Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-02-01

uiIeCt"u against JIle D2nk Oh gfaNel 10
be washed and forces the dirt through
the fiume, which is built of boxes Joined
together on an equal grade, with blocks
or poles laid in the bottom, to form a
rifle or ripple, which catches the gold,
1t being heavier THAI the dirt or gravel,
naturally gravitates to the bottom. BY
the way, the word rifle is used in mines
to specify placed in the boxes to produce
ripple of the water and catch the gold.
| cannot find the word In the dictionary,
and do not know as it is correct.
The next fastest way of working the
ground is by ground sluicing. There
must be the same facilities for working
as in piping, only less water can be used
from fifty to one hundred and fifty in
ches will DO, and it is dangerous to work
a bank of gravel of over twelve or fif-
teen feet in depth, on account of the liza
bility of its caging while men are pick
ing alongside. The way Of working is
simply to let the water run over the
ground and with a pick loosening the
gravel, when it VIII be carried into the
boxes, which are placed a little in the
bedrock, of course large rocks must be
picked out and the other gravel helped
along into the boxes. The space of
ground from the mouth Of the boxes to
the bank OF gravel generally from ten
to forty feet is called the ground sluice
Next on the list comes stripping and
shoyeling into boxes This is generally
done in gulchcs where there Is not fall
of water enough to ground sluice /
Twenty-Five TO nifty inches viii do for a
sluice head. Men generally work in
companies of two or three. The ground
should not be over eight or ten feet to /
bedrock; sometimes there is gold from /.
top to bottom, enough TO pay for shov /
cling the whole in, but oftencr some Of /
the top dirt has ne gold, when it is .
stripped off and thrownaway of course /
tha dirt must be richer than in either of /
the last named processes, to pay.
In drifting the diggings are generally /
deep, from 20 to 100 feet. a shaft about .
six feet square is sunk to the bedrock, I
thea the gravel is taken out about four
or five feet from bedrock and hoistcd .
by windlass by hand. or whim with a
horse, timbers being placed in the drift .
to support the top after the pay-dirt is
taken out, which is sluiced on the top. /
Rocking is resorted to where ground /
is rich and water scarce, a machine be /
ing used similar to a cradle with one end
out. One or two inches of water viii do,
the dirt is emptlcd a little at time into
a hopper with about one-half inch holes
in the bottom. water being poured in
and the machine kept rocking from side
to side. the fine dirt and -old falls .
through ou to piece of canvass placed .
there to receive it. the dirt gradually
washing out Of the end of the rocker
leaving the gold dirt has rot to pan
pretty vel - pay.
In prospecting for digging the pros
prctor shoulders his pick, ho,l ald
pan tn 2old-pal beln- about the ,in
Of d common milk pan with no seams.
being pressed into shape, the sidnz d lit
tie more flareing. it is made of sheet
iron; being thus equipped h- goes 10
the ground to be- prospcctcd and sinks
hole to bedrock, washing pan of dirt
every foot o. more by shaking from side
TO side. letting tho dirt gradually wash
over, the gold settling 10 the bottom. If
he has hank Of @r3vol that cau ba
worked ly piping. Am average Of one
half nr aue-quartar "t cent g. thc pan
Sill generally pay Well, but "a 10 Is hard
10 average it. if h. gets one. two. three
" four cents or more ON bedrock or the
prospect, he generally tries it TO make
.urc. If il is in gulch from two to
ix feet deep. ten cents 10 the pan Oh
with a little gold scattered
hrough the balance will pay well, say
iN 10 ten dollars day shOycling in
The same ground could it be worked by
ground sluice would pay $50 or $40 a
lay 10 the hand. Men don't like to work
ground that wont pay wages unless
hard up Wages Ia summer are four
lollars day. Dirt that will average
en- cents to the pan will pay to rock.
n drifting three men will generally
axe ont one set of timhers in day. the
mount of ground would be ten feet one
way. four feet another and fOur feet
ligh. In order to pay much 30 the
land they should get At least an ounce.
S18). for timber costs here $3.50 a set.
nd wages are five and six dollars for /
lrifters
This part Of the Territory has been ]
'retty well prospected though occasion .
lily there are strikes made now There /
: plenty of ground that will pay two
Iollars day that will be worked some
inc probably.
In quartz mining first find your quartz,
: some humorist says about killing tieas.
first catch your flea Although ] do
ot mean to intimate that quartz ia as
ard to find as Heas are to catch still ::
here is some similarity in the feeling +
'roduced, for frequently a man thinks /
c has his fortune, as he would have III {
e had good paying lead, but is disap-
puts his finger on it and it
sn't there The difficulty is not 50 much
a finding quartz, a. quartz that will
ay for probably not one lead out Of G
We hundred that are discovered will pay a
0 work. 1t costs so much to prospect /
aads that very few in this country are
thoroughly prospected, and when they !.
re prospected it is hard to tell when !
hey will pay, as general thing the 5
old is scattered in spots through the
ead and man may get very rich II
rice, which if the rock was all like it !
1ould pay hundreds of dollars TO the l
Oh, where at the same time, take the
uartZ as il came out of the lead IL might