488 MINENG INDUSTEY. 



show signs of exhaustion and the lodes, having been stripped of their easily- 

 mined and readily-worked " top quartz," began to furnish ores that, although 

 rich in gold, refused to yield it to the simple methods of extraction thus far 

 in practice, a serious reaction ensued. The development of the lodes had 

 already reached considerable depths and could no longer be worked without 

 the investment of large sums of money in machinery for the extraction of 

 rock and water. The character of the veins proved, also, to be quite varia- 

 ble, productive portions alternating with large masses of barren ground, re- 

 quiring much unprofitable work in exploration, and oftentimes exhausting the 

 patience and the means of the miner before affording any return. The ores, 

 too, when obtained, were found to carry their gold and silver in such combi- 

 nations that they could not be profitably worked without the introduction of 

 metallurgical processes that were new to those who sought to use them, 

 and that also demanded, for the provision of the necessary machinery, an 

 amount of capital that was far beyond the power of the pioneers and settlers 

 of the country to furnish. Companies were organized, and money was sought 

 in the Eastern States for the development of the mines, and, for a time, the 

 means were furnished freely by the capitahsts of New York, Boston, Phila- 

 delphia, and other large cities. Unfortunately for the country the first result 

 of these investments was a bitter disappointment. This was due partly to 

 some gross misrepresentations, by means of which money was obtained, and 

 partly to the ignorance and inexperience that caused much of it to be fruit- 

 lessly squandered. During the period of speculative excitement that pre- 

 vailed in 1863, the most exaggerated statements were published concerning 

 the resources of the new mining field, in order to induce the investment of 

 capital, and estimates of the probable returns were made that would have 

 been highly extravagant even if the statements on which they were based 

 had been true. The supply of capital was, at first,' abundant, but the men 

 intrusted with the use of it were, for the greater part, novices both in mining 

 and metallurgical matters, and the practical experience already gained in Cal- 

 ifornia and other portions of the United States seemed to avail but little in 

 the new regions. The refractory ores offered serious obstacles to the profit- 

 able working of the mines, and as the inventive genius of the country was 

 called upon to devise new methods of treatment, the place was soon overrun 



