The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-09-10
IwnIn rnlla MT nf tho tnnmfh III hia nomrada

and ten fifteen. twenty cents in gold is obta ned
the men iii their pipes and Chamber Out out OF the
ground sluce. Seated on a beaver dam. they
smoke and study the surface. of the park and
supposed course of the hidden pay. streak.
They make allowances for the reflections
joining streams The course ours 90, Of the pay streak
below them l. known. because they have un-
severed IT,. They compare ideas. They argue.
satisfaction the course the pay streak must
have taken. This agreed upon, they 20 some
hole. Digging battling the water that flows in
rapidly fighting mosquitoes and deer flies, the
hole is slowly sunk. The work is heavy. The
mir is light. The men breathe quickly. Their
uncovered. It looks well. Hurriedly they dig
pool and washed. AS the sand and liner par ro
cles are washed away. SO also is their ilne;spun
theory Of the course 81 the Pay streak There
is dug. The pan shows nothing, The miners
a hole. II may be- at right angles to and below BLOW
ries, all boosted familiarity with the course. Of
ignored. The men Know they are lost. They
know they are searching blindly for a narrow
muck. This last hole is sunk to bed rock. The
4" s ss shs Ih no
sides ii is not solid enough TO hold sold. is
the sage remark of one OF the miners. rs he
ing his luck. The other, is inclined to follow
but hesitates. and. in reply to the impatient re-
%1 ah S MGrx ans
Shall test it," Filling his pan. he, Carries it TO
the pool. His eomr@de gees 10 the cabin ,i and
sssssd WE %s,ss sSs% hs aSais The aP
crates against inst the a pan dspIeass him Care.
lesslyh he pans until he has reduced tho mass TO
less than quart, |; is growing 70 yin iar n hs
he looks at the diminishing. mound. his
s@rtei Wife ea and chidTen. sSmeihins catches
ems: NeryousIy Ms fingers clutch the pan; The
careful one Quickly the sand is fined to half
a gill, Again the water is turned on to the
is seen fairly listening all through the sand.an
on the bottom Of the pan is reddish nugget
is found. Gloom. dependency pass away with
the day The night is merry in the cabin. Tho
miners are convinced that they have = regular,
prospecting shows that it extends throughout
the galch. and that the deposit is Of sufficient
works. and these are now in order.
prosecution Of hydraulic mining.
Flrst-A deposit of gravel OF sufficient guam
tity to afford plenty Of material to be washed.
Secondly-The valley must have fall enough
Thirdly-Water. water. water. and more
water.
braced wooden trough. varying in size in ac-
cordance with the amount of water used some
being but foot wide. while others. in extern
siye mines. are six feet wide and four feet high.
The Hume is built in trench dug or blasted In
the bed rock. generally following u straight
hume. and variations in the angle OF inclina-
ton. are carefully avoided in construction. as
they tend to cause the gravel to block or clog.
h.Nt nf ia N AT m
with stones but generally with blocks OF wood.
sections. of small pine trees. packed on end as
sevs to o from
the, wear Of the rolling gravel and boulders:
and in addition they form perfect riiils to ar,
bondage by the dissolving of such Jumps of
gravel ns may, be carried by the water dis
charged from bitches or driven by the power
ful stream spoutnE IRON the Little Giant nozzle
into the iume; The inclination of the hume
Unless the the supply Of water is very abundant.
Care must be exercised in the building of the
tiumc. as on this. in great measure. depends
the success of the venture. IL II is unwisely
built the gravel. sand and boulders will surely
clog caMsinS great trouble and delaying opera
cause the gravel TO flow through II freely with
the water. II it is not possible to give it the
draulic works in the valley and the mine un-
less exceedingly rich, is worthless.
blocks Trs OF reSue 81 w ossrrTence IN al
flowing through the trough, carries massive
blocks of granite huge boulders. gravel sand.
the trunks of trees, anything almost. with it:
1t is easy to check the motion of a Jagged
boulder that reluctantly rolls over and over
through this trough. The stone is exceedingly
heavy The water can barely move it. A smaller
boulder Is caught under II. Instantly an eddy
forms. and other bouiders. blocking ones these.
swing around and under. seeking TO wedge IL.
The great stone slackens its speed. The water
madly swirls and tries to turn 1t around and
dash ii downward through the iiume. 1t swings
. little then catching on smaller stones. hats.
Instantly :he hume above is full to the top with
gravel, sand and boulders. The long box is
packed as II II had been rammed with paving
mallet. The water flows over the sides and
getting under the fume tries to lift it out of
Hume to confine the water. and the blockading
boulder is lOosened with a bar and started on
its course to the dump. The other gravel is
the course OF an hour the fume is clear and
operations are resumed.
than water. and all other stones found in placer
mines are about the same. Gold is nineteen
but small power to move it. Gold sinks through
the moving mass Of rolling gravel rs though It
were standing water. and, il the riiiles'are well
sufficient size to attract tho eye are found
twenty feet below whore they entered the box.
three feet Of where it entered This fac, ma ,
mo doubt all theories concerning the gold
2Gn wassr hasa
the power to wash the, gold down the stream:
i would have lodged in natural rifles and
Gravel and fall being sufficient the venture is
sure OF success il an abundant supply Of water
Is obtanable. Without water. no matter how
rich the ground it is worthless. II the stream
flowing in the valley does not carry enough
water, the adjacent country il carefully exam
ined and lines Of levels for bitches are run
from all streams that 1t is supposed can b.
levied on. The volume OF water flowing in
these streams il computed. and tho cost Of dig
gng the bitches and erecting fumes to carry
the water around rocky points and over low
places is carefully calculated. Ii it /, found
that water can be brought on to the ground at
reasonable cost and in sufficient quantities 10
work the gravel. 1t is brought in as high up the
guich as possible. The, head Of water necessary
10 cut the gravel is decided upon. Roughly
stated. this head is rs feet for loose gravel.
muck and clay, and, running up to 800 feet
Tor hard cement Ieveng from til" lower
end OF tho gulch the height decided
upon is Obtained. and from that point II ditch
Is dug hu%.inG the hillside and With barely
fall enough to cause the water TO flow freely.
This ditch cmnties INTO II box known ns .
take-oN box" a simple AFFAIR. made out OF
rough honrds. and having n hole in the bottom
q the sac Of The pine used The boz i som.
u, useful in iiIlinG ne rinS From thls hoxn ine
down to the workings at the head o. tho bed
rock fame. II the fall il loss than - feet.
thirty wears aNpprieucs in CIlli form in and Ans