44 
GEOLOGY. 
step by finding masses of ore, some of them of great size and weight. One solid, and appa¬ 
rently pure mass, was found to be sixteen inches long and about ten wide ; another measured 
twenty-seven inches long and eighteen wide. A mass of quartz was also found, traversed by 
long prismatic masses of the ore. 
The ascent at length became very hazardous from the abrupt and precipitous character of the 
channel, and the quantity of loose blocks of granite which were easily dislodged and sent rol¬ 
ling downwards. An outcrop of yellowish-gray ochre, the “gossan” of the vein, was at length 
reached and seen exposed at intervals along the face of a rugged cliff. This indicated the course 
of the vein, which was ascertained to be about north and south. From some points of view it 
seemed to be west of north. The outcrop is not at the summit of the mountain, but is at one 
of the steepest and most inaccessible parts of its slope. It was impossible to follow the vein 
along its course, or to get directly below the exposure. It could be reached at one side, and 
several specimens of well crystallized gypsum were taken out of the gossan. The vein appeared 
to be from four to ten feet thick, and to be bounded on each side hy granitic rock. This granite 
in many respects closely resembles that found in the Tejon Pass. It is traversed by lines of 
structure, and is very probably metamorphic. The rock adjoining the ore contained more 
hornblende than the rest. Small veins of carbonate of lime and some of quartz were seen 
traversing the rock in various directions. The altitude of this outcrop is about six thousand 
feet above the sea. One of Green’s cistern barometers was taken up, and the height of the 
column found to be 24,320 inches ; attached thermometer, 88°, 9 a. m. 
From this point I ascended to the top of the ridge with considerable difficulty and exertion ; 
at one time climbing a dwarfed oak tree in order to get over a vertical wall of rock. The ver¬ 
tical distance from the vein to the top of the mountain must be about one thousand feet, but it 
appeared to be much greater. I was well repaid for the labor and fatigue of the ascent by the 
splended view from the summit. Northwards, the vision was unobstructed, and the broad, ex¬ 
tensive valley of the Tulares was before me. On one side the heights of the Sierra Nevada, and 
on the other the ranges of the Coast Mountains, stretched out towards the north until their re¬ 
mote peaks were lost in the smoky distance. They seemed like great arms holding the semi- 
desert plain and its shallow lakes between them. The two small lakes, Buena Vista and Po- 
suncula lakes, were distinctly visible below, and the long line of timber on the sloughs of Po- 
suncula river lay spread out before me as if on a map. The direction of the centre of Posuncula 
lake was roughly taken by compass, and found to be N. 5° W., and Buena Vista lake N. 40° W. 
The first ranges of heights of the Coast Mountains were readily overlooked, and a broad valley, 
or basin, was seen to extend between them and the next range, or the hills on the west. This 
basin appeared to be the bed of a dry lake ; it much resembled those seen in the Great Basin 
from the summit of the Tejon Pass. The whole region seemed peculiarly brown and barren. 
The direction of this plain or dry lake, by compass, was N. 80° W. The Tejon was in full 
view, and the following bearings were taken: Depot camp, or its vicinity, N. 47° E.; Adobe 
house, N. 46° E.; summit of the ridge on the north side of the entrance to the Tejon Pass, N. 
55° E. These bearings are all approximate, having been taken by a compass without sights. 
The northern slope of the mountain is much less abrupt than the southern, which may be 
called precipitous, and is well timbered with pine trees even at the summit. No outcrops of 
ore could be found on the summit; but the rocks themselves do not appear, being covered by 
soil and roots of vegetation. A small mass of the ore was lying on the ground, and evidently 
had been broken up by some explorer. No part of the vein exhibited distinct traces of mining 
