The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-12-13
WONDERFUL WEALTH
IN AUSTRALIANS NEW MINES
What the Pluck and Persevorenss Of Two
Young Englshmen developed in
the Golden Clutches sf ths
South Pacific Country.
Seven years ago Mr.. Harry Davis. 0

South Pacific Country.
Seven years ago Mr.. Harry Davis, of
Drotwich, and Charles Maclaurin
Nichols, son of the assistant secretary
Of the British museum, emigrated 10
Australia, the former educated as an
engineer, the latter al a blacksmith,
1arrier carpenter and farmer. In the
early part o last year Mr. Davis pros
pocted thirteen weeks for precious
metals in the northern part OF the con
tinent. He succeeded, and unbosomed
a metallilerous tract of land. He i'm
mediately returned TO England, came to
London and studied, for two months,
mining operations in Jermyn street,
and gold in the quartz at the Natural
History museum in Cromwell road. His
project WAS to take out a gnld-crusher,
but he found the cost beyond his means;
moreover, there WIS an expense To be
calculated OF s25 q ton for conveyance
by bullock team 800 miles into the in
terror. Flo returned to Australia,
taking MIR. Charles Nichols with
him. Regaining his Dorado, he
was not little surprised
to find tho whole aspect Of the country
changed. There were forty miners at
work and two or three mills erected.
The two young mon soon selected their
claim on n galena mountain, put up
their houses, built a forge and settled
down TO tempt Mother Earth TO yield up
a modicum Of treasure in return for eli
thusiaStic research. Things did not look
altogether well. Tho heat was excess
i've, water scarce-for no one had been
there to husband in reservoirs, easily
constructed, the blessed gift in that
country OF the sub-tropical rainy season.
antS were vOraclUus, parrots noisy, and
the sweat of their brows was not re
warded by the appearance OF hard cash
in the lump. They were sanguine of
success, however, but their Resources
were running out, and Mr.. Davis deter
mined to exercise his craft as an engin-
q ~ IA neighboring mi for wages, Nj.
So 0Qls working the claim all alone--Or
S,tn. VITA dog and horses for
NjanNablestic companions-var his
ratiE blacksm thing, mendlng and
II .TaoN amining implements, shooting
-ae9sesssv,AS' and practlcing husbandry on II
small Scaln--uiten in a temperature 40
degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. lie
had been on tho claim just six weeks,
when one day cleaning out an old gully
to make VentilatOr for his mine, he
struck vein of rich, coarse gold. Spec
linens picked up haphazard from the
niue aud the adjacent gaena lode have
been sent To London Tor assay. On ar
rival the ores were found to he heavy,
but except ia the case Ut Two very small
fragments, and then only very sparsely,
no Indication OF gold was visible. An
, assay OF each of the two ores, galena and
quart, has just been conducted by
MvssrS. Welby. of Garrick street, Con-
vent garden, and has produced, for the
.Ealena, the remarkabi result Sample,
rS puunds) oi--!ead, 1850 per cent ;
silver, % ounces 3 penuyweights;
gold, ponnyweights per ton
oil orc Of - hundtedweight, and
for thH quartz (sainpc, 80 ounces
gold, 8 ounces, II peuuywcights grains
per hundrodweight and silver, 3 GUN
COS, 10 pannywclghts, or for gold, III
ouuces odd to the ten Oi quartz. Messrs.
johnson, Matthty Il Co., mixing lead.
silver aud gold together, az say Sample
IL p1uudsl Y I'D. 10 ounces, $500; silver,
y ounces, 900 per ton. Mr.. Frederick
Gaudet sample IL UOundsl gold, II
ounces; silver, p ounces ~ penny
weights per ton.
Suoruy after the discovery Of the vein
of gold another prOspCctpr, Mr.. William
Hanklc, appeared NJ tho Florence Az
guSta claim, b"E2ing one Of the young
men 10 Join him in working another
m m in tho district, tho quartz lying on
the surface and extending for quito two
miles. The Same prOspaCtOr had, In his
oh for gold, oniy just missed the IA
nous Morgan reef, which contains tho
richest and purest gold ever found,
ass9yiug 81 lOths per cent.--Only
one-tenth short Of being virgin
gold. Mr.. Nichols, who divides with
Mr.. Nanke, writes Of the new trOuvaillp
that the Stone looks wei, though, as in
most mines, tho gold is patchy, and
that they hope to yet Dix crushing out
by Christmas, when taa RAIN begin.
Tho only Gesideratum il q crushing
mschine of their own, aud half tOu
stamps for the SILVER, the heaviest lodes
o. t,Bt metal in the district being hard
steel-grainad. Two men, aided by li.h-
ofracture, can got out from four To- ten
tons Of ore n day. Gold ictChes from
~ lisa 10 81 81 an ounce. Cost OF crush
ing, 81 ton; conveyance, - u ton.
Tho country is hilly and bemmed in on
all sides, forming a huge we'll. Pin
HaclCs are humorous, ana they nearly
all support powders weighing from "a
few pounds To l0O hundred tons. You
might fancy yourself among the So
called Druidicl monuments Of Stone
henge, except that there is no plain.
The hills afford a good gradient for tho
ores, aud there * abundant storage
for water. Gems and NUM-
erous Me'als, besides gold and silver,
are plentiful In tho vicjnity,and the pin.
nacles are alive with kaugGroos and
kangaroo rats, wallaHyS, upp-sums, pm.
dvmelOns amt birds. But food iscnurse;
sult hret, damptr and tea, tno milky for
hr6skrg-t, Ut 6:3n, after hunting in
horses from O'clock, rising hour. Din
ner At Il heet danper and taa ayaiu;
then work ill sunset. Supper nc OF :
tthe old menul. on ryd-lptter days a
cake, very home-madc), potatoes and a
few other vegetables. For amusement,
elotheF mcudng aud washing, reading,
writing shooting, visiting, say twenty
milo ride though th;s Is not essential TO
sound sleep. Snme OF this men do NOT
mind rite OF twenty miles out aud
twenty niles back, just for the gr9'ilica
ton otre1psct,ully taking or their'cab'
bage hats To any lady who may bo
known 10 he passing that way Lon
don Times.