[Dr. Vrooman, Washoe Diggings, Butte Record article reprinted in the Sacramento Union, September 13, 1859]

 

WASHOE DIGGINGS.

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            The following letter dated at North San Juan, Nevada county, says the Butte Record, is from our old townsman, Dr. Vrooman, who has just returned from a trip to Washoe Diggings. As containing much information, we present it to our readers :

NORTH SAN JUAN, Sept. 5, 1859.

            Friend M : Having just returned from the newly discovered Ophir, in the would-be "Nevada Territory," I thought a short description of what I have seen in my rambles there might interest you and others of my Butte county friends. With that view I will attempt to describe as far as my knowledge extends. An elaborate and lengthy description I am not prepared to give, nor do I conceive it necessarily required.

            The country immediately about the diggings is broken and mountainous and almost a desert, being destitute of wood and water and vegetation of all kinds, except along the base of the mountains, and there the only growth is low, scrubby greasewood and sage bushes. Three valleys, varying from twelve to twenty miles in distance from the diggings, afford very good grazing, and occasionally in the cañons and ravines bunch grass is to be found, and now and then a stunted live oak or cedar, but further than this it may be considered a part of the great American Desert, and looks no more like a gold country than the Sahara Desert looks like an agricultural one. The mountains are rocky and precipitous, looking like great masses of rock promiscuously thrown together without regard to kind, quality or form. The whole country has the appearance of having been at no very ancient period subject to volcanic action. Cinders and burnt rock are by no means rare, and I am reliably informed that craters exist not far from these diggings, and rumors are prevalent of recent eruptions which have carried great destruction in the greasewood tracts and creating great loss of life among grasshoppers and horned toads. In fact, were it not for three or four rich quartz veins that traverse the country it would afford but poor encouragement even for bugbear hunting Californians.

            But speaking of quartz leads, the richest vein that was ever heard of has been found in this miserable desert by two stalwart and lucky sons of the Emerald Isle. This quartz lead runs northeast and southwest, and is situated about six miles west of the "Twenty-Six Mile Desert," on Carson river. The vein or spurs appear to possess three separate and distinct characters, materially differing from each other in color, quality and richness, and, I might say, in the character of the metal they contain. In the blue or blue black lead, which is much decayed and easily broken, silver seems to predominate over the gold. I send you a sample of this sort of rock. In the gray or white rock, although the matter has been but partially tested, gold seems principally to reside. The gray and white quartz is very solid, requiring great power to crush it. They are working the lead by washing the dirt and rotten quartz for fifteen feet in width. The washing is done in common rockers. The tailings are ground in arastras, worked by horse power. From forty-six buckets of the tailings taken from the rockers, Briggs & Co. obtained $502 ; what they made from the rockers I did not learn, but am told that the daily yield is from $100 to $300 per rocker. From the uniform speed of the laborers, it is my opinion that they do not wash over one hundred buckets per day to the rocker. The result of one assay, which I saw, was $11 to the ounce, fifty-four parts being silver and forty-six gold. The merchants, however, only allow $8 or $9 per ounce for this metal.

            Four or five claims at Ophir and two at Gold Hill are being worked successfully with arastras. They are under the management of Judge Walsh of Grass Valley, and Briggs and Hammock — all thorough business men. Gold Hill is about a mile from the place where the rich quartz was first discovered, and, as I am informed, is equally as rich as the diggings about Ophir. The building of a wagon road from Ophir to Carson river is contemplated. The enterprising miners will doubtless push it through in a very short time. Another road from Gold Hill to Carson river is being built.

            The Winters are said to be very severe, everything freezing up. The Summers are dry and hot. I would not recommend any person to go there at present, unless he goes there prepared to purchase interests in rich quartz leads already discovered. As regards surface diggings, I shall be much disappointed if any are found there of richness. The best of diggings would be of little avail, water being so scarce. My impression is that this is a silver country and that this lead upon which all the claims are situated will eventually prove to be a rich deposit of silver ore. Perhaps miners might make something in the cañons and ravines in the Spring, when water is plenty, but I doubt it. Lumber is worth $90 per l,000 and has to be hauled from two to five miles, and is scarce at that.