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 



