Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-01-08

is what in gold matters as well as the
next man. Hearing of these mines, MI
Bly,, now a vigorous old man nearly sew
enty, thought he would investigate them.
and accordingly started, just at the close
of last July, to visit them. On arriving
he found he could not profitably invest in
business for himself and SO worked on
shares for Mr.. Woodcock during the re-
mainder of the season. At first they
washed little in the brook itself, and then
made more money than any before them,
clearing at first about $3.50 a day. Those
who had worked there before had commit
ted the usual mistake of washing Their
gold away, not knowing how to do the
work properly. Mr. BLY, was not satisfied
with this, and looked around for something
better. Having found in California, that
there is always gold in the old bed OF some
stream, if anywhere in the region, he |
looked first for the old bed of Pollard's
brook and found it about 80 feet distant
/ from the present one, on higher ground,
and where it must have run hundreds of
years ago, Here he prospected," and
soon made half an ounce (SlO per day by
"rocking'' Still, not satisfied, he told
Mr.. Woodcock that he must build some
8 sluices =" and bring the power of water
the sluices were made, and, after few
days work. they were washing out about
an ounce of gold each per day.
There is not a shovelful of the earth In
that claim that is not " color-bearing:
that is, that will not yield gold enough to
be seen. The ''pan - of dirt, about one
third of q pailful, will yield all the way
from two to twenty-five cents worth OF
gold. But the miners don't condescend to
"pan it, when they can sluice it as well.
The gold is of better quality than most OF
the Californian, being % IA carats fine, "a
carats being pure. Some of it it has been
sent to the Philadelphia mint, and is stated
to . coin" about $40 per ounce, while Cal
ifornia nuggets . coin" about S1o.37; the
usual quality of the Californian gold is
Sl7 so, and some is as low rs $l2 per
ounce. So it will be seen that an ounce
per day is pretty good wages, for New
England laborers at least. This is wiring
, ing a substance from the rocky soil " in
reality. But this is no better than Mr.. Bly,
claims he can make right along, now that
he has got things going,
f The only difficulty that has been expert
enced thus far, has been the water teaching
from the brook into their diggings, to the
amount of % or so hogsheads every night,
All OF winch udu 10 De pulupcu OUT lue
next morning But help was cheap (S1 80
; per day and self-boarding), and now they
will soon get SO high that the water need
not trouble them. Just before returning
this time Mr. Bly, leased three quarters
of mile more of territory along the
creek, making about 5-4 miles that they
have now leased, the lease covering all the
farms except the tillage lands.
The mode of making the sluices is differ
ent from that in California. They are II
feet long, Is inches long in the clear and
II inches high, made of plank ID inches
thick. and tightly caulked. The boxes, or
sluices. are placed end to end, being so
: made that they cannot be turned, while the
= Californian ones, being scarfed off where
one enters the other, can be easily turned
one way or another, and easily taken to
pieces The fall of water is about eight
: inches in every twelve feet, though six is
: all that is necessary, and three or four is
sometimes enough. And a strong head of
water with little fall is better than weak
head with more fall. But the earlier mi
ners there Just reversed this plan, and lost
their gold in consequence.
r All of the gold found in Vermont is the
! dust" no nuggets having yet been met
, with. This field has now been open -
wears and worked, after fashion, for of
them. Mr.. BLY, will soon return to those
fields, to be gone until March, in making
necessary preparations for next summer s
work, which begins about the middle of
e May.
a \ citizen of Springfield, who has like
wise found it profitable to spend the sum :
= mer in Vermont, is William Hankerson,
who has taken out about S12,00 from the
, State within dozen years, all by = wash
: inc during the summer months Indeed,
q he is one of the pioneers of gold digging
in that State, having served his time in the
II mines of California.
: The only company doing business to any
Y great extent in mining in Vermont. is that
i of Smith q Saltery, Mr.. Saltery being a
Norwegian. They have been employing
quite a force at Gavsville in Stockbridge,
/ on the White River, and at Bethel, Is
: miles from Plymouth, and near White
River junction. The force ut the former
place has been transferred, recently, to n
place called Stony Brook. Although there
is gold ut GaySville, certain circumstances
prevent the claim being profitably worked
t The gold is in a brook bed IA short distance
Il below II wooden mill. and the water from
e the mill is 50 oily that the light dust >
rises with it TO the surface of the water
and floats off There has also been some
mining done near Plymouth, at 4 place
y known rs Five Corners; and these foul
If places, Plymouth, Bethel, Stockbridge ant
4 Five Corners, are the only ones in the
State where the business is being carried
! on Systematically and protitably. Their,
was considerable excitement last season
over discoveries made ut Rutland of gold
deposits, and some men even did SO wei
rs to make from 80 TO $40 per day there
l. but the work was soon given up.
-. 1t would seem from the accounts by Mr.
!, BLY,, who is certainly competent to judge
J. whereof he speaks, that there may yet be
l. a profitable industry for gold mining opened
!. addition to iron, slate, lead and marbl,
:; works, that state shall yet reckon gol,
/ among her catalogued productions
Stll.inIfoll HMM