Weekly Trinity journal., 1858-06-05
Descriptive of Mining.

GROUND SLUTCING.-A common way of collecting
gold is by ground sluicing'-a very simple
process to those who understand it. A stream
OF water is conveyed in a ditch, or fume to the
claim or piece of ground TO be worked The
water is there turned loose on the ground. and
the desired direction given to it by digging a
shallow trench through the claim. The stream
soon tears out channel for itself with a little
assistance from the picks and crow bars Of the
men, who, with their legs cased in long India
rubber boots, walk back and forth in the water,
cutting roots of trees throwing out large rocks
and removing whatever other impediment which
the force Of the water may be unable to dislodgc.
As the ground sluicing claim is generally on a
hill side, the inclination gives the water great
force, and it soon cuts channel TO the bed rock.
At the lower end of the claim, where the inci-
nation is less, the sand, gravel and gold settle,
while the loan is washed away. Most of the gold
/ is found in the crevces and rough places Of the
bed rock, and is taken up with trowels and spoons,
after the water has been turned off above; but
some still remains in the sand and gravel below,
which are shoveled into wooden sluicp box and
washed more carefully. Cross pieces, or rifles ,
an inch and half high, are placed at intervals
/
enough to keep part of the hottom- board clear,
and the gold once touching the board, adheres to
it, and the force of the water not being great
enough to raise il among the floating sand, it
works down against the rifle among the heaviest
of other sediment, and is lifted out with a scraper
and washed clean in tin pan.
GETTING INTo' Tunnel CLAIM.-The tunnel
miners often find it necessary to cut channel
several hundred feet through solid rock, in order
to drain water from the basin in which gold de.
posts are usually found. Place little gold in
wash-bowl, half filled with water, fill the bowl
with sand and heap it up pyramid fashion; from
this some idea may be formed of the position gold
is found in, by tunnel mining To get at the gold
in the bottom without getting wet, an aperture
must be cut in the side of the bowl if it is very
shallow, a deep cut may be made from the ed ge
to the bottom; if very deep, it would be cheaper
to drill hole near the bottom the object being
to | ct the water Off The pyramid of sand repre-
scnts The mountain, the inner surface of the vessel
the bed rock or foundation of the hill Picking
the aperture in the side of the bowl is what is
meant, In miner s parlance, by being still in bed
rock This rock is very hard and seamless and
can be removed only by drilling and blasting
WIN gun or rock powder. Progress is conse-
qnently very slow, lahorious and costly; money
is required to buy powder, keep tools in repair
ana feed worHmen, and thus they keep on working
for SIX months or year. until they pcrforate the
rim OF the basin with an aperture six feet square
big enough to pass in and out with small cars
or wheelharrows, in which they expect to bring
out the earth containing gold Sometimes when
SHOWS are melting, the water therefrom COLLECTS
IN reservoirs in the ground, and when one of these
is tapped the water rushes in on the workmrn and
sluices them out Of the tunnel, not unfrequently
killing or naming some one.