Newspaper Clippings, San Francisco Herald, 1869

LETTER FROM VIRGINIA.

[SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DAILY HERALD.]

Present and Prospective Value of the Virginia Mines - The Occidental - Early Failures - Present Success - Total Yield $700,000 - Fifty-six men Employed in the Mine - Immense Quantities of Eighteen-Dollar Ore - A New Mill to be Built at the Mouth of the Mine - Profits from Five to Eight Dollars per Ton - Bright Prospects for the Future.

VIRGINIA, March 20th, 1869.

Now that White Pine is looming up in all the vastness that distance and consequent vagueness give; when the East and the West are pouring into that new El Dorado their thousands of hopeful hearts that dream of fortune in a day; when secure investments and moderate but certain gains are disregarded in the mad pursuit of what at best must prove an ignis fatuus to all but a favored few; it may seem scarce worth the while to describe, either in general or in detail, the present condition and future prospects of what but lately, in public estimation, as it is yet in reality, is the chiefest of silver lodes, which founded a State and indirectly peopled a territory equal in extent to the domain of many a monarchy.

It may be, however, that no more appropriate time could be chosen; that a full and truthful exposition of the developments which have been, and are being made in those mines situated upon, or immediately contiguous to, the Comstock lode, by more thoroughly acquainting the public with the future value of this great vein, which for a decade has added a steady stream to the wealth of the world, may deter many from sacrificing the substance for the shadow.

To this end I have determined upon giving an account of the present appearance of the workings of the various companies of prominence, from personal inspection and observation, wherever practicable, aided by old '49-ers, men of large mining experience, who have resided here since the first discovery of silver, and who are thoroughly conversant with all matters pertaining to the Comstock.

Commencing at the south, the first location of any importance or present value is the Occidental.

The Occidental is situated about three miles from Virginia, on the northeast side of the Leet & Birdsall toll road to Dayton. It was originally taken up in 1860 for lime; the character of the surface rock fitting it for that purpose. The amount of silver contained was so small that it could not be profitably worked for that metal in those days of high prices, although several parties during the succeeding five years attempted it at various times. Finally, in July, 1865, the mine passed into the possession of Messrs. Weston & Slanck, who, having a mill of their own eligibly situated, were enabled to work the rock with a small profit. Since then the quality of the ore has steadily improved, as depth was attained, and the bullion shipment has risen to about $40,000 monthly; $9,000 was shipped during the past week. Under the management of these gentlemen about 40,000 tons of ore have been worked, yielding over $700,000; the rock averaging from $15 to $18 per ton, and paying a profit of from $5 to $7. At present but eighty tons per day are being shipped to the mill, owing to the wretched condition of the roads, which renders hauling almost an impossibility. It is intended, as soon as the weather admits, to commence the construction of a mill at the mouth of the lower tunnel, to contain forty stamps, or more, if required, with a daily crushing capacity of 100 tons. The mill will cost $80,000. When completed the immense bodies of low grade ore which the mine contains can be extracted and reduced at a cost which will leave a net profit of from $3 to $5 per ton.

The Occidental is located upon the same lode as the claims in Flowery District; the cropings being plainly traceable for its entire length of 1,800 feet, and through the adjoining claims on the north. No assessment has ever been levied; the rock paying from the surface down.

The ore is at present being extracted by a tunnel commencing a little above the traveled road, but a tunnel has been driven in 820 feet, some distance down the canon, and should cut the lode in from 50 to 80 feet farther. It is confidently expected that the lode will be struck in that distance in from two to four weeks. At the face of this tunnel a large stream of water is pouring down, the flow being estimated at twenty inches. As it is likely to prove constant, it will be ample to supply the wants of the new mill to be built. The upper workings of the mine, which but recently were flooded, have been completely drained wince this stream was tapped; conclusively showing that the lower tunnel cannot be far distant from the ledge. Fifty and seventy-five feet from the back end small stratas, or feeders, of quartz and clay, varying from two to three feet in width, are struck, which contain a little pay. These stratas have the same dip as the ledge in the workings above. Four hundred and fifty feet from the mouth of this tunnel a connection is made with an old tunnel running east, known as Lee's tunnel, by which a good current of air is obtained.

I should have stated, perhaps, that the ledge runs nearly north and south; the exact strike being north twenty degrees west. The dip is about forty-five degrees. Both tunnels of the company are run in a direct north and south line.

The lode is struck in the upper tunnel one hundred and eighty feet from the mouth. The tunnel then deflects a little to the west, following the ledge. No hanging or foot-wall is here exposed. At this point, and for several hundred feet, the lode is largely composed of gypsum and carbonate of lime. Further on it assumes more of quartzose character; as indeed, it does as greater depth is attained.

Two hundred and seventy feet in the foot-wall is exposed, and the ledge is cross-cut for thirty feet without striking the hanging wall. At this point there are two bodies of fair milling ore, eight feet in width each, one lying directly on the foot-wall, the other to the east, with a division of about twelve feet of low grade rock, which can all be worked with profit at the new mill. The eastern body has here been stopped out for some fifteen or twenty feet below the floor of the tunnel, and both bodies have been stopped up eighty or ninety feet; the rock paying from $15 to $18.

A few feet farther on a second chamber has been excavated, forty feet in width and about fifty in height, of the same character of rock.

A little over three hundred feet from the mouth a winze has been sunk, following the foot-wall, to the depth of 110 feet, from which large quantities of ore are being extracted. The quality improves somewhat with depth, and the ledge widens. This winze will connect with the lower tunnel, a distance of 400 feet. Three hundred feet from this winze a second has been sunk to the depth of seventy-six feet, also following the foot-wall, which is in good ore all the way; assays of rock taken from the mouth going as high as $90. No work is at present being done on this winze. Besides the extraction from the first winze the ledge has been stopped out at various points for a distance of over 200 feet towards the surface, and the ore is delivered in the tunnel by means of a number of chutes. Between the first and second chute there is a space of 300 feet of solid ground, but sixty-six of which have been worked out. The course of the ledge is uniform the whole distance, the country rock to the west occasionally swelling and forcing the lode to the east of the line of the tunnel. In such cases cross-cuts for a few feet have again exposed the ledge.

About 750 feet from the mouth, the direction of the tunnel is slightly changed, so as to run nearly north; and it is driven through clay for about 200 feet. The direction is then changed more to the wet, and the lode should again be struck in a distance of 60 feet.

By the workings at present, a body of ore of uniform quality, milling from $15 to $18, averaging ten feet in width, is exposed for 600 feet in length and 400 feet in depth; equivalent to 120,000 tons. Of this, from 40,000 to 50,000 tons have been worked, leaving on hand about 75,000 tons. The quantity of low grade are in sight, which will mill from $9 to $12, and can be worked at a profit when the new mill is erected, is fully as great. Should the lode continue of the same width and quality to the depth of the lower tunnel, a distance of 300 feet from the bottom of the first winze, the Company will have sufficient ore for a number of years.

Fifty-six men are now employed at the mine. Very little timber is used, the ground being solid. One divident of $2 per share (there are 1,000 shares in the claim) has been declared by the company; and I understand that they will continue to pay them regularly, with the exception, perhaps of a few months, when the profits will be employed in the construction of the new mill. The prospects of the mine are certainly very flattering, and with the completion of their contemplated improvements, and consequent ability to crush the immense amount of low grade ore on hand at a profit, the company ought to have a long lease of financial prosperity.

LETTER FROM VIRGINIA CITY

[SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HERALD.]

Big Blast of the Sierra Nevada—Prospects of the Mine—The Ophir Mine—The Gould and Curry Mine—The Drama—White Pine Excitement Decreasing—Unfavorable Reports.

VIRGINIA, April 2, 1869.

The big blast at the Sierra Nevada mine was let off at 10 A. M. to-day and did splendid execution, throwing down and loosening hundreds of tons of rich ore in which free gold is seen quite plentifully besprinkled. The bullion from the last clean-up is retorted and at Wells, Fargo & Co.'s for shipment to San Francisco to-night. There are two sacks of it, and it sums up to $15,000, rather more than was expected. The bullion returns of next month will be even better still. You may think this is rather a big blast on my part for the Sierra Nevada mine, but it is simply the truth, as verified by the bullion returns.

The prospects of the Sierra Nevada mine are better to-day than I have yet seen them. Nothing has ever been developed at the lower depths of that mine worth mentioning, but at the surface there are thousands upon thousands of tons of ore, rich in free gold, which, under the present active and energetic management, is being brought to light, and made to yield up its closely hidden treasures. Under the Bob Apple administration, this was allowed to lie idle, while the money so abundantly assessed and collected from bleeding stockholders was expended in sinking away down in the bowels of the earth after imaginary deposits, building new hoisting works, and getting ready to do something. Bob did begin to go after the surface ore a little towards the last, but he did not find the best of it. A new board of trustees was elected by the stockholders, and a little man named T. F. Smith is now Superintendent of the Sierra Nevada. Smith nosed out the lead, and has opened out and developed ore enough to last for the next five or six years, and some of it, especially that which has been run through during the last fifteen days, paying very richly. The mill is very convenient to the mine, so much so that the ore is dumped directly into it, the whole cost of extraction and milling only amounting to about five dollars per ton, so that all over that amount counts among the profits. The run for the last month will yield far better than anticipated, especially these last fifteen days. There are nearly forty men employed in and about the mine, and the bullion-producing operations are confined to the surface workings. It is proposed, however, in the course of a few weeks to pump out the main shaft, and prospect the ledge at that point to a great depth, especially to the eastward from the lowest level of the shaft. Whether anything is developed or not at the greatest depths, the Sierra Nevada certainly has the best thing on surface ore of any claim on the Comstock ledge.

Other Mines.

The Ophir Company are still busily and energetically drifting west from their new shaft, at the 700 foot level. They are in now about 180 feet from the shaft, and the face of the drift is in pretty hard rock, of a favorable character, however, so that it blasts and works well. The great Comstock at this point is apparently divided in two seemingly distinct ledges or sections of the same ledge, known as the "front" or "east" ledge, and the "back" or "west" ledge. By means of this drift it is expected that the front ledge will be cut in about 250 or 300 feet from the shaft, and the back ledge in about 100 feet further. This 700 foot level is 400 feet deeper than the old Latrobe tunnel, which passed through the front ledge, developing a very promising quality and quantity of low grade ore. What will be developed by this new drift is of course merely a matter for hopeful anticipation and speculation; but there are excellent reasons to believe that good ore will surely be found.

The Gould & Curry shaft is to-day once more pumped out, and this evening or some time to-night sinking at the bottom will be resumed. You will recollect that it is just penetrating the east wall of the Comstock, over 1200 feet below the top of the shaft, or 1500 feet below the level of the croppings. What it will develop, of course, no man knoweth but stockholders and their friends, and everybody else are all hopeful, for the quartz at the bottom of the shaft is of a very promising quality and some few little streaks of ore are said to have been seen in it. The story, however, will soon be told, now, without further anticipation on my part, for the shaft is to be sunk down through until the west wall of the ledge is found, which will be in two or three hundred feet farther, allowing the ledge to maintain its present known and established dip or inclination to the east of forty-five degrees. Who knows but that the Ophir and the Gould & Curry may yet resume their old position among the leading mines of the Comstock? These three mines, of which I have written, are the only ones on the north section of the ledge—from the Savage northward—which are doing anything worth mentioning in the way of development, but just in proportion to their success will be the disposition of other mining companies in that section to follow suit.

Theatrical.

Miss Annette Ince and Harry Edwards, supported by a very excellent dramatic company, are drawing very fair audiences at Piper's Opera House. Miss Ince takes a benefit to-night, and will have a crowded house. The classic play of Ion will be given. Edwards will also be given a good benefit next Monday night. This week concludes their engagement. Next Tuesday evening Amy Stone commences an engagement, opening with Fanchon. Her husband also appears, of course, in connection with the balance of the company now performing at the Opera House.

White Pine.

I don't believe the excitement and tendency White Pinewards is quite so strong here as it is in San Francisco—at least I hope not. It is bad enough anyhow, but it was much worse awhile ago. It "went through" our floating population at a pretty lively rate, so that check-guerrillas, vagrants, garroters, bummers and similar nuisances are comparative scarce here, although the disease also walked off with many good church members. The accounts now coming from the famous new Silverado are not very favorable, and this has caused quite an abatement of the fever. It is a quarrelsome country out there at White Pine, I should judge from the thousand and one disputes reported about town lots, mining claims, and all that sort of thing. Even in the Eberhardt they commenced by chiseling each other, and the man who located the claim is not allowed a taste of its riches at the hands of the very men he located. I kind of like the way my old friend Bluxton has subsided down into. He located several claims on Treasure Hill, and got into some sort of a difficulty with his partners in every claim he located. At last he writes me as follows: "I've got a claim now that nobody can't devil me about. It's only 400 feet—200 feet for location and 200 for discovery, and I'm the only so of a gun in it."

A.D.

LETTER FROM GOLD HILL.

[SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HERALD.]

The Gold Hill Mining Calamity.

GOLD HILL, April 7th—8 P. M.

The fire which was discovered in the Yellow Jacket mine at 7 o'clock this morning, and of which you have received a full telegraphic account, is not by any means quenched. It is still burning, and will most probably continue to do so to-night at least. The extent of it, however, is not great as yet. Firemen just out of the mine, and who have stopped down there during the past hour in the 800-foot level, where the fire is, say that it is about 250 feet south of the shaft, and does not extend more than a dozen sets of timbers in length toward the Kentuck, as far as they have been able to ascertain; but it seems to be working upward, and they find great difficulty in getting a stream directly at it. It seemed to be burning up into the timbering above, where it had been worked out and filled in with waste, thus letting down large quantities of loose earth and rock, which had the effect to fill up the drift and stopping the draft of air which had been so strongly circulating through into the Kentuck and Crown Point.

The present prospects are that the fire will be smothered out or extinguished before morning, yet it may not be, for it is the hardest thing in the world to judge of a fire like this, cooped up in the bowels of the earth, where it cannot be got at or respectably managed. Between where this fire is and the Kentuck mine, there is about 50 feet of the drift untimbered; therefore the fire cannot pass there, and has to work above, in the timbers of the worked out ground. I think no great or permanent injury has or will accrue to either this or the other mines. The loss of life is the greatest and most terrible calamity. There is a bare possibility that the men at the lower level of the Crown Point mine, below where the smoke and fatal gas generated is supposed to extend, may be still alive, but the hopes in that direction are indeed small, although the Roots patent blower has been forcing fresh air down to that level continually, for they have made no signal, and when the cage was let down to that level with a lighted lantern and a message, no reply was sent up.

The following is a correct list of the names of the 23 men missing and supposed to be still in the mine: Michael McCormick, Peter Blouin, Patrick Buckley, James Bickell, George Edmonds, A. G. Grant, Edward Jewell, William Jewell, Jonathan Joes, Thomas Laity, William Mitchell, Joseph Matthews, Archie McDougall, Thomas McCallin, Thomas McCoy, Daniel O'Neill, John O'Brien, James Peters, A. Reinay, K. Ryan, George Tampkins, John Rowen, Thomas Toland.

The names of the dead thus far brought out of the fatal depths are: From the Yellow Jacket mine, John Ring, Joseph McClellan and John Hogan; from the Kentuck, Anthony Toy and Patrick E. Quinn; from the Crown Point, Richard Bickell. The last named was killed in coming up out of the mine on the cage with his brother George. Overpowered by the smoke and foul gas, he probably fainted, and was dragged against the side timbering of the shaft, as his head was torn almost completely off and his left arm hung by a small strip of skin to the shoulder. George also came to the surface insensible, but reclining over him with a death-like grip that it was difficult to disengage, his last instinctive idea seeming to be to hold his brother safe in his arms. He has remained insensible ever since, and gasping with asphyxia produced from inhaling the deadly smoke and gas. He has four or five of our best physicians to attend him, but his chances for recovery are exceedingly small, and he bids fair to die before morning.

This is the most terrible calamity of the kind which has ever happened in this State, and a cloud of sorrow hangs not only over this community, but grief and dire distress is carried into the bosom of many a family, for many of these victims were married men. The origin of the fire is supposed to be from some miner's candle stuck against the timbering, after the too novel style.

A. D.

LETTER FROM GOLD HILL.

[SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HERALD.]

GOLD HILL, (Nev.,) April 11th.--7 P. M.

The Great Mining Calamity.

I have just returned from a short round of inspection at the scene of the disaster. The boilers of the hoisting works are still sending heavy volumes of steam down the shafts of the Yellow jacket, Kentuck and Crown Point, each one of which is as tightly closed as possible, yet considerable of the hot vapors from below escape through the surface timbering and chinks not easily got at or stopped. That from the Yellow Jacket is strongly impregnated with gas and light smoke, but partakes more of steam that it did yesterday, showing that although the fire may not be extinguished, yet the mine must be pretty well filled and saturated with the steam. From the Kentuck shaft, nothing but steam issues and from the Crown Point comes steam, smoke and gas mixed, with the steam predominating more than it did yesterday. It is not of course known at present whether the fire is really quenched or not but I do not believe it is, quite. It was proposed to open the shafts to-morrow (Monday) morning, but I believe that idea is abandoned, and they will remain closed under the steaming process for the next two or three days.

Extent of the Damage.

How much each mine is injured by this disaster will only be known after the shafts are re-opened; at present it is merely a matter of speculative conjecture. I can merely reiterate what I stated in my last letter, supported by the general impression of those who should know best, that the fire has not been at all extensive and has not destroyed any great amount of timbering even in the Yellow Jacket mine; at the cost of a few days' work and a few hundred dollars, the whole will probably be repaired again as good as ever. Owing to the nature of the workings, and the situation of the timbering at that point, it is difficult to conceive how it could readily pass through into the Kentuck mine, and no one believes that it got into the Crown Point at all. Such a body of steam constantly driven down into these mines and permeating every tunnel, drift, winze, stope, breast and chamber for such a length of time is extremely liable to saturate the timbering, earth, ore and everything else, and perhaps may do some damage in that way. It will take some time for the mines to dry out, the unwholesome gases generated to pass off, and the air to become as comparatively good as it was before. The loss of time and heavy expenses entailed in the extinguishing of the fires, recovering the bodies, funeral charges, donations to the sufferers, may all be legitimately counted among the losses by stockholders, but permanent injure to either mine I consider out of the question. No ore will probably be produced from either mine under a week at least, even though the fire is already extinguished.

Horrors yet to Come.

When I was at the Crown Point Works this evening I saw the carpenters busily at work making some long, narrow boxes, in which to put the bodies of the eight men still remaining in the mines. These, are we have before stated, George Edwards, Daniel O'Neil, Thomas Laity, and A. Reinay, all at the 600-foot level of the Crown Point Mine. In the Kentuck, Joseph Gassen is at the 700-foot level, and Martin Clowney at the 800-foot level. When found, they will have been nearly or quite a week in that poisonous, hot, reeking, confined atmosphere, and their decomposed condition may be imagined. They will be at once sewed into blankets or canvas, put into the boxes and thus brought out.

Coroner's Inquests.

Coroner Symons has been busy during the last two days, and has held inquests upon the bodies of 21 of the victims; he will continue. In these inquests the question of who was to blame at all, or accountable in any way for this terrible disaster, has been freely brought up and considered, yet nothing has been elicited attaching blame or culpability upon any one. There was a rumor quite prevalent yesterday that Mr. Kellogg, the foreman of the Yellow Jacket mine, had been arrested on a charge of being somehow guilty in that respect, but this was totally false and unjust.

Cause of the Fire.

The origin of the fire still remains unaccounted for, except from a lighted candle having been carelessly left where it could catch to the wood work, and it had evidently been burning for some time when discovered. An explosion of powder or gas is said to have occurred shortly afterward; but we are informed on the best of authority that no powder was where it could then explode. Two or three of the men who came out of the Yellow Jacket mine at that time, however, declare than they heard a noise which sounded something like a deadened report of a gas explosion.

Flags at Half Mast.

The flags on all the mining works, engine houses and other prominent places throughout Gold Hill and Virginia have been flying at half mast ever since last Wednesday, when the great calamity occurred.

Relief for the Distressed.

The Relief Committee appointed at Gold Hill to receive donations and contributions for the widows, orphans and other family sufferers, and attend to the proper disbursement and application of the same, have already received liberal sums of money from prompt and generous California, amounting to over two thousand dollars, with good promise of plenty more, and to—morrow evening, the greatest benefit ever known takes place at Piper's Opera House, Virginia, the entire gross receipts of which will be applied to this most worthy object. The entire dramatic company have freely volunteered, and Piper gives the use of his popular theater, also, free. There will not be even any gas or printing bills to pay, and Hampton's omnibus line will have on extra teams and busses, running between here and Virginia from six o'clock P. M. until midnight, fare 50 cents each way, to and from the theater, and the entire receipts are also to be donated by him to the relief fund. The price of tickets is placed at $2, and several hundreds are already sold. Everybody buys a ticket most willingly, and some have bought them by the dozen, tearing them up and throwing them away afterwards, so that they could not be used. The proceeds of that benefit will probably sum up to $5,000 or $6,000; many even estimate it at $10,000; at any rate, Piper will see a crowded house that night, if he never does again.

A. D.

LETTER FROM GOLD HILL.

[SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HERALD]

GOLD HILL (Nev.,) April 18th--8 P. M.

The Situation.

The Yellow Jacket, Kentuck and Crown Point shafts remained closed, in order to smother out the fire if possible, from last Monday night until yesterday forenoon, when the Yellow Jacket shaft was reopened and preparations made for going down into the mine once more. The Kentuck shaft was kept closed until 3 P. M. to-day, when it also was reopened. The Crown Point shaft is still tightly closed, although full preparations are made for reopening it, and steam is up in the hoisting works ready for commencing operations as soon as it shall be deemed expedient. There is no surface sign of fire at present existing in either the Crown Point or the Kentuck mines, except that a small quantity of gaseous smoke comes from the mouth of the latter shaft. I understand that it is the intention to explore the interior of both those mines if possible to-morrow.

Wonderful Secrecy.

For reasons best known to themselves, the controlling powers of Yellow Jacket mine yesterday took a notion to have a private examination of the same, carefully allowing outsiders to understand that the shaft would not be reopened before Monday (to-morrow). They accordingly barricaded all the doors and windows of the building, and just before noon they started the works. The blower was put into operation, sending fresh air from the surface down into the mine, and the shaft being uncovered, attempts were made to descent on the cage. The timbering in the shaft was, however, found to be so much swollen and sprung out of place by the long-continued action of the hot steaming process adopted to extinguish the fire, that the cage would not pass without considerable hewing and trimming out. This proved a very difficult job, by reason of the hot poisonous gas and smoke coming up, which made several of the workmen sick, especially during last night. One of them was brought out of the shaft perfectly crazy, and so convulsively violent, that it took half a dozen men to hold him. Dr. Hall was sent for, and he is to-day pretty much recovered from that terrible asphyxiative sickness, which had nearly proven fatal. It was not until about noon to-day that the 900-foot level was reached. The air below the 900-foot level, where the fire was, is pretty good. Whether there is any fire still existing in the mine, or what may be the actual extent of the great damage supposed to be done in those important subterranean regions, is most probably better known at the present time to the officers and controllers of the mine than to your correspondent, the public or the majority of hopeful stockholders. This secret session is still progressing, and consequently many are the wild rumors afloat of continued fire, immense damage, and extensive caves. The Crown Point shaft was sounded yesterday, and less than 200 feet of water found at the bottom.

The Sufferers.

Not the small stockholders, but the families and dependent relatives of the victims by the great mining calamity, are all being well provided for, thanks to a truly and munificently generous public. California has most kindly and bountifully contributed, and the whole-souled people of this section have responded abundantly to the call for immediate assistance—pecuniary and otherwise. I received a letter from White Pine a day or two since, which states that they will contribute $5,000 to the relief fund from that famous locality.

Simmering Down.

Speaking of White Pine, there is a wonderful abatement of the rush towards that rich land of the cap-rock and the chloride perceivable lately. You San Franciscans can keep on rushing if you choose, but as far as this section is concerned, fully as many are coming back here from White Pine as there are going, especially within the last week or ten days. Many are pronouncing it a bilk of the very first water, while others say that what little chloride and horn silver there is in Treasure Hill will all be dug up and backed out of the district inside of six months, and that even now it is the tightest kind of scratching to make grub there. The fact of it is, that everything is totally overdone at White Pine. The mineral resources of the district thus far developed are very rich, but not extensive, or bidding fair for permanency. They are not sufficient for one-tenth part of the population which will overrun that section this summer. The true reason why so many Gold Hillers and Virginians are coming back is, that they find nothing out there which, for true remunerative permanency or the substantial support of a large community, can anywhere near equal the old Comstock. That's what's the matter.

A. D.