The hydraulic press., 1860-09-15
Gold Mining Inventions.

. Among all the various classes of men, who
have become domiciliated in California, there
are few, or none, who do more for the pros
pefisy Of the Stare than the inventors of la
bbr-Saving machinery for mining purposes
Indeed, to utter an tfd.ssailable truth, all
pioneers in mecfanical scfence, ~kose fnven-
tions tend to relieve hrtnan Muscles fr0th
the drudgery of labor, by backffng It on the
back of machinery, are the feal and legiti-
mate builders UP of civilization. However
much poets and orators fiay wrfte and de-
claim In praise of labor, and 60 into rap
lures over its dignity, the honest phiiosophi-
cad fact is, that the mass of mankind have
but little love for hard work. Necessity,
more than anything else, Is THE whip tfsst
drives them to it. fn The baTbarous state,
sthe strong and the cunning cohhpel the weak
@hd the simple to labor, while they control
ana enjoy. Labor is naturally so dstastefnl
tN fhsn that Ee is constantly on the warcA
to eAsfave somebody or something TO per-
form It For him. He enslaves Other men, Ell
ther by violence " by practfG;sshg on their
wants, and he eAsS3laves the Morse, the OK, the
donkey, the camel, ara even TIE ponderous
elephant, and makes tbefh drudge for hith
As be grows in civilization, with his Fatel-
lect and moral sentiments expanded, he casts
about TO enslaye the elements. He entraps
the running brook and the rushing breeze
into his service and makes them grind his
corn into -four, saw his logs into boards, and
fashion the crude iron into forms of usef61
ness. The greatest trophy of mans ensfA-
wing propensity, that now labors, without
nerves to suffer and heart to be crushed, is
the steam engine. He is, indeed, glorious
specimen of slave, and his owners are in
Hebted to him fos the inventiveness of me-
Schanicsi genius.
There is a man in this county of Nevada
who, by one boldly inventive stroke, has
Done more to increase the wealth Of Califor-
iffs than all of CALIFORNIA; Governors, Sena
tdrs, Oongressmen, and Legislators put to-
GefheF. Ehe man we mean is Edward A.
Matteson, MIRO invented the hydraulic mining
process, Aid bequeathed it to his fellow
Workers without fee or reward, and without
SrtA asking patent right for it. BY this
process the hills of auriferous gravel, whose
stubborn sides are, and will forever continue
TO be, impregnable to the puny assaults of
The spade and pick, have been made to dis
gorge their millions of long wealth.
Here is . slave, furnished TO the California
mfnesr by the genius of An inventor-an ex-
io4ofer IL the sciences of mechanics aha hy-
draulics-that is slave of infinite value
There is no accessible data by which to es-
tfaAkAte bis worth. His labors, like the
MiAgic of Aladdins lamp. have broken into
the innermost caves Of the gnomes, snatched
their imprisoned treasures, and poured them,
I'm golden showers, into the lap of civilized
humanity.
This same Edward A. Matteson We learn
from the NesndA Dettaccrat, does not permit
his inventive gehiHs TO sleep. Besides the
kySsANlic process-for which be deserves
the fortune of nabob and the Statue of a
hero-he has given to the world several 9TH
er curious dumb agents that help to take the
strain off of human muscles. Some of these
he has been induced to have secured to his
Sws proper use and behoof by patent right.
His fsst fSveqtion is an improvement in the
derrick, which greatly tessces the labor of
hitting and removing rocks. He Intends haS-
ing models made of his mining improvements,
and will exhibit them at the State Fair
Should he do so, the managers and other dig
nitaries of that institution viii have an cp
Portunity of showing honor to the greatest
henefactor California can boast.-Neuada
T|anserpt.