The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1878-11-29

: "An O vain TAIL io1oWeu, raising SnO'
and ice to the surface. The upper work
about the headgates being frozen in, wer
thus lifted bodily, parting from the Quite
gate at the bottom, 40 feet below. TIL
dam was in danger of bursting unless th
fiood-gate could be raised. TIE Kanaka
dived under the snow and after severa
}. Intellectual efforts succeeded in connectins
the rod with the gate. which was thu
raised and the dam was relieved.
The water works, the hydraulic pipes
and the general cost of opening the mine
at Cherokee have required an expenditure
Of over $1,OO0,000 The mine, however
pays handsomely, and yields from $40O, OOC
to 100000 annually. The excavation
that has been made in the hillside is over a
mile long, half mile wide, and 800 feet
deep. The gravel is very fine, and lies be-
tween thick strata of white pipe clay.
which is exceedingly tough, and resists the
powerful action of the jets of water thrown
against it, like soft rock. It is found
advantageous to blast it. For this purpose
tunnels are run in one or two hundred feet.
with cross drift at the end. A quantity
of powder is placed in the drift, the hole is
filled with earth again and tamped closely.
and the powder is exploded with electric-
ty. A few days before we visited the mine
$4,000 pounds of powder were exploded in
one blast. 1t acted with terrific force,
lifting the whole face of the bank for sew
eral hundred feet, and shattering it to
fragments While we were walking
through one portion of the mine we were
startled by succession of explosions that
reverberated like park of artillery in
whispering gallery.
The system of hydraulic pipes, fumes,
ground sluices, tunnels and undercurrents,
is TOO intricate and extensive to be explain
ed in words. The pressure ordinarily used
in hydraulicing is from $50 to 300 feet. |
With this force the water pours from the
nozzles with the speed of a cannon ball
The nozzles are set about 800 feet from the
face of the bank. Even at that distance
the tearing force of the water is enormous.
The streams that flow away from the base
of the bank freighted with gravel and
mud, are like mad torrents plungng down
the fumes. So great is the friction in
the bottom of the fumes and from the
gravel boulders passing through them that
they must be lined by the hardest kind of
lgneous rock, and even then most durable
material wears out in few months. Six
hydraulic streams are kept constantly play
ing on the bank night and nay. They are
1lVided into three pairs and placed in differ
mt parts of the mine. The nozzles are from
i've to seven inches in diameter, each pair
aklng the water from an 19-inch pipe. 1t :
fascinating to watch these immense
treams crumbling the earth and tearing
lown the bank. The nozzles are fixed on
Eezfbae joints and are Sc nicely counter !
'oised that child could turn them in any I
Erection. The mine appears to be in e
ind of basin, and tunnels 100 or 200 feet il
'ng have been cut through its outer rim to
onduct the tailings into the gulch, whence i,
aey are conveyed into Big Dry Creek, a y
edrock Of the mine is an exceedingly hard, O
reen, serpentine rock, without any regu-
" qualification or cleavage. The tailines
ave caused such devastation IN the valley =
t Dry Creek that the Company have been
bliged at great expense to purchase all the
.rms adjacent to the stream through to
,e Sacramento. They thus have become
wners of 16, 900 acres Of fine farming lands
nd as matter of necessity have combined f
grculture with mining. They are main T
lining a system of levees on either side of t
be stream, and manage to protect their d
,nds from overflow. In places where only d
,e finer detritus from the dissolved pipe
ay has spread upon the land it has proved !;
vigorous fertilizer. Pipe-clay land pro- Z
uces forty to fifty bushels of wheat per \
ere. +
The capital stock of the company is $5,- >
90, 600. 1t was incorporated in 1870, and
consolidation with one or two other COM
anies holding claims in the vicinity was
,ade in 1878. The mining company main
ain telegraph line along their bitches to {
acilitate their work. The visit to Chero-
ee Flat was an event of deepest interest
nd pleasure throughout. 1t gave us bet
er insight into the mysteries Of hydraulic
aiming than we had ever before obtained. ,
hydraulic mining is there conducted on
rander scale than in any portion of the ]
tate, with one or two exceptions .-St0ek- ;
on Independent.