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from Swansea, experience has shown them that at Mr. Selby's works they are honorably and promptly paid.

As regards the time consumed in the treatment of ores, miners will find that the advantages, on account of the late improvements, will be largely in favor of San Francisco, and that returns will be made with very little delay. The rule adopted by Mr. Selby is to buy the ores, which is conveniently done, owing to the extent of his connections and agencies throughout the mining region. The works are always ready to pay shipping expenses on ore from anywhere, and meet freight bills promptly on all kinds. the bills of all kinds following the metal.

Although a large and increasing amount of ore is received at the works from Nevada and Utah, they are by no means dependent on those States for their supply, which arrives from about every important lead and silver locality on the Pacific coast, including the distant mining regions of New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, and along the Colorado River, whence they are brought by sea via the Gulf of California. No crude bullion nor ores are refused, unless the latter are of too low a grade to admit of profitable reduction. In the early history of the enterprise, ores for a while came too fast for the extent of the works; but with the present enlarged facilities it would be difficult to overtask their capacity, which can at short notice be increased so as to meet any demand likely to be made, on them in the future. They were originally designed by Mr. Selby, in joint interest with' his New York partner, Mr. P. Naylor, (now on his first visit to California during a business association of twenty years,) for the purpose of supplying their shot-tower in this city with lead. The idea of manufacturing for Eastern markets, or for exportation, had not then been entertained. For years the experiment was a failure, financially, 'and a less persistent man than Mr. Selby would have abandoned the enterprise. Costly experiments were necessary, and heavy expenditures attended the enterprise before returns began to be realized. The result is the most important lead and silver smelting establishment in the country, employing, directly and indirectly, more than a thousand men in the various callings with which it is associated. It is the friend of the workingman, for whom it acts as a reliable bank of deposit, and whose labor it converts into ready cash on demand.

The location of the works, which occupy four fifty-vara lots, is on Jefferson street, at the northern extremity of the city, on a point of land projecting into the bay opposite Fort Alcataraz, and at the northern terminus of Montgomery avenue, that is to be. On the bay there is ample wharf frontage, with depth of water sufficient to accommodate the vessels engaged in bringing ores and crude bullion to the works, and carrying away lead and silver. This bulkhead wharf is being steadily pushed out into the bay by the accumulations of slag and other matter, real estate being thus increased at a rapid rate. A railroad for hand-cars extends through the works to the water front, serving the double purpose of conveying market lead to the vessels at the wharf, and for dumping the refuse collections at the bulkhead. The works, which are indicated from a considereable distance by a large stack, are approached by a plank road laid through the sand drifts which here reach nearly to the shores of the bay. Formidable notices of “No Admission," posted over the gateway, remind one that the inmates are supposed to know how to keep their own counsel.

The entire works are under the general supervision of Prentice Selby, a son of the proprietor, who, from the beginning, has aided in bringing them to their present state of efficiency, and who has recently returned from a short visit to examine the smelting facilities in the Atlantic States-a tour of inspection, which, it may be added, showed that the business as conducted in San Francisco is far in advance of any Eastern competition. The immediate superintendent, W. R. Thompson, who entered upon his duties when the works were yet in an experimental condition, explained to us in detail the various processes. We do not propose to risk confidence by an attempt at description. Suffice it to generalize by stating that the ore, landed at the wharf, is brought by railroad into the works, where it is crushed, sampled, and prepared for calcining; thence it goes to the blast-furnace to be smelted; thence to the refining furnaces, where it is cleared of its base matter; thence to the desilverizing furnaces, which separate the silver from the lead. Here it "splits" and takes two directions-the lead going to the refining furnace again, where it is converted into market lead, is stamped with the proprietor's name, and is piled away ready for shipment. The residue from the desilverizing furnace goes back to the smelting and thence to the cupel furnace, where the small percentage of lead still remaining is extracted, leaving the silver pure, or nearly so. This is melted again in crucibles to still further refine it; for although it comes from the cupel-furnace 990-1000 fine, which is suitable for the purposes of the mint, it is not fine enough for shipment to China, where the standard required is 996-1000. The perfection to which this art may be brought is shown in one lot of 10,000 ounces, which assayed nine hundred and ninety-nine and three-tenths one thousandths fine.

Upon entering the works, the visitor is impressed with their extent and the amount of business transacted. A powerful engine carries the blast to the furnaces and drives the crushing-mill; and far and near, through the smoke, the heat of intense fires, the clash of iron implements, the glare of furnaces, and the clank of machinery, indicate a

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hive of industry, where science and labor are intelligently combined to unlock the treasures of the mine to the purposes of trade and commerce. Everywhere the attention is called to interesting and instructive processes. In one furnace we are shown about 6,000 ounces of melted silver. From others liquid lead is being ladled into molds placed in rows ready to receive it. Beyond, a stream of red-hot litharge is being run from a cupelling furnace. In another direction pyramids of pigs of crude bullion are being carefully sampled, by clipping off with chisels pieces from the corners and edges. Further on a gang of men are piling up 1,200 pigs of market lead, weighing 115 pounds each, the result of one week's work. In a huge iron safe are stored quantities of silver in sheets and heavy fragments, ready for transportation to the United States Mint. Near one of the desilverizing furnaces is piled a mass of silver "dross" (the residue which has been separated from the lead, and carrying from 1,200 to 1,500 ounces of silver to the ton) awaiting the process of the cupel furnace. The lead, after each smelting, is run into pig-molds, and is conveyed to the successive furnaces by a system of miniature railroads, branching off in all directions to distant parts of the works.

Following our conductor, we enter the assaying department, where exist all the most approved modern appliances for dispatch and accuracy. This department is a scene of scientific industry, in which many interesting experiments are made in furtherance of the object of the works.

Situated over the main works, and reached by an inclined road, is an extensive platform on which are collected and arranged the various substances which are fed down as fluxes into the smelting-furnaces below, in quantities as required-such as scraps and cuttings of iron and other metals, lime, and a general mixture of the by-products of the works-dross, agglomerated ore, &c., which are worked over and made to serve a profitable purpose.

The remarkable success now attending the works was only reached through years of heavy outlay and careful study. The idea that smelting is a simple affair, requiring only the throwing in of the ore and the running out of the metal, is effectually dispelled after an examination of the intricate process-the skill and experience required in the business. To an uninitiated spectator there is a strange fascination in these rills of liquid silver pouring from flaming furnaces-these pools of molten lead confined within margins of white-hot masonry and reflecting like mirrors the delicate and ever-changing colors produced by the mysterious action of heat and chemicals. In these smelting-works fourteen furnaces are kept constantly employed, and that number will be doubled as the supply of ore increases.

The most valuable ores are received from Arizona, and localities too remote from any Eastern market to admit of shipment there, even were it desirable. The works take, without hesitation, all available ores that are offered. One firm in the neighborhood of Salt Lake have received $40,000 for ores shipped by the Pacific Railroad. Another located in the southern part of this State has been paid upwards of $100,000 for lead bullion. So extensive has the business become under the intelligent management of Mr. Selby, that his works have stopped the importation of lead to the Pacific coast as effectually as his shot-tower has driven all other shot out of the market; although in both enterprises he commenced against heavy Eastern competition and with the general prediction that the attempt would prove a failure.

Not only have the works grown into the largest producer of lead in the United States, (of which the shipment to Mr. Naylor in New York, will this year bo 1,200 or 1,500 tons, constituting a valuable item in our home industry,) but they are yielding silver bullion at the rate of $30,000 per month, which is extracted from the lead, all resulting from the enterprise of one firm, and redounding largely to the credit of California. The growth of this branch has been such that furnaces especially for smelting gold and silver ores are about to be erected. These will also work up the jewelers' and mint sweepings, which, in the long run, is a substantial item; and there is no reason why the smelting of copper and tin ore should not be snccessfully carried on at the same establishment, which, if its transactions continue to increase as rapidly as they have done for the few years past, seems likely to rank with the well known ones of England, Wales, and Germany.

While the yield of all other branches of mining on the Pacific coast has declined, that of lead mining has steadily increased, under the encouragement created by the persistent energy of one firm. Of the 30,000 tons of lead now annually used in the United States, less than 20,000 tons are produced in our own country. Statistics show that the home product has been lessening since 1862, while the annual consumption, and consequently the importation from foreign countries, is largely increasing. Thus, there is no danger of overstocking the market. The above amount, annually consumed in our country, is used in a multitude of ways; for lead pipe, lining of tubs, vats, etc.; soldering, preparing chemicals and dyes; bullets, type-metal; weights, plumbing for houses, steamships, etc.; pipe and sheet lead and shot, of which 12,000,000 pounds-and paints, including white lead, of which no less than 40,000,000 pounds— are annually manufactured and used in the United States.

CHAPTER XVI.

LIST OF STAMP-MILLS.

The following list is based upon that in Langley's excellent "Pacific Coast Directory." Many alterations have been made, however, and several districts, and two whole Territories, are represented by entirely new lists, prepared without reference to Langley's. Indeed, his catalogue does not include Colorado at all; and his list of mills in Montana has been complained of by the press of that Territory as not sufficiently modern. The chief criticism of the newspapers upon it, however, will be equally applicable to the very full and complete list of Montana stamp-mills which I present, namely, there is no distinction made between the mills now running and those standing idle. The citizens naturally do not like, on the one hand, to confess that the majority of the stamp-mills are idle, nor, on the other hand, to have the comparatively small amount of gold produced from quartz charged to so large a number of mills. The truth is that Montana quartz-mining is still a subordinate industry, compared with the working of gulches and placers, though it will undoubtedly become the more important industry of the two, when the Northern Pacific Railroad shall have opened the Territory to cheap labor and freights. The idle mills will then find opportunity for profitable activity.

I may say in general of the following list, that it does not pretend to distinguish between works now running, and those which are either temporarily or permanently closed, except when such a statement is explicitly made. The quotations from the census returns, however, refer (if the assistant marshals have followed the instructions they received) to establishments in operation during some part of the year ending June 1, 1870.

It is possible that in attempting to combine the data afforded by personal observation, official reports, private correspondence, the census, and Mr. Langley's catalogue, some errors have been committed, in consequence of the different names frequently attached to the same establishment. The danger of such mistakes has, however, been constantly kept in view, and guarded against, so far as the nature of the case would permit; and it is believed that the list here presented is the most comprehensive and accurate that has been published up to the present time.

List of quartz mills, with the location, name of mill, date of erection, number of stamps, cost of machinery, and the director's or owner's name of each.

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Amador City

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Water.

Amador City

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Steam.

Amador City

Spring Hill

1856 40

S. & W.

Clinton'

Rocky Falls.

1865 10

Clinton

Union

1858 10

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Steam. .do S. & W.

Drytown

Potosi

1857 16

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Water. S. & W.

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10,000 Gold

6, 000..do 80, 000..do 40,000..do 10,000..do 10, C00..do 20,000..do 10, 009..do 10, 000..do

10, 000..do 12,000..do 5,000..do

Steam. 100, 000..do 10, 000..do 10,000..do 10, 000..do 10, 000..do 10,000..do 100, 000..do 10, 000..do 15,000..do 20,000..do 10, 000..do 12,000..do 9,000..do 10, 000..do 20, 000..do 8,000..do 20, 000..do 4,000..do 15, C00..do 20,000..do 9,000..do 8,000..do

..do S. & W. .do Water. S. & W. Water.

Jno. A. Faull & Co. A. Hayward.

Do.

Gashweiler & Co.

Do.

Henry D. Bacon.
E. P. Steen.
Plymouth Mining Co.
W. H. Hooper & Co.
Philadelphia Co.
Haley & Hardenburg.
Kennedy Mining Co.
Kearsing Bros.
Oneida Mining Co.
Tubbs & Co.
Zeile Mining Co.
Ryder & Co.
Amador Mining Co.
R. C. Downs.
Amador Mining Co.
R. C. Downs, sup't.
Mahoney Brothers.
Amador Mining Co.
C. T. Wheeler.
California Furnace Co.
Pine, sup't.
Woodcock & Co.

P. A. Clute.
Rose & Co.

McLane & Sirocco.
Fogus & Co.
L. R. Poundstone.
McLane & Sirocco.
H. Schultz.
Lawton & Co.

Marklee & Co.

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BUTTE COUNTY.*

Cherokee Ravine

Enterprise.

Enterprise.
Enterprise.
Forbestown
Jordan Hill
Nimshew
Oregon City.
Oregon City.
Oregon Gulch
Oregon Gulch
Oregon Gulch

Swede's Flat.

CALAVERAS COUNTY.*

Altaville..

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Angel Creek

Angel Creek

1865 6

Angel's Camp.

Angel's Q. M. Co...

1862 30

Angel's Camp..

Billings..

1868 3

Angel's Camp. Angel's Camp.

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Angel's Camp..

Stickles & Co...... 1866 10....do

Larco, Prince & Co.
Spence & Co.

Angel's Q. M. Co.
E. Billings.

Doe & Brother.
N. Larco & Co.
Stickles & Co.

*The list of mill reported in June, 1870, to the Census Bureau, differs somewhat from this, both in the number of mills and in the number of stamps, but the carelessness of clerks in regard to names of owners (not to be published in the census) renders detailed comparison impossible.

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Water.

..do 5,000..do ...

1

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Gold

4,000..do
1,000..do
.do

..do

20,000..do
1,500..do
12, 000..do
2, 500..do
5,000..do
10,000..do
15, 000..do
8,000..do
2, 500..do
3,000..do
2, 300..do
1, 500..do
6,000..do
500..do

J. C. McFarnahan, s't.
Philo Isabell, sup't.
Stillwagon & Norton.
Tulloch & Ault.
J. Cooke & Co.

Perkins, sup't.
Pocahontas G. M. Co.
Richmond, agent.

N. Y. & El Dorado Co.
C. McGuire, sup't.
W. E. Church, sup't.
B. W. Wilder.

R. Cushman, sup't.
Ash, Lane & Knox.
John Hines & Co.
William Bigler.

O. D. Lombard.
A. M. Stetson, sup't.
Potter, sup't.
Harmon G. &. S. M. Co.
W. F. Jess.

C. W. Moulthrop, s't.
H. L. Robinson, sup't.
Blain, Alderson, & Co.
F. Reed.

J. M. Douglass.
Burdick & White.
J. Blair.

Shepherd & Witter.

Gray Bros. & Son.
Brewster & Co.
Anderson & Redd.
P. M. Taft.
Cobb & Co.
Stewart & Hall.
French Company.
Ward Bros.
Burlingham & Jayco.

*The list of mills reported in June, 1870, to the Census Bureau, differs somewhat from this, both in the number of mills and in the number of stamps, but the carelessness of clerks in regard to names of owners (not to be published in the census) renders detailed comparison impossible.

† Cement mills.

Water.

..do

6, 000..do

..do

1, 500..do

Steam

Water.

2 Steam

Water.

Steam

Water.

Steam.

..do
..do

25,000..do
9,000..do
60,000..do
20,000..do
15,000..do

12,000..do

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2,000..do

4,000..do

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