The Placer herald., 1857-11-28
Quartz Mining Two Thousand Years Ago

We have been favored by gentleman,
somewhat given to antiquarian researches,
with description of mining for gold, as it
was carried on about century before the
birth of Christ and for a considerable time
before, which, in all its essential features
precisely resembles the modus operandi of
working quartz mines now practsed in Cali
torna. 1t will be observed that the princi-
pie upon which quartz is taken out of the
earth, calcined, crushed with stamps and
rollers, as also the manner of separating the
gold from the pulverized rock, has under
gone no change-the additional elements
introduced being those of steam, of quick
silver, gunpowder, and the improvements in
the manufacture of tools, which have accom-
panied and form part Of the progress of
modern civilization. The description is full
of interest to California. 1t is extracted
from the third book of the "Corpus Histori-
cum" of Diodorus Siculus, Sician author,
who flourished about three score years before
the beginning of the Christian Era.
s. Il. Herald.
In the confines of Egypt, and the neigh
boring countries of Arabia and Ethiopia,
there is place full of rich gold mines, out
of which, with much cost and pains of many
laborers, gold is dug. The soil here natural
ly is black, but in the body of the earth run
many white veins, shining with white marble,
and glistening with all sorts of other bright
metals, out of which laborious mines, those
appointed overseers cause the gold to be dug
up 10y the labor of vast multitude of peo-
| ME X X X *
The earth which is hardest and full of
gold, they soften by putting fire under it,
and then work it out with their hands; gun
powder had not been invented in those DAYS,
and the expedent adopted for working out
the rock, was a very excellent one, the rocks
thus soitened, and made more plant and
yielding, several thousands of prohgate
wretches this scarcely applies to our miners
break 1t into pieces with hammers and pick
axes. There is one artist that is the overseer
of the whole work, who marks ont the stone
and shews the laborers the way and manner
how he would have it done. Those that
are the strongest among them that are ap-
pointed to this slavery, are provided with
sharp iron pickaXes, cleave the marble shin
ing rock by mere force and strength, and
not 10y art or slight of hand. They under
mine not the rock in direct line, but follow
the bright shining vein of the mine They
carry lamps fastened to their foreheads, to
give them light, being olherways in perfect
darkness, in the various win.ings ;nd turn
ings wrought in the mine; and having their
bodies appearing sometimes of one color and
sometimes of another, accorcing to the
nature of the mine where they work they
throw the Jumps and pieces of the stone cut
out of the rock upon the floor And thus
they are employed continually, without in
termission, at the very nod of the overseer
or task master, who lashes them severely, be-
sides. And there are little boys, that attend
upon the laborers in the mine, and, with
great labor and toll, gather up the Jumps
and pieces hewed out of the rock as they are
cast upon the ground, and carry then forth
and lay them upon the bank Those that
are about thirty years Of age, take piece
os' the rock Of aucA certain quantity, and
pound it in stone mortar, with iron pestles,
till it be as small as a vetch; then those
little stones so pounded are taken from them
by women and older men, who cast them
into mills, that stand near together, in long
row, and two or three Of them being EN-
ployed at one mill, they grind it so long till
it BE- as small & as fine meal according to the
At length the masters of the work take the
stone thus ground to powder, and carry it
away, in order to the perfecting of it, They
spread the mineral so ground upon broad
board, somewhat hollow, and lying shelving,
and, pouring water upon it, rub it and cleanse
it, and so all the earthly and drossy part
hosp 4 L. Al,
it runs off the board, and the gold, by reason
of its weight, remains behind. Then, wash
ing it several times again, they first rub it
lightly with their hands; afterwards they
draw up the earthly and drossy matter with
slender sponges, generally applied to the
powdered dust, till it be clean pure gold. At
last, other workmen take it away by weight
and measure, and these put it into earthen
urns, and, according to the quantity of gold
in every urn, they mix with it some lead,
grains of salt, a little tin, and barley bran.
Then, covering every pot close, and carefully
daubng them over with cav they put them
in furnace, where they abide five days and
nights together; then, after they have stood
to cool a convenient time, nothing of the
other matter is to be found in the pots, but
only pure fine gold, some little diminished
in the weight.
The plan adopted for saving the fine gold
without the use of quicksilver, may have
been a good one; but we imagine our Cali
fornia miners would make good wages out
of the Ethiopic "tailings" provided the rock
paid we'll at first.
The difference between republic and a
monarchy is thus truthfully pointed out by
somebody-"Pile all the people into pyra
mid, with the President for the apex, and
you have the symbol of republic. You
can shake the President, but you cannot
shake the united force of the people. Invert