, 1874-07-19

t. N xast 1911 ~ Iu1 oed-roch, Which lies from Il
1ere' the main difficulty encopnterad i0u unn, no
rock, and il is IN sbis tna d;r.a9;s bed q
tia that Clark d Smith are m now Gafee11o, hend;o,
n1.x snits IN eherees. 9 short distance below Far
pnhy. "a the old bed Of the Platte. tlev har,
mh GmohhsItnssed M large aume, half milo in Iorgtb
"nen all ID ready the river will hor tnrna5 &. :,
enm|sias being placed across the bottom, ~
satsa tne gold The earth from the sides of tts
6t ,r;1h T,4 o9s.om aoove the une will be washed
Ial1leo , along by the force Of the atreau vi
!ooSe n the hume, and remain there rnt;] ca1lac
1of. The works are OF very expens1ye Ta1nre
put the proprletofs are aanenine that thew vii
| receive largo dividends when active onarotiono
once commence: Very few persons at the Enst
nave correct ldea Of the system of
| fGolD PLACEE-MIN1SG
~ .o1a region: Ihey hear OF nuggets and shot-
ko1a. ana G.auuallJ arrive at the CONCLUSION that
the miner walks out into the bed of one Of these
! streams and picks them M AZ \ boT won51
ehcstnuts. Nothing can DO more erronoona or
1ofthes from tho truth. The gold is hers . il il
scattered h:m all through these rocks. streams and
and thnzsa y may yield ego dollars tothe pan
s lev cubic yards, but it can never be- recovered
hnu Drought 70 Light except through tho agency
VI wafer. We are speaking now OF placer
l,tues, Hnero the precious metal is scsttered
1ndlscr1nlnntely through the loose soil and
gravel. and not OF lodes. where ro1d INNS an =,
seams .t through tue rocks, and can be reduced by
tne a1o OF machinery. In all the famons placer-
futc4sa u mo VICINITY OF Breckinridge, Hamil-
@ soo' 81 Ialrp!ay and Montezuma, gulcheB which
OF dollars to the square yard, water is lhe only
agency employed; and, without water. the
richest Of the diggings would lie vaiueless
IS nURRow1Sa.'
~ Is an onomatopoetic word, but it has become
natorallzed here, and is generally much more
prontable than tha burrowing usually pursued
IL Chicago or other cities. Tho vator rnahcs
down through the pit OF guch With tremendous
.o1se lot. huge rocks and boulders are swept along
With the torrent the enrth melt5 like snow,
fakes and together rocks, gravel. dirt. and
rubbish, = boiling, seething cauldron, it moves
through the suiee with tho roar Of . tornado
AID is deposited in the dump below. 4 few
Neeks OF fhn5 labor, and the earth Of tho gulch
pay commences. The coil that clipgs to tue
crevlces Ii carefully shoveled up and thrown
lnto tho stream, while d;!iSens search is
MADE 1of such nuggets as may have
THE stoDUa oPEnASpI
is as follows: The minor goes ou: prospecting
up the beds Of one Of the streams re have
named In his hand he carries a pick aud
shovel. To bis shoulders il strapped bis bundle
o. blankets, coffee-pot and frying-pan. He
finally reaches narrow ravine or rulch, mar
ro"ly e1amines the formation OF tie rocks and !
nature of tile SOIL aud observes that the hills or
mountains from n hch it takes its riae are worn /
dow down and abraaed as il By some great convu-
bottom or side Of the guloh, to the depth OF |
lew feet, takes apan Of dirt and washes it caro-
fully in the stream. Il he finds color.-that in
3 few stray particles Of gold cinging to the bot
tom OF the pan, he goes higher up the ravine !
reached, the miner piaats his stake aud claima
the discovery,-so many feet to the right and !
lett, aud 80 far up the gulch. together With all
the gold, precious stones, and other articles it
fnfy@ A,I.. -. - ]
He goes up the river until the natural fall of the
stream will place him above the ground be wishes
TO work. and rakes out ditch which is run along
ths SIDES OF the mountain, and above the gulch
he w1ahes to work The next step is to build =
reservoir Of dimensions sufficient to contain q
arge volume Of wafer, and give froms5 to foet
lead- 4 gate let's the water out, through
1ame hume. with terrible force into the enlch
below. The ground to be washed out is called
ne M PIT; nnd At tho mouth Of this, and from 100
Q 200 yards below the reservoir, the ground
uice Is constructed This consists of = frame
sork ut boards nailed upon the aides and bot
ON, and placed in such position as to receive
he water and earth that comes through the pit.
iold always settlss 70 the bottom, no matter what
be force may be employed; and slats are placed
t equal distances ACROSS the bed OF the frame
ORE to arrest 1t IN lts passage through the |
uice The process OF raising the gate. and let
ng the water down from ths reservoir through |
la pit and into the bluice, il called !
eeu left hehind IN the general rush. They arc
Ften found, great, rich, yellow fellows, weigh
e from $50 to $2oo each The harvest-season, 6
oweveT: takes place IN the sluice. The water I
turned oil, aud the deposit in the bottom, Of '
ack Band and gravel, is shovelod up tender1y '
pans and washed out. II tho pit wns r1ch,
q sand sparkles with gold; while millions of G
tile rubies. from the size Of pin-head to that !
pea, gllsten in every direction. Not much !
otice ia taken Of them in more honored oom- t
any, and the miners generally shove them aside l
worthless. Tha 'clean-up" from ono small p
uice worked BY two men has been known to 20 .
high as $4,000 the scason; but this was IN b
e early days, and such deposits are now rarely Il
und.
Formerly the scoundrelly practice OF g
ssALIfsG" " :
8 gold-placer-mines Was carried on With bold II
ss in the vicinity.of Fanplay; but the busineea P
ceived sudden check iu the arrest and pun Il
lment Of the principal ring-leaders. One was x
ut dancing from the ropes end on the banks ss
the Platte; another Was publicly thrashed in | p
ck Of fiery, untamed broncho, and sent OF o1
= tearing rate toward the foothills Sailing u
nothing more nor less than sprinkling the bot a
Of pit or aluiee with gold-dust, with intent d
pilgrim som hpp pisa ystssP upon anc soTs
flons to buy . mine. The, unauspect- ?:
T is invited 1e 70 take ' sf'0pas paa +
l Try it for himself. He finds the bottom of II
pan covered with gold whlle the fellows ,-
v aafO Eot AF tAp !1ps 1AA 49IAtIly uAeu LQe |
ce at which they are willing to sell, appear 10
y much chagrined and are anxious to back "
J. This only makes the victim tho moro anx- VI
s. and he closes tbs bargain, only to find that sa
has been swind1ed, and that the mine for ne
ch be paid an enormous price Was, in reality, ha
:ked dry years before. In Justice to the al
lets ~ CLANS, will add that they are bitterly gu
osed to such swindlee. and it is through 10
il efforts alone that the most notorious OF the lot
ing fraternity haya been cnnyictei md ba
ught to Justice r. VA
PAL
THOUGHTS. 49, -.
coz
a xaff In, II ~ Nil nj L -,