New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-16
POCKET MINING
SEARCH FOR WEALTH

-. vvox BECOMING POCKET MfSER--sA'AD
sropy OF TEE JUMPING FROG"
OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
:v..o,x,. CITY, New April 2.-In Calaveres.
.ao, Mariposa, Tuolumne, and many o'no'
-,;.s ot California found class OF men
nocket miners They are the Bohe-
the mining world. Once man achieves
sasn ,r nocket mining, he thereafter cares little
-o,t;ug placers. sinking deep proSpeo'ns
-. a, ouartl veins, or doing anything eis0 ~
-.v Of regular mining. The pocket hiilo, -
..,.lly . bachelor. lie lives IN o caOin p''ouou
-. picturesque spot in tie mountains some
N '" ~. the snow line. Not unfrequently bis
- hu, ia seen perched upon iutting point Oh
w.. =, ,h. edge of some great canon along "nch
.~,,. dark groves of tall pine, spruce anu u,
In the bsd of the canon dashes stlea" Vi
-s,;.r vater that has it's source In regions VI
-.,r.l snow. high among the great granite peas
-. Sierra Nevada In some sucn place VIC
...kst miner makes his home. caring ii''o 'oi os
-. yt,ncCles and turmoil Of the great WORM
.,..de only faint echoes OF when ever ioSoN NJ
50. r,orrtain home Pocket miners genershy
a.. a. na,rs each man having partner, as among
,.cer and most other classes OF miners inoS "''-
tooethet. and together they " loaf'
Pocket miners are those who search ioi ,no ~
.,,ot. or "pockets" in veins OF Roiu- n,ne
.nartz. These pockets yield from s~oo VI 80 ~,
nm TO $4,000 or $4,000 ana oc0~0'ons
tHice these amounts Sometimes INC po'Ao'o o."
a. ouart, lodges that crop out above the general
80 ~ the ground. but they are more ire
a.,, that are called sblind" leads that Is.
- that ara hidden under the debris OF rocks ana
-, ,hat has washed or rolled down upon them
- h;cbs, noints on the slopes OF the mountains
7, nrosnecting for pockets. samples OF SOIL arc
taken from the sides of mountain OF mn vi pio
,sino appearance lone that is traversed W nanI
va;ns NJ ouartz) and when gold is found on "aSihs
mt a nan OF this another sample Is taken HUH
mint above and so the particles OF goio art care
tully traced back to the point whence they stsr'eu
to the pocket.r Ali pockets that come IL 'he
.,rface or that have once been on the SURFACE
throw of moro or less gold. OFTEN a pocket tna'
contains but 5000 or $500 is found to send down
trail OF gold several hundred yards Ill length AS
would naturally be supposed. the goid is coarses'
nd uost abundant near the pocket IN which II was
D,odneed A pocket miner may wash a pan OF dirt
t.ten from the foot Of mountain, and get hut
snpe speck or color of gold, vet 1t Will be Tor
him good prospect" An ordinary miner would
mt pive such a mere point Of gold second
&honeht but fol the pocket miner the little glitter
ING uarticie OF metal possesses much signlhcance
Ne At once carefully examines IL with magnify
ING elass At the first glance he can tell whether
it's grain of placer gold or is gold from quartz
vein Placer gold is smooth and shows signs OF
washing and attIition. while quartz gold Is rough
Jagged. and frequently bears the impress OF the
matrlx in which il was formed. This pecuhailtY'
however is not often TO he distinguished III very
small pieces. The prospector can also tell from
the character OF the ground whether his prospect
Is from O placer from a quartz vein. III no
washed gravel the hill OF in the dirt from
- - al lat
gold is from quartz vein.
The gold generally moves down the race OF
MAINTAIN in direct line from the pocket that
oroduced IT, spreading out like fan as 1t descends
Thns IL will be seen that 1t is toward the foot OF
mountain that the prospector most readily gets Oh
the track of pocket though the particles OF goid
are there likely 10 be few and small. lhough Ou'
one speck of gold be obtained from the first pan OF
dirt the next taken some rods higher up tie
mountain, may yield half dozen particles, and
the next still higher up, cent on two.
While thus following up the trail shot Id the art
fail 10 yield gold the prospector mag know that
be has passed above the pocket. and must turn
hack and start anew by taking pan of dir; from a
point but a short distance above that from which
ne obtained his last gold Working in this way he
Mt last hits upon the spot from which the flow of
sold started The quartz vein may be but an inch
or two in width and the pocket more than three
or four feet in length vet the well-traned pocket
miner will surely find il rich spot in quartz
ledge that has thrown ont any gold 1T all, cannot
escape him when once he has struck its trail.
CHARACTER OF THE POCKET MINES.
The pockets that throw down most gold are
those in quartz which is much decOmpOsed. This
IL in most cases quartz filed with iron pyrites.
which have rustcd until eaten away and left II
the form of red powder or friable mass easily
erumbled TO dust. In the midst OF this fcrrugnous
material are the PARTICLES of native gold brleht
and gittering any polished article OF Jeweliy
lumps OF this decomposed iron and rock become
detac he'd from the vein and roll and wash down the
face of the hill. and, crumbling and disSoivins'
leave in their course trail OF golden sparks that
sink into the soil.
Il sometimes happens that the rich pocket IS in
white, undecomposed quartz. In this case the
miners attention is probably first attracted by
finding 1agment OF such quartz containing gold
After carefully noting the grain. color and other
characteristics of the piece. the prospector moves
mp the HILL keeping sharp lookout on all sides foT
similar specimens. These detached pieces OF quartz
are what miners call float rock" In case the lead
from which thu float rock comes is one that crops
out II Is an easy matter to find the coveted pocket
but should IT blind the prospector must open
trench at the point where he found the last piece
Of the peculiar character OF float" he is following
up. and run 1t directly up the hill In this trench
other pieces Of the float will occasionally be en-
couptered in the dIIt and finally on the bedrock
tust before the vein il reached. THIS is the proper
mode Of procedure whether the float be gold-6earing
quartz. silver lead. copper OF any other oie
Rich pockets often found in veins OF quartz
That occur along the line OF contact between two
kinds OF country rock AZ slate and granite. These
anil al
Along the course of such vein at productive
oonts tho iron pyrites will be found in both slate
md granite for distance OF several feet from the
NnAftz, and for short dlsfance from the vein both