A Mine of Soap.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 897, 13 April 1877, Page 7

A Mine of Soap.

+ America is certainly a wonderful country, with its underground seas of liquid fuel, lakes of borax, and phenomenal mineral deposits. And now somebody has " struck " a mine of soap, if we believe the Transatlantic papers, from one of which we extract a circumstantial account of this unique discovery. The rock-soap mine, it seems, is situated in the lower mountains or foot-hills of the coast range in Ventura County, California, five miles from the city of the same name. It was discovered by A. F. Hubbard while prospecting for coal. He accidentally discovered some that fell into the water and dissolved. It being a new experience to see rock dissolve he gave it his attention, found it soapy, took it home to experiment with and soon learned its virtues: yet, strange to tell, his family used it for nearly a year before it was given to tbe public, when Mr Hubbard associated himself with Messrs Cronk and Bickford, forming tbe present company, who are the Bole proprietors of this wonderful miqe. Jt is accessible only through a canon leading to and opening upon the beach. The cost-line stage road passes tbe mouth of this canon three miles below the mine. This canon or ravine penetrates one of the wildest possible volcanic regions. Along this side of the ravine, sometimes in the bed of the stream, sometimes high up its precipitous banks, winds a little trail leading to the soap mine, travelled only by the safe packmule and hardy miner. The rock resembles chalk or lime. At the southern extremity is an extensive deposit, veined, marbled, and parti-colored, resembling CaHtille soap. The ledge at its opening is 15 to 20 feet wide, and crops out for 2,000 feet to an unknown depth. The lode is well defined with wall-rooks of hard slate s stoue, and has, in common with the slate and sandstone strata about it, been thrown up from the depths and turned completely on edge. In its vicinity is a mountain of gypsum, also turned up on edge ; indeed, the whole country bears evidence of fearful convulsions, also . of some' time having lain peacefully at the bottom of the ocean, for on the highest mountain tops oan be fonnd nearly perfect eea-Byells and specimens of marine matter.