River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-07-25
Don't the tiniest and finest grains
gold wash away with the sand ~ I

"DoD't the tiniest and finest grains
of gold wash away with the sand ~ /
asked.
"They must be pretty fine to do
that; but in the lower part of the boxes
they often put quicksilver, which your
chemistry will tell you is like most of
us, and absorbs greedily whatever
gold comes near it.
"But still / should think great
deal would wash away" said Minnie.
So it does, Minnie; so much that
in California they have washed the
sane earth nine times with profit
81 should think they would want to
stop and look to see how much gold
they were getting; don't they pretty
oftens' asked Frank.
No, they are not so impatient as
you would be. They shovel the dirt
steadily all day till the sun begins to
go down. Then the water is
turned away from the sluice-boxes, and
the miner looks after his harvest.
With small spoon he takes into pan
all that is left between the rifles in the
bottom of the boxes, "a mass of black
sand all yellow and glittering with
gold"
81 should think it would be an ex-
citing time for him, uncle, said Min
ME.
$50 1t is, for he sees in a moment,
almost, if he is on the road to fortune
or if lis time and labor are all thrown
away. Poor fellows it is oftenest the
latter. But Fairweather found many
hundred dollars in his boxes, and he
was rich IN moment.
What did he do with the black
sand, uncle r. asked Frank.
after drying over the fire it is easily
removed by magnet, as you can see
by pouring a little black sand from
your fathers sand box on the table
over your gold dollars; the sand, you
will see, clings in little spikes all over
the magnet, but the gold doesn't mind
il at all.
"My claim was far up in the noun
tains, and, after digging a deep hole
like well for many days, we found the
bed rock seventy feet deep. This, of
course, was too deep for stripping,
and the pay dirt was got out by dif-
ferent process, called drifting This
is something like coal-mining. The
miner ON his knees digs caves in every
direction shovelling the pay-dirt into
a huge bucket let down from above.
As he digs farther and farther, he
keeps the earth above from falling by
a ceiling of boards held up by large
posts.
"But isn't it dangerous, unclea" l
asked.
eyes, indeed. Many time when
not placed exactly right, or when the
waters loosens the earth above-for it
is always dropping IN upon him.
the drift, as We call it, falls in and bur
les the poor fellows alive. In such
case all the miners leave their work and
hurry to dig the men ont alive, but al
most always in vain.
1.-THE buckets, as fast as filed, are
hoisted by man ut the windlass to the
surface, and emptied into the sluice-
boxes, and then lowered again to be
| filled. There, children" added my
uncle, yawning, it is time TO go to
bed, and l believe have told you all !
know about gold-mining.n
/ "Why, don't they have TO use mills
and machinery, unclel l think Ihave
heard 50, said T.
Eyes; but that is for quartz.mining,
where they crush the quartz rock. /
have been telling you of the more COM
mon kind of 9njping, the gold-diggings.
Perhaps some evening l will tell you
of the quartz-mills. ~
"But isn't Fairweather the richest
man in the world, uncle 2" asked
| Frank
"No, Frank, he is as poor as ever
like most miners his gold came easy
and went easy, wasted, and worse
than wasted.
But you are rich, uncle. now
arn't you 2"
II am afraid, frankie, that is an
impertinent question"