The weekly Placer herald., 1853-03-26
COMMUNIcATED.J j
"a! Mir.ing.i

:
the minds of the initiated, profuslon o
complicated and pondcrous machinery; ,
vision of men tailoring for long and weary
hours, deep in the bowels of the earth
shut out from all sounds save the clnl
caused by their monotonous picking
amongst the stones and dirt Many q
heartfelt sympathy is called for the trial.
and safety Of the poor miner.
True it is, that the 'abors of the mine,
are arduous and fatiguing, and, in some
instances, they may be accompanied with
danger; hat, as | have hinted, much un.
necessary anxiety is felt for the miner, and
the. dangers and tolls which he must me-
cessari'y undergo are greatly exaggerated
by his distant friends and relatives. 1M
1t might not he ainiss, and perhaps in
structve to the last-mentIoned class to
give them short description of the meth
DDS Of mining in this country, while, at
the same tine, benefit may be derived by
Others from suggestions concerning the
great need Of further improvements in
mining machinery. q t'H 1si aaaju.
The first mining implement " hich re-
member to have seen in use in this coun-
try, was the simple pan or the tight formed
Indian basket, which, when filled with
dirt and immersed in the water was sub
IJected to process impossib to describe
but must be seen to he understood. -
Where rich deposits could be found these
implements and this process were suffi- :
cient to produce large daily incomes. As
the number OF these deposits diminished
other modes had to be adopted or the
earnings greatly diminish. This gave
rise to the use of the Rocker, a very sim
pie machine, yet decidedly great i'm
.provement; and white the proceeds there
from were much greater, the labor, if no
less ardu"us, was certain y attended with
more comfort to the miner.
For a long time there was a stand-still
in the way of Improvements; if we ex-
cept the thousands of useless inventions
OF those who never saw a flake of gold,
some OF them very cunihrouS. nearlu all
complicated, and all worthless though
brought here at heavy expense. SO long
as large amounts could be obtained by the
slinple process of rocking all were sasis-
and and the ' 50 5hs esfiaeHH fiaH If fdRs FRskfra on
ingenuity of some inventive genlus bro't
into use; and now indeed IA new era
dawned upon the miners and mining of,
California. Dirt heretofore considered
as worthless could by their use be made
to pay large wages, and that part techn-
cal termed "tailings" from Rockers was
often worked over in Toms with good re-
suit might enter into a more minute
description of the modus operdndi, hut
have only to refer my readers TO any of
the journals of that day and they may
find full description, with, perhaps,
well executed wood cat accompanying the
sanre
In some districts the Tom has been sup
planted by the sluice, and for saving fine
gold this has proved vauahle improve
ment, and with the addition of Blanket
ing and the use Of Quicksilver "A still
greater saving is nrhde.
But, with all these implements and i'm
provernents before Us, and al! their va
rious processes, in use, there is still
dearth IN the way of mining and the de-
nand is daily increasing for some other
and more extensive process by which more
dirt can be washed and the gold more
thoroughly extracted. 1t is evident to me
AS we'll as many OTHERS with whom | have
been connected and with whom | have
conversed that with the best of the pres
ent methods and improvements much gold
is lost: and that man who shall bring forth
something IN which present imperfections
will he obviated viii be hailed us great
benefactor by respectable though hard
t1aI ,,,Ipo
while at the same time it viii prove to
both source of untold wealth. a. w. L..
..uu.lr., nditnr In nnrI,tf,,. II, q ronl-