The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-04-09
HYDRAULIC GOLD MINES.

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HYDRAULIC GOLD MINES.
culiar Methods of Hydraulic and Drift
Mining-Darge Yields of the Gravel Mines.
New York Tribune.l
John h. Thomas OF Laporte, Cal, one of
largest hydraulic miners of that State, is now
at the Park Avenue Hotel on q visit TO the
clty, after en- absence of % years, Mr..
Thomas came to New York from Massachu-
sets, q lad of II, without dollar, and
found employment with David Moffit & Co.,
down in the ''swamps." until he earned
enough for a steerage passage to San Fran
cisco, and at once went to the mines in
Plumas and Sierra counties. where he has
remained until he has become one of the
principle owners of the Great Blue Lead.
Mr.. Thomas is now in his 10th year; of his
particular work he seems habitually reticent.
In answering to questions about his min
ing experience, Mr.. Thomas said:
We'll, it is not very large. 1 have been
at work il the gold gravel OF Piumas and
Sierra counties for over 20 years, but know
little of mining outside except by hearsay.
was after gold, and finding that the head
of the gold gravel channel was around Pilot
Peak and Little Grizzly, I decided to stay,
and every year since I've had better reason
for SO doing. The really lasting and 1ch
gold gravel beds of California are found in
what seems to be the channels of large rivers
that one time ran nearly north and south
or at right angles to the present rivers.
These channels appear to have been first
nearly filled with washings from gold quartz
veins, then volcanic action tumbled noun
tains and lava over them and raised them
up. There are three of these channels,
known as the White, Gray and Blue Leads.
| The Blue Lead is the largest and richest.
and on this I've worked. and of this only 1
would rather talk.
The head of q channel holds the coarsest
gold. and the most OF 1t, like the head of a
| sluice, and the head of the Big Blue is pro-
ducing more gold than any territory Of like
size in the world. There about 10 miles
| square has yielded, according to lowest esti-
| mates, over $500, ,000, 900. o. w. Hendel, q
mining engineer who has lived and worked
| there 25 years, and who reported on it for
| Commissioner Raymond, says that for the
vicinity of Laporte alone, over 800 0Oo, 900 has
been taken out of the gravel The books of
DIR. Brewster. who was mail and express car
rier from Laporte, shows that he carried out
In 16 years over $50 600, 900. Then, too, in
| this vicinity are the greatest gold quartz
mines OF California, the Plumas, Eureka,
Sierra, Bates, Mammoth. and others, that
together have produced in the neighborhood
| of $500 000, ,000.H
"Are not the gravel beds about worked
| out?"
mo, gravel mining is in Its infancy with
Us. There are square miles of UNEMPLOYED
| gravel, and Of the gravel beds actually ex-
/ plored, tunneled, drifted and opened, do
| not think one twentieth have been worked.
| The Union, drift mine, averaged over $400, :
| 600 per acre. The Down East, also drift,
/ got over S400 900 from six acres. This has
been about the average Of our drlft mines,
| which, working only three or four feet of the
gravel nearest the bed rock, got from 81 to
sl3 per cubic yard, at an average expense.
/ inelndinO m Qhnnt ~
per cent. of the product, when
psyiDg So to 81 dav for
| miners. Our hydraulic mines show averages
of IL cents to 60 cents per cubic yard, and
there are from 10, 900 to 10000 cubic yards
per acre; an average In the main channel oil
$4,000 to 100000 cubic yards an acre. An
inch of water, about 900 cubic feet, with
head of 100 to 200 feet, will wash from three
to four cubic yards q day, and costs from
two cents to 10 cents an inch. Now apply
your arithmetic and pee how small an area
of this channel is necessary to produce the
amounts I have named, and produce them
aIf this is true, why is there no rush to
these gold fields, as there is to Leadviller'
There have been many Of them and ter
rible ones in times past Under the old Law
q man could locate 100 feet wide of thii
gravel and thousandso Of these locations wers
made in early excitements but the locator
soon found that to work their properly with
profit required large OQtlays for miles oi
bitches If for hydraulic, or thousands of feel
of tunnels if for drift mining. Many aban.
doned their claims some combined. and Z
few formed companies and succeeded II
getting money enough for proper equip
ments and it is only within the last fvs
yeas that hydraulic mining has been really
established. Now 1t is growing more rapid
ly than our quartz mining. The director o
the mint estimates that California's gol(
product for 1873 was about $4,000, 600
think it was fully that, and tha
two-thirds, If not three-quarters, was from
gold gravel. One claim of the Dutch com
pany got So 13 cubic yard from 81 900 cubi'
yards and another got $20.s7 per yard from
5000 cubic yards. Craig's Flat and Morris
town got over S., 600. 900 from about % acres
and from about AZ acres of the Comfy 4
Gowell ground over 81 900 900 has beer
taken. This company divided $26A0o
profits In one year from a total expense o
S., ,5O0"
!, why are not these gravel mining stock
on the San Francisco boardsg'
81 suppose mainly because brokers do no
| like them. When the companies wantet
working capital they usually got 1t by pri
, vate subscription, in many instances from
+ England, and when once working thu
, returns are 30 certain, there Is so little to b
said, surmised or promised, because every
: thing is in sight that there is little chancl
for manipulation"