Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1881-05-16
aLUIce BOXES III niNING.

A prominent feature in placer gold
mining In California and elsewhere on
The Pacific coast has been and still 10 the
sluice-boz, . square wooden trough .
foot or 90 in width BY twelve or fourteen
fee. long. By tapping or joining these
boxes together at the ends. = "strins Of
,luicss" is formed. Of any desired length
REQUIRED. into which the aurifsrous earth
4, thrown to b. washed By the stream Of
water passing through. just how or
when sluiess we're invented o. first
brouahs into use 10 not satisfactorily and
definitely laid down In history. The
lope-,om, q similar box trough. . dozen
feet or % in length. with . heavy sheet
iron screen or riddle. and . rifis-box at
the lover end. VA In use In lsIS. and
the sluies-box was simply natural addi-
ton or Tightening to IL.
Old gold miners in this section will
feel amused to read the following 90
sount Of how sluice.boxes and rifles
were frst invented and applied TO min.
Inn purposes. We fnd II In q Colorado
newspaper. the G~esrsetown Miner. oil
April 3Oth. Il purports to have beer
copied from the Nevada, California.
Thanseript. but in behalf OF that excellent
and reliable journal or any other in Cal
iiornia or In this State VI most cordially
rspudists L.. Virginia City. with II,
Catholic Church. Vas not in existsnce
for at least ten or twelve years after
sluies boxes were In common use
throughout, the gold mines Of California;
neither Vas gold mining. or even pros
peeting for gold ever carried n in tha'
mythical ravius '.just above the Catholic
Church" after the style and extent men
toned. Moreover. "virsinia City. Ne
vada." 10 surely ne place to locate thu
original discovery Of . California inven'
ton. The item 10 evidently badly dis
tortsd. or was written by . novice who
never saw . sluios-box or was ever ir
this section. Here II 10:
Colonel Eddy Of this city. claims thu
credit Of having originally introduced thu
sluice-box for mining purposes, the hrs
being evolved ~ matter Of necessity and
the latter owing their origin to an acct
dental discovery. He gives b following
account Of his connection with this impor
tant discovery:
In the spring Of 1850. Shen all opera
lions were being carried on by the aid o
the long.tom and the rocker. he located
claim in the ravins Just above tho Catholic
church In Virginia City. Nevada. Their
were several claims below him. the holder
Of which refused to permit him to rur
taiiings on their ground. So he made
trough leading from his location through
theirs to Q point below. On the bottom o
The sluice, wherever the different sectionl
Joined, he nailed wooden clsats to keel
the water and gravel from leaking through
Al the end Of that day he found that thu
rocker had saved scarcely any gold. Go
ing along up the sluice be found behint
each Of the cleats numerous sparkling par
ticles Of gold that had lodged there. h,
abandoned the use Of the rocker. ipcreases
the number Of cleats, and then commenced
what he said Was the first sluice mininl
svsr carried ON In California and probab
IL the whole world, 90 far - no knows
The sluics and rifles soon became popular
causing the price Il lumber to advance
rapidly. The Colonel says the only thin,
he regrets about his discovery 10 that b
did no, have 1t patented. and thus win fam
and fortune.