of chlorides, bromides, sulphides and ruby and horn silver, not a trace of the ordinary sulphurets being found, and no base metal to interfere with the immediate working of the silver making its appearance. In some places the silver takes the form of "stephanite" and "stetfeldtite," the latter being peculiar to the mines of Eastern Nevada. No gold is found, and the ore is wonderfully tractable. The formation of this part of the district is unlike that of any other yet known on the continent, but we were told by parties who professed to know that the mineral deposits are similar in character, though far exceeding in extent and riches, those of the famous German mines of the Hartz Mountains and those of Potosi, in Peru, which have been worked for centuries and are not yet exhausted. We should here mention that the ore at this point is mixed with black and white calcareous spar, red quartzite and quartz, but no defined quartz ledges, or fissure veins, like that of the Comstock, have been discovered thus far. What may be found deeper in the hill remains to be seen.

            Descending the hill towards the westward, occasional deposits of rich ore are found cropping out, but not in large quantities as yet. Crossing the caρon which divides Treasure Hill from the Base Range, and passing over to the caρon between the Base Range and White Pine Mountain proper, a line of deposits of silver, and other metals in combination, is found extending north and south on both sides of the ravine for two or three miles. These are situated at a depth of from 1,000 to [?],000 feet below the Treasure Hill deposits, and though the mines have been but recently located, and are as yet little prospected, the indications of richness and permanency are very flattering indeed. There is a great variety of ores here, some of which are doubtless very refractory, and only to be reduced by smelting. There is copper-silver glare, argentiferous galena, carbonate of lead and silver, antimonial silver, and numerous other combinations more or less well defined. The country rock here is limestone, as on Treasure Hill, and the deposits, though extensive, appear to lie horizontally or more nearly so than perpendicularly.

            The origin of the silver deposits is a matter of conjecture purely. If, as is generally supposed, the silver originally deep down in the bowels of Mother Earth, and has been forced outward and upward by volcanic action, then it would seem reasonable to suppose that the lode, seam or fissure through which it came may he discovered by carefully following down there between the limestone layers, and the mines may prove inexhaustible; but there are other theories which materially conflict with this, and may prove correct. The fossils above and below the silver indicate that the hills have been thrown up from the bed of what was once a sea, and the limestone breaking sharply, as ice is broken on a river when the spring flood lifts it on its bosom, the silver between the layers was exposed to the atmosphere. The salt left by the receding sea acting on the silver thus exposed has formed the peculiar combination known as chloride of silver. As the deposits are followed into the hill to a greater depth the chlorides will — if this theory is correct — gradually give place to other combinations, and metallic silver in some form may ultimately predominate. This is the theory adopted by Rev. A. F. White, the Geologist of the State of Nevada, whom the writer met at the mines, and it would seem to be sustained by the developments thus far made in Treasure Hill. If it is correct, then the deposits will be found to vary only from a horizontal position only just so much as they have been heaved out of place by volcanic action, and no true fissure veins or ledges will be discovered in the district. Time only can tell which is correct.

The Towns.

            Hamilton, the town which has grown up at the entrance of the hills on the north, contains perhaps 600 inhabitants. From thence a graded road winds up the hill to Treasure City, which stands below the crest of Treasure Hill, within the line of rich mines named on the east and Chloride Flat on the west. Here the principal mining population is congregated, the inhabitants (regular and transitory ) numbering from 800 to 1,000. The distance from Hamilton to Treasure Hill is not over one and one-half miles in a direct line, though two and one-half by the toll road, and the difference in altitude is estimated at from 1,000 to 1,200 feet.  The town of Silver Springs, sometimes called Sherman Town, is located at the southern end of the Base Metal Range, two miles southwest of Treasure Hill,   the road winding down a deep caρon to reach it.  It is probably 1,500 feet lower than the town of Treasure City, or 7,500 feet above the level of the sea, and contains 400 or 500 people.

            Hamilton has a supply of water, and is the stage and express depot, and the primary depot for supplies for the depot.  Treasure Hill is exposed to the full sweep of the winds on the summit of the mountain, and has no water save what is hauled up there from Hamilton or Silver Springs and sold at eight cents per gallon, but it is in the heart of the mineral deposits, and must be an important place despite its unpleasant location.

            Silver Springs is sheltered from the winds, and is the more desirable — or rather endurable — place of residence.  Hamilton was first called Cave City, from a number of caves below the town in which the people first found shelter.  It consists of board and cloth shanties, brush, and rock and earth cabins.  Treasure Hill, do., do.  Silver Springs has two or three good brick buildings, and is generally better built than either of the others.  There is a sawmill, quartz mill, brickyard (not now in operation), a large slaughter-house at Hamilton ; two banks and several assay offices at Treasure Hill ; and a quartz mill, smelting furnaces, assay office and saw mill at Silver Springs. The entire population of the district may be put down at 2,500 or 3,000 at this time, and increasing at the rate of fifty per day. A very few women have found their way into the district, but as yet there can hardly be said to be anything like female society there. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is mining ; and their amusements are hunting for mines, writing home to their friends, and talking of the almost incredible developments on the hill. Every man you come across has a number of rich specimens, worth, perhaps, hundreds of dollars in the aggregate, and, strangely enough, for a new mining district, nobody appears to want to sell or dispose of a mine ; and the man who collars you as soon as you arrive in town, informing you that he has the biggest thing in the mountains, and only wants "capital" to help to develop it, has not yet reached White Pine. There are quite a number of whiskey-bloated bummers in the different camps, living, Heaven knows how, but none idle from necessity. The wages paid in the mines are $5 per day, coin, and those not at work for themselves get employment easily at something, if so disposed. Lots which sold at $25 in Hamilton and Treasure Hill two or months since  are now in many cases worth $600 to $1,200, and "jumping" is as lively us in San Francisco, though attended as yet by no bloodshed. Nearly every building spot along the road, from Hamilton up to and through Treasure Hill and down to Silver Springs, is already claimed by somebody, and holders always ask an advance on yesterday's prices.

The Mines of Treasure Hill.

            The mines from which nine-tenths of the treasure now being produced in the White Pine District is being taken are located, as we have said, along the broken edge of the dolomite formation, in a line running southwards from the town of Hamilton up to the summit of Treasure Hill, and thence in the same direction over the declivity on the other side. The length of this lode or line of deposits is, so far as is known, between two and three miles — say about that of the Comstock ; the Virginia at the northern end answering, for the purpose of illustration, for the Ophir and Gould and Curry, and the Aurora, Keystone and Eberhardt near the south. for the Crown Point, Kentuck and Yellow Jacket. The principal claims thus far opened along this line of deposits are located in succession, as follows, commencing at the northern end : Virginia, Mammoth, Ellersly, north of the crest of Treasure Hill ; Hidden Treasure, near the summit: South Extension of Hidden Treasure, North Aurora, South Aurora, Keystone and Eberhardt. There are numerous other localities along this line, or nearly parallel with it on the west, but these are the principal claims opened. There is an apparent break in the line of deposits, as evinced by the croppings at the crest of the hill, south of the Hidden Treasure and north of the Aurora, but from that point, south, the deposits crop out so near together that they may practically be said to be continuous.

            The writer would here remark that he does not own an interest of any kind whatever in the State of Nevada, and in making this report, he will endeavor to follow the instructions of the proprietors of the Alta, stating merely the facts, without exaggeration. However remarkable the statements may appear, they can all be substantiated by a host of witnesses. An increase of the already great excitement is to be deplored, as it may lead many to suffering and disappointment; but White Pine is a gigantic fact which cannot longer be ignored, and the public may as well know all about it at once.

            The mines examined in detail by the writer were as follows:

The Virginia.

            Located at the northern end of the Treasure Hill belt, or line of deposits, half a mile south of Hamilton, and 500 feet higher. This claim is situated on the eastern side of a ravine near the top of a ridge, running north and south. It includes 600 feet north and south, and two hundred feet in width from east to west. It has been but partially opened, but the ore crops out nearly its whole length, at points from 40 to 60 feet apart, east and west, and at a depth of 20 feet, solid rock, with a large, well-defined pay streak of bonanza, has been exposed. On the top of the ridge, above the Virginia shaft, a claim was located, and called the Aladdin's Lamp. This claim ran directly across the Virginia, and though the prior claim exhibited no evidence of a ledge, excavations on the Aladdin Lamp ground, however, disclosed rich ore in detached masses, and the whole hill appears to be full of it. The Virginia ore, though not so exceedingly rich as that of the Eberhardt and Keystone, which is so near pure silver as to be hardly describable as ore, runs from $100 to $2,000 per ton, the average being probably not under $225. Sixteen tons recently crushed and worked yielded $226 net per ton. The conflicting titles have been compromised this month, and the mine purchased by Mark L. McDonald. William H. Sharp and L. F. Loveland, of San Francisco, at a round price. The writer heard $80,000 offered for the mine as it stands, and $36,000 for a six months' lease of it, both offers being refused by the present owners. About twenty-five tons of average rock was piled up by the about a week since, and twenty men were just being set at work to take out more. It is the intention of the owners to push work vigorously all winter if possible.

Hidden Treasure.

            This mine was discovered by an Indian, who guided white men to it, September 14th, 1867. There was considerable shenannigan going on for a time, but the facts which were attempted to be suppressed soon leaked out, and the result led to the discovery of the great Keystone and Eberhardt deposits, lower down the hill, on the south, and the sudden development of the whole district. The present owners are T. J. Murphy and J. E. Marchand. It includes 600 feet. The line of deposits has been stripped for nearly the entire length of the claim, and in places to a depth of twenty feet. The lode — if such it may be called — pitches westward at an angle of twenty degrees, and its thickness has not yet been clearly determined. Three hundred tons of the ore — no rich specimens included — hauled to the Monte Cristo Mill, on the west side of White Pine Mountain, sixteen miles by the road via Hamilton, yielded $160 per ton. The cost of reducing it was $65 per ton. Next year it will cost not over $20 per ton to reduce the same ore. The owners now have one hundred tons of ore of superior quality out ready for crushing, and the lode is increasing in richness. The mine is entirely uncovered, and no work will be done on it after the heavy snows fall, until next spring. Picked specimens show horn silver in abundance, worth $1,000 per ton and upwards.

Aurora Mine.

            This mine is located on the south of the crest of Treasure Hill — the Hidden Treasure being on the north — and just east of the town of Treasure Hill. This is properly the South Aurora, the North Aurora being above it, nearer the summit of the hill and but little developed. Captain Frank Drake owned one-half of this claim of 800 feet, and A. W. Stowe and Joseph Stowe the other half.  Work was commenced on it with two men, September 22d, 1868. Thirty men are now worked, and a week ago there were seventy-five tons of rich ore on the dump. One hundred and fifty tons of rock from this mine, worked at the Newark Mill, in the Diamond Range, ninety miles to the northwest of Hamilton, yielded an average of $185 per ton — the highest being $202, and the lowest $155. The cost of hauling was $20 per ton, and of working $35. There is more quartz here than lower down the hill on either side, and the indications of a regularly defined ledge being found at no great depth are better than elsewhere. The shaft is twenty feet deep, and the drift westward sixty feet. The entrance to the mine is roofed over, and work can be carried on all winter. This mine was sold last week to A. P. Stanford and others of this city, for, as understood, $1 5,000 [sic] in coin. It is generally considered an immense fortune to the purchasers at the price.

The Keystone.

            Descending the hill southward past a number of claims which we have not time to examine critically, we come upon the Keystone, which is situated some distance below the edge of the dolomite croppings, on the eastern face of the hill. Here the chloride deposit crops out in almost incredible richness, and the developments are astonishing. The claim covers 800 feet, and the deposit was discovered by a party following float ore up the hill from the ravine below. At the point where the shaft now is, one of the party, a mere lad named John Turner, struck a pick into what seemed to be a mass of dried putty, This proved to be pure chloride of silver worth $15,000 to $20,000 per ton, and under it was found more of the same sort, and masses of almost pure metallic silver. The owners of the claim are Doctor E. X. Willard and his adopted son, John Turner, and Edward Applegarth — the latter holding one-half and the former one quarter each The original location was mixed up with that of the Eberhardt, but a compromise has been effected ; a neutral line, beyond which neither is to past, has been agreed on, and on the 1st of August next the two claims are to be consolidated. At present each Company works its own ground. The amount already taken out of the Keystone is not stated by the owners, but it is very large, and all came out of an ugly opening in the hill, not more than fifty feet long horizontally, and twenty feet deep. A shaft has been sunk sixty feet through successive layers of dolomite, at the entrance of this open cut, and rich ore found at the bottom. Much of the wealth of this mine consists of dull yellowish brown colored dust, which is run through screens to free it from rock, and placed in bags. This is clear chloride of silver. Place a little of it on an anvil and strike it with a hammer and it will become solid metallic silver at once. "The cheese," when silver is being coined at the United States Mint, is composed of the same substance, art having brought the metal to the same point that nature has reached unaided in White Pine. One piece of this chloride, shown us by Dr. Willard while at the mine, weighed 143 pounds, and was worth, as it lay on the ground, over $1 500 in coin. In one pile we saw 100 tons of ore which will work $300 per ton; in another, 150 tons which will yield $200 to $500 per ton; in another, 600 tons which will yield $100 and upwards; in another a large pile of chloride dust in bags, worth — we hesitate to say how much. Two lots of the ore from this mine, worked at the Newark Mill and the Manhattan Mill, at Austin, yielded an average of $1,000 per ton, or $100,000 in the aggregate. Dr. Willard opened a bag of specimens of exceeding richness, and, assuring us that he was happy to be able to have such rock to give away, presented us with so much of the precious metal that we almost felt ashamed to accept it. The deposit shows no signs of giving out at the west end of the open shaft, and the estimated value of the mine is so great that we do not think it wise to state it.

The Eberhardt.

            Next south, and adjoining the Keystone, is the most celebrated mine of all — the Eberhardt. So rich is this mine that its name has become almost synonymous with that of the cave entered by Aladdin. The location was made in December, 1867, and covers eight hundred feet, north and south. The present owners are Capt. Frank Drake, E. R. Sproule, Lavern Barris, J. W. Crawford and Edward Applegate. At a depth of twenty or thirty feet from the surface drifts have been run in several directions through solid masses of chlorides, bromides, sulphides and ruby and horn silver for 20 to 50 feet, and the end is not yet reached. The entrance of the tunnel has been closed, and admission to the mine can now only be gained by descending the vertical shaft in the Company's building. Mr. Crawford, to whom we bore letters of introduction, took us from the office in Treasure Hill to the mine in his carriage, in company with M. Upton, of the First National Bank of Nevada; Joseph Gordon, of the banking house of John A. Paxon, A. F. White, the geologist, and others, who volunteered to show us the wonders of the place.

            Descending the shaft on a rope, we found ourselves among men engaged in breaking down silver by the ton. The light of our candles disclosed great black sparkling masses of silver on every side. The walls were silver, the roof over our heads silver, the very dust which filled our lungs and covered our boots and clothing was a gray coating of fine silver. We are told that in this chamber a million dollars worth of silver lies exposed to the eye, and our observation confirms the statement. How much may be back of it Heaven only knows. Astounded, bewildered and confounded, we picked up a handful of the precious metal and returned to the light of day. But for the bars of solid silver since shown us, we would be inclined to doubt the evidence of our senses, and look upon the whole scene in the chamber of the Eberhardt mine as the work of a disordered fancy, the baseless fabric of a vision. We had seen enough of the mines of this wonderful lode or line of deposits, and did not care to go on lower down the hill to examine the Silver Glance and other less noted mines.

            From the Eberhardt mine we rode down the long caρon to Silver Springs, and entered the Oasis Mill, owned and run by the Eberhardt Company. This is the old Keystone Mill, which was burned at Austin last summer. General Page, after settling with the underwriters, took the machinery to this place and rebuilt it. It has ten stamps, eight Varney pans and three settlers. No roasting, chlorination or other expensive process is required, and the silver is all saved by the simplest amalgamating process. The Superintendent, John Collyer, showed us through the mill, and allowed us to examine the whole establishment. In the ore shed we found 200 tons of Eberhardt second class rock — the first class is so pure that it will not crush, and is selected and laid aside to be melted down — and long trains of pack mules were arriving with more as fast as possible. The Company will lay in as large a store of ore as possible before the snows fall heavily, in order to continue work all winter. One hundred and fifty tons of this second class ore, worked at the Newark Mill, yielded $1,500 per ton. and it is supposed what is now being placed in the storehouse will yield as well.

            When General Page put up this mill at this point he had a contract to work the ores of the Eberhardt at $80 per ton until next spring.  The proprietors found he had a fortune in the contract and bought the mill, which cost him $30,000, for $75,000. It has now run 32 days without stopping, and is rolling out the solid bullion daily. The refining and assaying for the mill is done at the office of T. M. Luther, in Silver Springs, and from his books we take the following figures : The mill started October 15th, and stopped to clean up on the 16th of November. Of this time nine days' running was on Eberhardt rock, and from which the yield was $34,500 ; the average yield being $800 per ton.

            The mill was idle four days (Sundays) and running on low grade custom rock, mostly from the Stonewall and other mines on Chloride Flat. The total yield to November 1st was $60,919, and from November 1st to 16th, $82,500.  Mr. Luther showed us twenty bars of bullion, worth $1,500 each, or $30,000 in the aggregate.  He also showed us a bar worth $35 12, melted from four pounds (troy) of Eberhardt rock (not clear chlorides), and another worth $115, which was melted from twenty pounds of rock which a visitor collected as specimens and carried down the hill in his pockets.

            From a chimney in the Eberhardt ground $85,000 worth of silver was taken in a few days, and the party taking it out then compromised with the Company, being allowed to hold all he had taken out and release to the Eberhardt Company the ground in dispute. This silver is now piled up in cabin at Treasure Hill. The proprietors have $50,000 worth of similar specimens piled up in another place. One of the owners of the Eberhardt, but recently a poor mm, values his interest at $1,000,000 and we presume the others would refuse to sell for less money.

            Near the Oasis Millis a large cupola smelting furnace, nearly ready for running, erected by John Huber, assisted by Mr. Derides. This furnace is calculated to melt ten to twelve tons per day, and will work the ore from the Base Range.

Chloride Flat.

            Returning to Treasure Hill, we examined the mines on Chloride Flat. This flat, as it is called, is a slope comprising from five to ten acres on the western side of the bill, adjoining the town of Treasure Hill. It is perforated like a sieve with shafts, sunk often within from ten to thirty feet of each other. The holders claim 400, 600, or 1,000 feet each, and the claims, being located on the old ledge theory, run into each other, cross and interlace in every direction. At present the lucky holders of claims in which metal has been struck are too busy getting out rich horn silver and other forms of the metal to quarrel with each other, but as soon as they work out the horizontal deposits, and run into each others' claims, as they soon will, shootings and lawsuits will be the order of the day in what is now a peaceful and highly prosperous community. The great mistake of organizing the district on the perpendicular ledge theory — each claimant being allowed 200 feet on the ledge, "with all its dips, spurs and angles," and the discoverer 200 feet in addition — was made at the outset, and it is now too late to remedy it.  Had the locations been made by the square yard it would have been all right, and many a lawsuit and shooting affray saved. Already difficulties are arising in the vicinity of the Eberhardt, and more must follow. From ten to thirty feet through the limestone brings the prospector on Chloride Flat to his deposit of silver, or to the certainty that he has missed it and must seek elsewhere. The owners of the Robert Emmet mine, on Chloride Flat, who are taking out rich horn silver, reject as base rock unworthy of being worked, all yielding less than $50 per ton. The deposit was seven feet thick when we saw it and not yet worked through. The Genesee, Stonewall, Delmonico and other mines in the vicinity, are among the richest on the Flat. There are 1,500 locutions recorded in this district, and of this number 500 at least are within rifle shot of the above named mines. Our report is too long already, and we must pass to other topics.

The Climate — Necessary Outfit.

            Treasure Hill is from 8,000 to 9,000 feet above the level of the sea, and exposed to the full sweep of the winter winds, which are fearfully severe at times between the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Spring is late, cold and wet ; summer short, dry, and tolerably pleasant ; autumn long and pleasant, with fine days and cold, frosty, freezing nights. It is reported that snow falls to a depth of fifteen feet on the White Pine range in winter, but this story is not well authenticated, and the vegetation and general appearance of the country would lead to the belief that the annual fall is not extremely large. Up to the 20th instant there was but a few inches of snow on the highest peak of White Pine Mountain, and only an inch or two, in scattered patches, on Treasure Hill and the Base Range. It was snowing on the 20th and 21st on the Toiyabe and other ranges south and southeast of Austin, and probably also at White Pine, but the storm did not appear to be of long duration. The winter, however, must be intensely cold, and those who propose to remain there until spring must be well provided with good heavy woollen underclothing, heavy pilot, beaver or blanket cloth outer outer-clothing, and at least two pair of the heaviest and best San Francisco or Oregon blankets — the best are the cheapest in the end, and will always find ready sale.

            It is difficult to get goods over the railroad at this time promptly, owing to the pressure of material for extending the line, which must go forward whether or no ; but parties intending wintering in the mines must either take over a stock of provisions, and have them hauled from Argenta, or go provided with means to purchase them at Hamilton day by day for four or five months, probably at an advance on the prices quoted by us as the present ruling rates. The climate appears to be exceedingly healthy, but, owing to the great elevation of the country, and subsequent rarification of the atmosphere, we would advise no person with weak lungs to winter there. Colds, rheumatism and fevers will doubtless prevail to some extent before spring, as the result of exposure, neglect and carelessness.

Present Cost of Living.

            The necessities of life in the White Pine country are pretty high-priced, but of good quality and abundant. At Hamilton and Treasure Hill are quite a number of restaurants at which a tolerably square meal may be obtained.  The price per meal is $1, and board by the week is $12.  There is no hotel in the district, and but one or two places where a bunk to sleep in can be rented.  The price of a single bunk bed, with a mattress and blankets, at the store of Wakefield & Wheeler, in which Wells, Fargo & Co.'s office is kept, in Hamilton, is $1 per night.  This is the general resort of all new comers, and a man who is in season to be booked for a bunk is looked upon as a favored mortal.  Others, less fortunate, sleep in their blankets on the floor of the store, saloons, restaurants, tents, hovels, or in the open air, as they can catch it.  The prices of various articles of food for man are as follows: Flour, $16 per hundred pounds ; potatoes (grown in Nevada and of superior quality), 12 1/2 cents per pound ; onions, 15 cents per pound ; sugar (brown), 3 1/2 pounds for $1 ; ditto (crushed), 3 pounds for $1 ; coffee (ground), 75 cents per pound (no facilities for grinding it in the district) ; bacon (sides), 37 1/2 cents ; hams, 37 1/2 and 40 cents ;  shoulders, 35 cents per pound ; beef, fresh and of good quality, 25 cents ;  pork, do., do. 37 1/2 @ 50 cents per pound ; eggs, from Salt Lake (so-soish), $1 @ $1.25 per dozen ; do., fresh, $2 per dozen ;  tea, $ 1 25 per pound ; candies, 35 cents per pound ; barley, 10@ 12 1/2 cents per pound ; hay, $150 per ton ; drinks, 25 cents each, and no credit at the bar.

            Wood of good quality is abundant, and can be had for the cost of cutting and hauling.  All the wood land in the vicinity is being claimed by parties who propose to cut wood for the mills and to supply the miners. Lumber costs $150 per 1,000 feet for ordinary, and $175 per 1,000 feet for choice at Hamilton, where there is a little steam sawmill with a single circular saw constantly engaged in cutting lumber from the "bull pine," (or "nigger pine," as it would be termed in the South), which grows on the White Pine Mountain proper, in considerable quantities, and of sufficient size to afford saw logs twenty or twenty-five feet in length and two feet thick. At Treasure Hill $200 and upwards per 1,000 feet is charged for boards, which are hauled from Hamilton or Silver Springs, or from remote districts by heavy teams.  Half a dozen men clubbing together could in a few days put up a shanty of cedar posts chinked with stone and mud, and roofed with cedar boughs and earth, which would afford comparatively comfortable quarters for the party through the winter.  Those erecting buildings of sawed timber at present line them with cotton cloth to exclude the wind, then shingle or tin the roofs.  A horse will "eat his head off" in a week or two, and parties coming into the district at this time will do well to send them off to the lower valleys, twenty to fifty miles away, where they can winter on bunch grass and white sage in the open air, only requiring the attention of a herder. Clothing and blankets cost about fifty per cent. more than in San Francisco.

How to Get to White Pine, and What It Costs.

            At present there is but one route by which the White Pine District can be reached from San Francisco, viz.: via the Central Pacific Railroad, Argenta and Austin. The distance from San Francisco, in round figures, is about as follows : San Francisco to Sacramento, by rail or steamer, 100 miles ; Sacramento to Argenta, by rail, 400 miles ; Argenta to Austin, by stage, 97 miles ; from Austin to Hamilton, by stage, 120 miles — total, 7 7 [sic] miles. The cost of the trip for passage alone, only twenty-five pounds of baggage being allowed, is as follows: To Sacramento $5, to Argenta $40 , to Austin $15, to Hamilton $25 — total, $85.  After passing Reno meals are $1 each along the whole route, and $15 is a moderate allowance for the exercise of eating on the way, which would bring the cost of the trip to $100 in round figures, providing you have no extra baggage, do not stop to sleep on the way, and indulge in no luxuries. By purchasing a through ticket at Sacramento for Austin $10 can be saved on the above estimate, but you take the chances of the stage by which you engage passage from Argenta to Austin being filled in advance, in which case you may be compelled to remain for days at the former point. If no detention occurs, and you travel night and day, the trip through from San Francisco to Hamilton may be made in five days. There are two regular stage lines, Wells, Fargo & Co.'s mail line and Miller, Wadleigh &Co.'s passenger and fast freight line, running between Argenta and Austin. Between Austin and Hamilton there are two regular stage lines, viz.: Len Wine's (connecting with Wells, Fargo & Co.) and Shannon's, and half a dozen guerrilla lines, which make about half as good time as a man can make on foot. Fare the same all around.

A Shorter Road.

            In a few weeks — the weather permitting—it will be possible to reduce the staging on the trip by one-half. From Hamilton to the nearest point at which the railroad can be reached — near Fort Halleck, east of Gravelly Ford — the distance is not over 110 miles, possibly not more than 100. The new road will leave Austin far to the westward, and rattling down an open valley country directly northwards, will present no heavy grades. It can be constructed cheaply, and must be opened immediately. It may run through Ruby valley, or it may leave it to the right, and pass to the westward. There are now probably 3,000 people in White Pine District and vicinity wholly without mail facilities, and dependent solely on Wells, Fargo &Co. for their letters, papers, etc. A mail route should and probably will be opened between the railroad, near Fort Halleck, and Hamilton immediately on the cars reaching the former point.

The Future of White Pine.

            Will the deposits prove merely superficial and soon work out, or will they lead to the discovery of permanent ledges ? is asked daily. Quien sabe ! It is certain that the deposits already uncovered cannot be worked out in a year, and meantime $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 of bullion will have been produced and shipped to San Francisco. All through the White Pine District new discoveries, of greater or less importance, are being made daily, and at Duckwater, forty miles southeast ; at the new Sierra District, sixty-five miles south ; at Eureka, 80 miles west — all around, in fact — new discoveries are being made. Stretching from the northern line of Idaho to the Nevada line on the south, in a broad belt of metalliferous country as yet but partially explored or wholly untouched. All this will be hunted over next year by prospectors, stimulated by the White Pine discoveries. To our friends we say : Go slow; buy or locate for what you can see, in this district, and instead of expending vast sums in running costly tunnels to strike imaginary lodes at great depth, adopt the Mexican rule — where you see ore, go for it (or gopher it, if you prefer that form of expression.) There is wood in this locality enough to last for years to come; for the present the mines are rich beyond calculation, and for the rest, let to-morrow take care of itself : "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."  The White Pine Mill Company (Miller, Taylor & Co.) have just got their ten-stamp mill running ; another of five stamps will be running soon, and next summer there will be no lack of facilities for reducing ore at low rates. White Pine is "a big thing on ice" (literally) already, and it is not worth our while to speculate much as to the future ; the present is almost fabulous, and we need not draw on our imagination.