The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-06-11
FROM OSCEoLA.
Results of Hydraulic Mining---The
First "Clean- Up"

Messrs. Feramorz Little, J. r. Walker,
H. w. Lawrence, John Sharp, Jr., and
W. G. Sharp, returned last evening
from their trip to the Osceola district. A
HERALD reporter called at the residence
of ex-Mayor Little shortly after his ar
rival, and found him busily engaged
over a pile of newspapers, catching
up" with the current events of the dav.
He expressed himself as willing to give
whatever information he could upon
the results of the trip. and in answer to
several queries said:
ITO get plain understanding of the
methods by which the Osceola Com
pany is operating, you must imagine
ravine in the bottom of which are
the sluice boxes, and in the banks on
both sides of which are the particles of
gold being sought for; the banks are
formed principally of red grsvelly
cement; the workings before the com
pany got water over therewere all done
by the pan process as long as the
water season lasted; we have now
obtained a prodigious and unceaslng
flow of water, by building ditch seven
teen miles long; to obtain clear right
to the water. the company bought out
several ranches built on creeks and
springs, and to obtain all the ground
wanted, it bought out all the surround
ing claims. Its possessions thus amount
Co 600 or 10 acres OF patented ground.
The stream of water has fall of six
feet to the mile, so that bv the time it
reaches the company's ground. it has
obtained tremendous power. | should
think that the stream which proceeds
from the six inch nozzle and
which is directed into the banks
would be almost strong enough to cut
man in two at distance If three or
four rods. l saw it toss some pretty
heavy boulders into the air eight or ten
feet, where it encountered them in the
bank. The theory of hydraulic mining,
of course, is to wash the gravel into the
sluice boxes, the gold settles to the bot
tom and the water and mud wash off.
did the cleanup occur while you
were Thereof
mo: it had been found necessary to
move the boxes. so the clean up was
made week ago last Sunday"
What was the result?"
ut had been demonstrated that the
effect of the wash" had been IN a large
measure to send down the dirt and
boulders into the boxes, but to cause the
gold to settle into the banks without
being carried down into the boxes; at
least such is the supposition. The whole
thing then resolves, itself into a
necessity to go down to bed
rock, where, of course, all the
gold there may be will have settled.
The clean up of the sluice boxes resulted
in gathering between so or 80 ounces of |
NIQQn Gold fvoIr1n Of
the final result, the obtaining of what |
ever gold may be in the banks now
being operated upon, must depend upon |
the cleanup" when all the ground has |
been washed down to bed rock. There |
is no question as to the existence of the |
gold, nor of the fact that the company |
have ample lands. To demonstrate how
freely the gold existed, Mr.. Hampton
one morning had the men fix up a
rough box from some planks, and
quantity of dirt was washed into it from
earth above the present workings. The
men operating thus roughly cleaned up
of an ounce in the morn
ing, and about an ounce and half
more by night"
Mr.. Little said as far as he knew
the party all felt pleased with
the showing OF their property,
and the results of the work thus far
we're satisfactory. The next cleanup
would occur towards the end of the
month. A large force of men had been
thus far, he said, but as soon
is all the ditch work, shanties, ETC.,
we're completed, very small force
would suffice to conduct the hydraulic
operations.
Mr.. w. s. Godbe was seized
With a severe ILL ess at Osceola, and did
not accompany the party on their re-
urn.