The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 29, 1895, Page 14

14 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1895 ORES MILLED AT A LOSS, Whatls Attempted to Be Shown in the Case Against Mackay. DEAL IN AN OBJECTIVE MOOD. | | | Figures Showing the Costof Operat-~ | ing the Great Comstock Gold Mine. royalty of $1 a ton had to be paid to the Sutro Tunnel Company when the ore was taken out of the mine. Clerk Lowell stated he had been con- nected with the Comstock for thirty-two years and with the California and Virginia mines for the same period, and was per- fectly familiar with the operations of min- ing and milling ores, - “Did the ore pay the expense of mining and milling when it assayed $785?” was asked by Attorney H. @. Sieberst for plaintiff. “It would not carry all expenses,” re- | plied the witness. In response to further! interrogatories on this point he testified that a loss would result from milling ore that assayed $785 and from which 93.9 per cent of the assay value was returned in bullion from the mill. For the week ending June 18, 1886, 1668 560-2000 tons of ore, the battery assay of which was $8 83 per ton, was sent to the Eureka mill. ‘“‘After paying $6 for milling, the Sutro In the case of Theodore Fox vs. John W. | Tunnel Company's royalty of $1 and the i Mackay et al. but three witnesses were ex- amined yesterday. The defendants are charged with con- spiracy to defraud the stockh of the Consolidated California and Virginia Min- | ing Company by operating the Comstock !Milling and Mining Company so as to divert the profits of the former to the Hatter, and an accounting is asked for. Mackay and the other defendants were stockholders in both companies, between January 1, 1886, and January 1, 1892, the period for which the a unting is asked. Johr W. Mackay finished his testimony. to his former interest in the k and to his present interest | | | pany. cost of mining, would" there be a profit in such ore?” asked Attorney Sieberst. ““] couldn’t say. I don’t know the min- inli: expenses,” was the reply. he per cent of the returns from the Eureka mill during June, 1886, was 69.25 of the battery assay. For the week ending June 1 Morgan mill operated on 1066 1 of ore, with a battery assay value of $10 87, and returned 96.25 per cent of the battery assay. This also cost §6 a ton for milling and $1 royalty to the Sutro Tunnel Com- Asked whether this returned a rofit to the Consolidated California and irginia, witness said he did not know, as the expense of mining varied, being from $4 to §6 a ton. For the week ending June 11, 1886, the JOHN W. MACEAY ON THE WITNESS - STAND, [Sketched by @ “ Call” artist.] in the Comstock Milling and Mining Com- | Eureka mill worked up 1681 780-2000 tons pany, also the value of the ore bodies in | of ore. The average returns from the mill the Consolidated California and Virginia | mines. | William H. Crowell, clerk of the Con- solidated California and Virgiria Mining Company, was placed on the stand by the plaintiff's attorney in an effort to show that the mining operations by the Con- solidated California and Virginia Company were carried on at a loss, while the Com- stock Milling and Mining Company, which milled the ore outputof the former, was being paid a price for milling which largely interfered with the profits of the Con- solidated California and Virginia Company. P. Holden, an ore buyer aud dealer in | g materials, was introduced by the plaintiff as an expert to testify as to the | value of the ore taken from the mines in question and as to_what july assays should have been returned in bullion. "His examination involved re- peated objections by the defense, which were most the plaintiff’s attorney. He occupied the stand but a short time, and was followed by Lowell, who was recalled, and who was on the stand when court adjourned for the day. John W. Mackay testified that he, Flood, Fair and O’Brien at one time were equal partners in the Nevada Bank, and that on April 1, 1890, that institution came under the management of 1. W. Hellman. At that time he was but. a small owner in it, but Flood retained stock to the value of $100,000. During- December he was at the Palace Hotel in this city for twenty-three days, and on the 24thof the month sailed for Europe, and was away until the following fall or summer. The California mill at one time be- Jonged - to the Pacific Coast Millin, Company, which was owned by Floo Mackay 'and Fair. The latter sold his interest to.Hobart, who later trans- ferred it to Senator J. P. Jones. Senator Jones then: transferred his share to the Comstock Milling and Mining Company, which was incorporated on the 17th of January, 1886. He was never in charge of the mine, except when he and Fair mined together. Was also 1n charge when he relieved Lyman and Patton in 1887, a period of only three weeks. He did not remember whether ore was taken outat that time. He visited the Consolidated California and Virginia mine on December 24, 1885. Assays were made of sampies taken from all ore bodies discovered to ascertain ‘if it would pay tc mill the ore. He could not remember if he had gone into the Jones winze when he was at the mine on that date. On cross-examination he testified thata miner who has worked on the Comstock | can often tell by the eye whether ore con- tains gold and silver. Samples from different places are taken out each morn- ing and sent to the assay depgrtment for ascertaining the value of the ore. On redirect examination he stated that a diamond drill was not of much efficacy in detecting ore bodies, and that he would hate to_buy a mine prospected with a diamond drill. William H. Crowell, the clerk of the Consolidated California and Virginia Mining Company, testitied that he kept | the company’s accounts, made out the statements and received the returns of assay values. He was asked to refer to his ore and bullion book, which he had brought into court, and which showed the amount of bullion shipped, its assay values and bullion returns, and was also asked to tell the daily battery assays for the week ending March 12, 1886, of the Morgan and Eureka mills, which did all the mill- ing at that time for the mine. They were as follows for the Morgan mill: March 6, $14 80 g:r ton; March 7, $10; March 8, $1155; March 9, $11 25; March 10, $9 80; March 11, $11; March 12, $1775. For the Eureka mill there was only one day that week that a shipment was made. This assayed $7 85. The milling company returns the bullion taken from the ore, which is valued on the Government standard. Returns are made monthly. During the month of March the mining company sent 5322 tons of ore to the Eureka mill, which returned $73,54143 in “wllion. This cost $6 a ton to mill, and a | ]percemage of the | bee: ustained, and, exceptions by | during June, 1886, were 60.25 per cent of the battery assay value. This also cost §6 to mill, and $4 royalty had io be paid on it. The mill was always paid in United States gold coin. For November, 1890, the average buttery assay value of the ore from the Consolidated California and Vir- ginia mine was $18 35 and the percentage of yield was 3. Milling cost $5 at this time. For December, 1890, the average battery assay value was $18 77 and the per- centage of yield was 75.68. Other instances of low-grade ores were cited- by the plaintiff’s attorney and the continuance of this performance -at last | brought Attorney W. E. F. Deal of the defense to his feet with an appeal to the court, claiming that the citing of isolated cases to show that ore was milled at a loss to the mining company was unfair; that the operations of the entire period in ques- tion, from January 1, 1886, to January, 1892, should be placed in evidence to show that profits were made by the mining com- pany and that dividends were paid by it during that period. The examination of the witness was resumed. He testified that the price of milling varied during the period between 1883 and 1891 from $5 to $7. At the opening of the afternoon session 8. P. Holden. whq has been an ore buyer and dealer in mining machinery for thirty years, was placed on the stand. He testi- fied to the prices of quicksilver during a period of eight years as follows: In 1884 it was worth $30 50 a Hlask of 761 pounds; in 1885, $30 25; in 1886, $35 50; in 1887, $42 25; in 1888, $42'50; in 1889, $45; in 1890, $52 50} | in 1891, $45 25. Attorney Sieberst asked him what percen- tage of their battery assay value ores should return in bullion.” This aroused Attorney Deal, who soon had the witness in a posi- tion where he admitted that his knowledge on this subject was derived from hearsay and official reports, and that he was not a practical millman. Objection was then made to his competency asa witness on this point, and the court sustained the ob- jection, counsel for plaintiff noting an exception. Continuing the witness testified that the Consolidated California and Virginia ores were of the kind known as *‘free milling.” “What is a fair percentage of bullion, based on the pulp assay, that should be returned from the mill?"” was asked. This was again objected to, the objection sustained and an exception noted. At- torney Sieberst repeatedly made efforts to show the competency of witness to testify on this point, even referring to the Hale & Norcross case recently decided by the Su- | preme Court, in which' Holden was also a witness, to sustain his contention, but without avail. He then essayed a new trick by asking: “How low a grade of ore, by car assay, can be taken from the Consolidated Cali- fornia and Virginia mine and be milled and return -a profit to the mining com- pany?” Objection was made and sustained on the ground that the witness had no per- sonal knowledge of the character of the ores or cost of mining. Sieberst tried again. “Do you know whether ore assaying, from car sample, $14 to the ton would” pay the mine and mill?” Before witness could reply Attorney Deal interposed with: “Do you know what the expenses are for working a mine from your own experi- ence?” “No,” was the answer. Objection was made and sustained, and an exception noted. *“What would be a fair price for milling ore taken from the Consolidated California and Virginia or other Comstock mine?” This query met the same fate asitsim- mediate predecessor, This episode was re- enacted several times before Atitorney Bieberst showed discouragement and gave up the attempt to get the opinion of the Witness as to the value of Consolidated California and Virginia ore or the cost of miring and milling the same. On cross-examination witness testified that he visited the Eureka and Morgan mills while they were in operation; that samples for assaying were properly taken; that the mills were efficient. Asked whether it paid to mine and mill ore that on 4 pulp assay showed $1050 to | the ton, witness said he could not tell ex- actly what the cost of mining such ore would be, and was therefore unable to answer the %uest(on correctly. Attorney Deal again called the attention of Judge Seawell to what he called the at- tempt of the plain¢iff's attorney to make it appear from isolated and selected in- stances that low-grade ores were being milled at great loss to the mining com- pany and asked to be allowed to place the books for the entire period in evidence to show that dividends were paid by the mining company and that the milling operations were fairly conducted. The court replied that it would assume that all operations except those cited b; plaintiff’s counsel as being unprofitable were being carried on with advantage to the mining company. ‘Witness was then asked to give the re- sult of milling the Consolidated California and Virginia ores for the years 1886 to 1891 inclusive, in order to show where they fell below the 70 per cent yield called for by the contract with the ‘milling company. Not half aozen months were found in which this occurred. Court then adjourned until 10 o’clock this morning. It is understood that the defense will claim that the ore that was apparently milled at a loss really returned a profit to the mine, as all ore-had to be removed from the mine underany circumstances to make room for developing and working the richer veins. An attempt will then be made to show that for this reason all ore that returned a margin above the cost of milling was not milled with a loss to the mine shareholders. POLICE STILL ON GUARD, Trouble at the Glanville Shoe Factory Has Not Yet Subsided. The Locked-Out Lasters Are Con- fident That They Will Be Asked to Return. The trouble which has been in existence at the Glanville Shoe Factory on Jessie street for the past few weeks, between the proprietors and their employes, has not as yet subsided, and two volicemen still patrol the sidewalk in front of the place to prevent intercourse between the locked- out lasters and the men who have taken their places. The discharged shoemakers have rented an empty store building a few doors from the factory that they may convene there and discuss their grievances and at the same time keep an eye on what changes are being made at the factory. “It may be,” as one of the lasters explained, ‘‘that we are liable to be wanted at any minute at the factory, and the store is a handy place to keep toolsin case of an emergency, as we would not have far to go.” “The trouble originated,” said W. D. White, superintendent of the factory, “last June, and it was on account of the dis- charge of a man named Schilling, one of the Goodyear machine-men, for incompe- tency and the installation of Billy Durrant in his place. “The men immediately went on a strike, and Durrant, to save the company trouble, stepped out and the men went to work' again. “They worked a few days without fur ther trouble and again went on a strike. This time the foreman, Albert Byrnes, was the cause of the trouble, the men claimin; that he was incompetent, and they reluses to w under him. “Byrnes stepped out the same as Dur- rant, and everything went smoothly, and we closed the factory on the Fourth of July and did not again open it until about a week ago, and Byrnes was again given a poeition as foreman in the ‘bottom depart- _ment,’ as the soleing part of the work is called. “The men would not work under him, and we notified them that their services were no longer required, but that in case g*cdshould need them they would be noti- ed. ““‘Although these men are first-class me- chanics, and there is not a Russian nor an anarchist among them as reported, I would not give them work again under any condition, as they have shown a de- sire to runm the business, and it is not profitable to have them do so, conse- quently they will have to look elsewhere, as we will ciose down before we will again employ them’ The discharged men appeared comforta- ble in their :}unrters in the store building, but they didn't have much to say sbout their position. They claim that the real cause of the troubie was that they were given certain | piece work at 15 cents, and at the end of the month it was cut to 12 cents and it was done without notification. They also still contend that the foreman is incompetent, and thatin the case of a shoe being damaged he is unable to jocate which man was responsible and the man who was at all backward in defending his r;}ghcs would have to pay for the damaged shoe. They are still confident that they will be needed again -at the factory in a few days and are waiting for a call from the fore- man. CIPRICO'S CASE CLOSED. It Will Probably Be Submitted to the Jury by Judge Morrow This Afternoon. The Ciprico trial took a new turn yester- day. The prisoner was finishing his testi- mony and toward the end he grew very bitter against Chief Deputy Internal Reve- nue Agent Bert M. Thomas. As the latter was instrumental in bringing all the con- spirators to the bar of justice the District Attorney lost no time in stopping the at- tack and pointing out its animus. “Thomas,” said Ciprico, “is as crooked asaram’shorn and as sinooth as they make them. It was not long after 1 started in helping Stidger to umnearth the certifi- cate frauds that 1L discovered there wasa second ring.” Foss and Katzauer were at the head of one and Thomas was in com- mand of the other.” At this point Caprico was stopped and he went on to tell how he “*stood 1n”’ with the conspirators in order to trap them, and wound up saying, “If the Government officials had not rushed the matter I would haye caught every one of them. Others I know were in the scheme who will now’ never be caught.” According to Ciprico two-thirds of the pro- ceeds of the certiticate deals were to go to i{atzauer and half of the opium deals to oss. Ciprico was the only witness for the de- fense, and the arguments began. Assist- ant United States District Attorner Bert Schlesinger began the opening address for the Government. It was a masterly ar~ raignment of the conspirators, and he did not spare the prisoner. He was pointing out the discrepancies in Ciprico’s testi- mony to the jury when the court ad- journed until this morning. The case will £0 to the jury to-day. CARELESS . REPAIRING, The Steamer Laguna Comes Off the Drydock and Fills With Water. The steamer Laguna, which broke down on her last trip from Point Arena to this port and was towed into the harbor by the Newsboy, met with another accident yes- terday morning. She had been placed upon the drydock and her broken crank- shaft repaired. When the vessel was again lowered into the water she began to fill. The stuffing-box of the shaft had not been packed and the water poured in. She was hurriedly run into the dock again and lifted high ‘and dry, with her hold half filled. She was then pumped out and the leak stopped. § NEW TO-DAYDRY GOODS. Remnant Days o-day, Friday and Saturday! EMNANTS, ODD STOCK OF MANY SORTS, part pieces of every quality and any pat= tern we do not care to continue for the Fall trade drops into the Rush Line. yards of this or that, all probably to fill some want, at a trifle of the bolt price. that loses step joins the Remnant Rush and puts you in the way of saving money. enough in many pieces to make a suit. Prices Poverty Poor. ~=O = A few Any stuff Yards LAST CALL. LAST CALL. at 6 o’clock. LAST CALL. 6 P. M. LAST CALL. now for the future. be remembered. [INCORPORATED] 937, 939,941 MARKET STREET, San Francisco. For Summer goods at half Our Summer Clearance Salecloses Saturday night Clearance Sale and Rem= nant days end Saturday, Wise people are buying TWO FOR ONE. Wind up days ones to LAST CALL. HOSIERY price. Only three days At prices that help business. Come ¢ before Saturday night. more. BLACK COTTON HOSE, good qual- ity, narrow ribbed. sedmiess, 200 ()C dozen only, sizes 5toBY4: special sale price. ... Pair LADIES' BLACK COTTON HOSE, & g00d qualicy, ribbed tops. seam: ] O1C less and more fast black; sale 12 DEICe. .seucev e ..~ Pair UNDERWEAR. more after Saturday next. BOYS' AND GIRLS' ALL-WOOL DRAWERS AND PANTS, odd sizes, colors, red, gray and camel’s hair, worth 50c (o 75¢ per gar- 35° ment: sale price.. iiey i SoMaCh: CORSETS. Another smile-producer to bargain- hunters. LADIES' COKSETS, made of fine black sate-n and well boned with 7750 horn, 1ancy silk-stitched top, fine 9] value at $1; the sale price.. ..... Pair WAISTS AND WRAPPERS. LADIES FLANNELETTE WRAP- $1-0° Eacn WAISTS, good qualily, fancy PERS, good heavy quality, dark and light patterns, fall fashions, C check patterns, large sleeves: 50 only. <weers Each sizes 32 t0 40; sale price. LADIES' FLANNELETTE A VEILING SNAP. DOUBLE-WIDTH VEILING, 27 inches wide, closely dotted, 1n black only. 3 PICTURE FRAMES. An_unusually pretty line ot PIC- TURE FRAMES, colored glass fronts, size 7hzx10inches. ...... MEN’S SHIRTS. MEN'S OVERSHIRTS, made of fancy duck, light color: lar 25° Yard 10° Each 35° 50c, now Each MEN'S NIGHTSHIRTS, of good, heavy musiin, fancy embroidery £()0 trimmed, collars,” front and sleeve; sale price. B T [INCORPORATED] 937,939, 941 MARKET STREET, San Francisco. You'll need it soon, but you'll pay LAST CALL. COMFORTERS. Half a dozen items that hold up economies fg housekeepers. 70° COMFORTERS, for 34 beds, each. $1023 Cox}fli‘lol‘i'l‘m;s, white cotton filled, ull size, chintz covering, turkey- B Ted ining; each a1 COMFORTERS, full size, white cot- ton filled: trade bringers; each.. COMFORTERS, heavy robe, print covering. white cotion filied, full size; worth a special thought; R e > ) b COMFORTERS, sateen covering, full size, a pretty line; prices.... 83, 82 50 $2:20 COMFORTERS, eiderdown, soft as snowflakes, ‘warm, but so light they'd almost woo & zephy THE NEW EIDERDOWNS. Cant trame words to degcribe thelr R0 their beauties, and the price so o) litle for such_qualities; solid i colors, pretty plajds, advanced C e, niwes: ehect 70 Vgt AR LAST CALL. NAVY BLUE AND SCARLET TWILLED FLANNEL, staple as flour; worth 50c & vard; until Saturday night per yard. = 30° $122 UNION HUCK TOWELS, size 19x 88 inches; they make their part- 1ng bOW &t per d0zen......cvveeres LAST CALL. MEN'S WOOL UNDERWEAR, good, heavy quality, well mace and neatly hnished, color natural gray and camel hair; sale price per garment.... e 75° MEN'S ALL-WOOL DRAWERS, natural gray and white, odd sizes, that's why price 50 low: worch $150 to $2 per garment [INCORRORATED) 937, 939, 941 MARKET STREET, San Francisco. The Morning Stars of a New Autumn Are in View. The New Dress Goods Stock, Mountains of woven elegance, already here and new arrivals daily. Advanced styles and ideas. We'll tell you more about them in our next. 50° JUST OPENED—FANCY MOHAIR SUITINGS, 28 inches wide, new Yard 30° Fall designs, all colors all wool, 38 Opportunities Are Broadening FRENCH SERGE, inches wide, all colors and black ANEW LINE FANCY CHANGE- ()0 ABLE TAFFETA SILK, new ccolor combination: Yard A NEW LINE BLA ""C SILK, 21 inches wide, large de- ) signs; very swell. Yard The Good-By Silk Chance. FANCY SILK, 19 inches wide, two lines, all shades, Jacquard floral 4~c designs; prices until Saturday ) night.... ..40cand - Yard Why Hale’s Are Always Busy. FIGURED BLACK ALPACA, 38 950 Inches wide, stylish and neat..... 99 = a 50° Yard STORM GE, navy and black, 48 inches wide. GREAT SELLING OF REMNANTS TO-DAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. Just as Near Nothing a Yard as We Cared to Make Them. WIDE-AWAKE TO THIS, THE LAST SUMMER CALL. [INCORPORATED] 987, 939, 941 MARKET STREET, San Francisco. RACE FOR THE SUPPER. Blcycvle Contest Between Judge Campbell and Sergeant Conboy. Eoth Tralning Hard for the Event. Sergeant Conboy Breaks All Road Records. The scene of a wild-eyed guardian of the peace and one of the most learned in the law among San Francisco’s Judges, both on bicycles, tearing over the cobbles, running down pedestrians and leaving a cloud of dust and startled bumanity in their wake; a scene which would defy and baffle the bars of his wheel, his whiskers floating on the wind. i Nergeant Conboy is eqnnllf as faithful in his training, and devotes all his spare mo- ments to getting into condition. Judge Campbell’s trainer is Oregon Davis, or “Flash” Davis, as he is known to the scoichers. Sergeant Conboy is being fitted by Frank Moreno, also a crack bicy- clist. Each is putting his man through'a course of treatment as vigorous as though the championship of the world were at stake. Bailiff McNamara will accompany Judge Campbell and Sergeant Esola will pace for Conboy, the two to act as judges and the; to select the referee. Sergeant Martin will also ride beside his fellow-officer, to give him confidence and cheer him on to vic- tory. Betting on the race was about even until Tuesday night, when Sergeant Conboy suddenly became a decided favorite. This was due to a run he made that evening, in which, according to his own statement, he rode to San Jose (fifty miles) in two hours JUDGE CAMPBELL AND SERGEANT CONBOY DOING THE SCORCHs ING ACT. researches of the entire detective force of the City to ascertain the cause of the ex- citement, is one that will be witnessed by those who are so fortunate, or unfortunate, as to be in'the line when Judge Campbell and Sergeant Conboy leave the City Hall the evening of September 2 on a great race to the Cliff House and return. The race is for a banquet for ten and the vanquished must foot the bill. Judge Campbell and Sergeant Conboy are both bikers who consider themselves scorchers, and they have done a vast amount of bragging about their achieve- ments on the wheel. Each claimed to be the speediest ‘biker among all the City’s ‘peace officials, and to settle the question a laid. The contestants have gone into active training, and each has secured the services of a professional trainer to'fiit him for the contest. 8o diligently are both men train- ing that the dignified dispenser of fu.mae may be seen.almost any night as late as 12 and 1 o'clock bending over the handle- race has been decided upon and the wager and twenty minutes, The delicate modesty with which Sergeant Conboy made this statement was rendered exceedingly pic- turesque when it was remembered that he had broken all road records of the world. “And still Judge' Campbell thinks he can win the race. 2 s ———— Notice to Mariners. The recent discovery of an 18-foot rock in Bonita Channel has necessitated the shifting of black buoy 3 to a'position outside of and 100 yards south by west three-quarters west from the rock. The buoy is placed in 54 feet of ‘water cn the following bearings: Bonita Point lighthouse, east by south three-quarters south: North Seal Rock, southeast one-eighth east; right tangent entrance Rodeo Lagoon, north- east by east three-quarters east. Vesselsshould not pass inside this buoy. The obstruction ‘buoy formerly marking Anita Rock, San Fran- cisco Bay, has been replaced by a first-class nun buoy, painted red and numbered 4, placed in 66 teet of water 110 yards north of the rock and on the range of the rock and Presidio wharf. Compass bearings are: Fort Point llfhthome, west by south one-eighth south; Alcatraz lighthouse, northeast one-half north; Lime Point fog-signal, west northwest. .3 R BEFRCTORYORES A New Method of Extracting Precious Metals by Roasting. Found Feasible at a Public Test Made In Oakland Yester- day. A satisfactory test of the rapid and cheap reduction of base ore by roasting was made near Shell Mound, Oakland, yesterday afternoon. Itis a new process and this was the first public ex”ibition of the working,of the plant. The rapid‘roasting process promises a great saving of the product of the ores and of the cost of obtaining it. The roasting is done during the passage of the powdered ore through a flue 100 feet in length and with a fall of three inches to the foot. It requires from four to ten minutes for complete desulphur- ization of the ores in its passage. Three furnaces about thirty feet apart communi- cate with the flue, and the flames from them are driven into it. Near each fur- nace there is also a series of blow-pipes opening into the side of the flue and directed downward. The direction of the blast of compressed air from the first series gauses a rotary motion of the small particles being roasted, while the situation of the next series of blow-pipes on the opposite side of the flue is such that the rotary motion is there reversed, and so on, causing a thorough stirring up of the par- ticles in their downward passage. So great is the heat obtained that the most refractory ore is completely deoxi- dized and all the arsenic_and other bases removed, leaving free milling gold ore to be collectea from the tanks at the lower end of the flue. But one of the most advantageous features of this process is that all the vole- tized metals pass on and are carried by a pipe into a tank of water. The water is afterward drawn off and precipitated to secure the different metals that passed into it in a gaseous state. Yesterday’s test was a particularly severe one, as it was made with concen- trates or sulphurets instead of ordinary ore, a supply of which did not arrive in time. The ten tons of sulphurets used were brought from the Amador Queen mine several months ago. The test, how- ever, was very successful in demonstrating the value of the methed. The ore is first dry-crushed and then powdered to forty mesa or the fine- ness of ordinary dust when it is ready to be fed intothe topof the fiue, which has an interior diameter of one foot and is lined with fire-proof brick. Green oakwood is used for fuel and 100 units of air is consumed with every one unit of wood. The burning of the gases in the flue saves more than one-half the fuel required for ordinary furnaces. By the new process ore may be roasted at a cost of less than $1 a ton, and 90 to 95 per cent of the assay value obtained. The plant ncar Shell Mound cost $20,000, and has a capacity of 50 tons aday. It would, if located at a mine, require fifteen men, divided into three shifts, to run it. Tharee cords of wood are sufficient for fifty tons of ore with chis furnace. It is estimated that with free water and oak or other green wood at $350a cord gold and silver refractory ores can by this method be worked at the mine from the dump to base bullion for from $150 to $3 a ton, according to the character of the ore and the size of the plant. The plan of the apparatus was conceived about two vears ago by H. P. Holland of this City, who has recently secured several patents on the process. : Among the men who witnessed the test were George Mon't'gomafi', a capitalist of Oakland; General Jobn Hewston, founder of what is now the Selby Smelting Works; H. Engalls of the Standard Oil Trust; J. H. Wilcox, an old mining man; George Phillips, interested in Mexican mines for thirteen years; Professor George Churchill of Knox College, Illinois, who was present in the interest of a capitalist of Peoria, and E. Dean, the lumber-dealer, of this City. A SIERRA RAILWAY, Surveyors Laying Out a Branch Line From Boca to Independence Lake. A party of engineers and surveyors are working in the Sierras near Boca. They are locating a railway about eighteen miles long from Boca to Independence Lake for a new branch of the Central Pacific road. Division Superintendent Wilder went over the ground last week on a tour of in- spection and returned in time to attend the meeting of the Railroad Commission- ers yesterday. He was commissioned to examine the country through which the new line is to run and make a report to the general superintendent and the execu- tive department of the company. The country to be traversed by the branch from Boca Junction is heavily tim- bered with the exception of five or six miles from the Central Pacific Railway, * In this latter strip of land the loggers and millraen bave cleared away every bit of | pine worth removing, and for a long time past the products of the sawmills were transferred to the railroad station with great difficulty on drays and lumber carts. This will be obviated, however, by the new railway which is to tap the richest portion of the Sierra pine forests. Mills will be es- tablished along the route with the result that mountain lumber will become plenti- {ul in California markets and the railroad company will have a more convenient and cheaper source of supply for its needs in the way of lumber. The land almost ex- clusively belongs to the Hobart estate, which is interested in the enterprise equally with the railway corporation. . At Independence Lake there will be many inducements for summer resorts, as the scenery about there is widely known for its majestic beauty, and the belief is quite strong that a fashionable resort is one of the things in contemplation at the end of the branch road through the heart of the Sierras. e S STOLE GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. Two Men Arrested for Raiding the Round Valley Reservation. The Government is hot on the trail of the thieves who have been raiding the Round Valley reservation. Systematic raiding has been going on for months, and some time ago the United States Marshal was instructed to take action. The diffi- culty of locating the marauders stayed Mar- shal Baldwin’s hand for som¢ time, but a week ago he received authentic informa-~ tion as to the whereabouts of two of the men. Depnty Marshal Harris was at once dis~ atched, and to-day he sent back word that he had arrested Frank Doolittle, alias Frank Fawcett, for stealing two sacks of flour, and S. B. Palmer, for stealing a steer. Both men will be brought to San Fran- cisco for trial. In order to arrest Doolittle the deputy marshal had to ride sixty mileg on horseback into the most uninhabited: part of Trinity Count: Passing Confederate Notes. Edward McDonald was convicted in Judge Conlan’s court yesterday on two charges of passing Confederate notes. The victims were 8. P. Waugh, manager of the Hancock Ho Mission street, .Qfi’ Andrew P. Doran, a ‘:::: nnnm-keeger on the water front. McDonald was arrested by Policemen Henneberry and Holland. He will be sentenced to-day, ——————— Freo This Week. AL BIG PRESENTS-ONE GIVEN Each Pound of Our EXTRA VALUE 50-CENT TEAS, GREAT AMERICAN IMPORTING TEA CO, 62-58 Market street, S. F., Headquarters, BRANCH STORES EVERYWHERE, WITH