Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-06-08
THE EVENING NEWS.

who has never gone down one of these high
ways towards the regions of Pluto, descend
ing a shaft is n new sensation, and worth
much to 4 man in search of excitement. We
are speaking Of going down shaft in primi-
tive style-where YOU put your foot into
moose at the end OF 4 rope, and are lowered
BY means Of windlass-not where you step
upon the platform Of one Of our new-fangled
iron cradles with Observation-Disclosures and
are lowered by steam power. That an old
woman might do. We must suppose the
shaft to be at least three hundred feet deep,
though n hundred feet would do nearly as
well. There are two stout fellows at the wind
lass-oue at the crank at either end. We
are sure they are stout fellows, for we exa-
mine them with especial attention to brOwn.)
We seat ourself upon the platform which
covers the mouth OF the shaft. Nearly the
whole of the length of the rope is wound
upon the wiudlass. \ short piece bangles
over the dark profound" with moose in
the end, into which You place your left foot.
You grasp the rope with both your hands,
holding candle in your right, and allow the
men at the windlaSS 20 "lOwer away" until
YOU are Strengthened out. Here the sensation
commences. You quit your seat on the plat
form, and trust yourself to the rope with re-
luctancc, and cannot help setting your feet
tight together, nor feeling OF goneness as
YOU realize that you are dangling over i hole
three hundred feet deep-we must insist upon
that depth. Now the windlaSS begins to re-
volve, and Won plunge down into the dark
ness like one sinking into the waters of the
sea. Down, down you go-not steadily, but
by short and extremely unpleasant jerks.
You are utterly helpless, and you feel so.
You are sensible OF being wholly powerleSs,
and at once become cOrrcSpOndingly demon
allied. Down you 20, feeling certain that
YOU are dangling Ut the end OF 4 most worm
OUT, rotten and unsafe rOpe-cCrtain that 1t
will break il YOU wink your eyes or breathe
hard. Now, your feet, or at least the one in
the moose, strikes the wall. y sort of gal
Yapic shock runs through your frame, and
YOU SILVER and clutch the rope much
tighter than ever, rs if that could prevent
vOur swinging across the shaft, and striking
against the opposite wall, where you see
plainly enough YOU are going. You would
stick out your right foot and keep yourself
Oft, but YOU are afraid to attempt it. Bump
YOU 20 against the damp and shining wall,
and start, catch YOUR breath and start across
against the opposite side. You don't like
this, and making desperate effort TO pre-
vent its recurrence, YOU set yourself spinning
around like an orange at the end Of string.
You spin around to the RICH. 4 while. then
YOU spin around TO the left awhile. Il IS very
unpleasant. And all this tine another mo-
ton bothers you YOU are going down, down.
Pretty soon, without knowing now, You get
back to the old pendulum motion again, and
are banging against the walls. Then, as YOU
90 dartiIE down, BY nervous and stated jerks,
in sympathy with the cranks above, like some
Dig spider letting himself down BY his thread.
-,
about strangely, sometimes almost going out,
and again giving out streak Of flame, appa-
rentlv, TO your excited imagination, several
feet in length. You vote it 4 bore, and would
drop it only that you are afraid that the rope
would break should YOU DO so. Finally,
with all this whirling and humping, you be-
come bewildered and imagine YOU have de-
seconded several miles. At last, just rs you
are about 10 give up and consider yourself as
one doomed to descend forever toward the
center of the earth without reaching it, your
feet touch bottom. You hold tighter than
ever 70 the rope and take I good look to be
sure that il is substantial earth upon which
YOU have landed. You continue TO hold on
TO the rope until your foot is free from the
noose-thoSe fellows above might take 4 sud-
den notion to hoist and carry you up hanging
BY the foot 1t is wonderful that you should
think of this, vet you do. The workmen have
some Of them come out of the drifts to the
shaft TO receive you; their lights blind you,
and YOU stagyer this way and that, wlnkInS
YOUR ewes like an owl and feeling eXquiSitely
shcepiSh. As you are on solid ground and
may put on airs without much fear OF re-
lapse, you try TO appear unconcerned; you
say '.how-dy do" to the miners about you in
al unusually impressive and friendly way
and even attempt sick.y joke or TWO about
YOUR descent, but the secret wish OF Your soul
is 10 be let alone-at least for 4 few minutes
till YOUR wits are settled.
CoLoxBE CoMPASY.-This company loca-
ted its claim in August, 1868, and has car
ried on work in it nearly all the time since.
The claim is situated about sixty rods north
west from that of the Knickerbocker compa-
nv, and its mining works, which consist Of a
tunnel and I shaft, are about the same dis
lance in the same direction from the upper
shaft of the knickerbocker company. The
tunnel was commenced 4 short time after the
location was made last year, and has since
then been run $50 feet. For the most part
of the wav the ground has been Of 4 quality
10 work well, and has allowed the workmen
10 drive the work ahead with considerable "a
piditv. Most of the way, too, the tunnel has
not required timbering. Only about % feet
has required support, and even then, light
timber was sufficient. The tunnel has al
ready passed through two lodges. The trSt
one is about 200 feet from its mouth, and Is
about Is feet in thickness, and pitches to the
east at an angle Of 50 degrees from the per
pendicular. This ledge is cut BY the tunnel
very near the surface, but gives promise OF
being found both large and rich, If followed
down hundred or two hundred feet deep.
The second ledge is 300 feet from the mouth
ofthe tunnel. 1t is not so large nor well de-
fined and promising as the first, but It IS, new
ertheless quite 4 promising ledge. Besides
this tunnel, the company has other mining
works. 1t has shaft further to the north,
which is designed to come down and connect
with the former work. The shaft is now %
feet deep, and will have TO be sunk about 60
more to connect with the tunnel. Another
ledge was passed through in sinking this
shaft, which we were told by the workmen
was the best ledge of the three found in the
different mining works of the claim. Take
this claim, all in all, and we believe it to be 4
very good one. II has lodges which are very
promising, but which, like those Of all the
other American Flat claims, requires depth
deep works, deep shafts to develop them.
When these are constructed, and not before,
we expect to hear Of pay rock being taken
out.
GENTLE ANNIE CoHPANY.-This company
is driving away vigorously at its new shaft.
1t has already sunk it about hundred feet
deep, and timbered it all that way in a very
perfect manner. The work is carried on night
and day by two shifts of workmen, and as
the shaft is being sunk in rock that is good
picking, it is carried down very rapidly. The
hosting is done BY means of a common wind
lass; but the depth is becoming so great that,
with the picking, which is now bad, one man
in the shaft can pick as much dirt as two men
at the windlass can conveniently take out.
At least, we saw contest Of the kind going
on at the claim yesterday afternoon, and the
men at the windlass seemed to have all they
wanted to do to take the dirt from the miners
way below, and none of them appeared to
have much leisure. We noticed several speci-
mems of quartz come up among the rock,
which shows that this claim has "goOd indi-