CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEVADA. 383 



large outlays for mining and milling equipment, involving, in some cases, 

 great financial embarrassment. Under these and other hindrances to success 

 nearly every mining enterprise in this section of country has been neglected 

 during the past year or tw^o, notwithstanding the fact that some of them, as, 

 for example, the Murphy mine, had already produced a large amount of bullion. 



Buckeye. — One of the most persistently worked mines, though on a lim- 

 ited scale of operations, is the Buckeye, situated in Summit Canon, about 45 

 miles south of Austin. The vein on which this mine is located appears to be 

 at the contact of limestone and slate. Its course is nearly north and south. 

 The dip is not very regular ; it is generally westward, at a high angle. The 

 width of the vein varies from a narrow seam to four or five feet. The ore, a 

 mixture of argentiferous galena, blende, and silver sulphurets, occurs in bunches 

 or pockets, of irregular form and mode of distribution. Some of it is very 

 "rich, and various lots have been taken to Austin and worked at the Manhat- 

 tan mill, yielding about $300 per ton. In August, 1869, a little over nine 

 tons were thus worked, yielding, on the average, $283 52 per ton. Opera- 

 tions were still in progress at this mine at the last accounts. There is a large 

 amount of ore on the surface, estimated to be worth $100 per ton, not rich 

 enough to warrant expensive transportation to Austin and high prices for 

 milling, which must be reserved for a mill nearer at hand. 



MuEPHY Mine. — The Murphy mine,^ or, as it is sometimes called, the 

 Twin River mine, because formerly the property of the Twin River Mining 

 Company, is one of the best developed and most important mines in this part 

 of the range ; or, indeed, in Central Nevada. The mine is situated in Ophir 

 Canon, about two miles west of the opening of the canon into Smoky Valley. 

 The general course of the ledge is about north and south, crossing the canon 

 at nearly a right angle. Its dip is easterly, averaging about 45 degrees. It is 

 inclosed in metamorphic rocks generally described as slates. The walls of the 

 vein are very well defined, usually very smooth and carrying but little ''gouge," 

 or parting of clay, between them and the body of the vein. The fissure is filled 

 with a hard, compact quartz, sometimes pure white, sometimes colored by 

 oxide of iron; it varies in width from one or two feet, in "pinches,'' to ten or 



^ The writer is indebted to the courtesy of Mr. S. S. Robinson, formerly superin- 

 tendent of the Murphy mine, for much information concerning its operations. 



