The Republican journal., 1886-12-16
Sketches for the Boys.
BY REV. I. GERRISH.
No. 4. SILVER IN THE ROCKIES.

are there unknown. and it is difficult for a
stranger to tell W whch is the upper or neither
most circle.
The principal industry of the City is the pro-
cess of extracting silver and copper from the
rocks, and of the former | now wish to write.
This system has been christcncd bv the mi
ners "-lmdig0ladtiDA." The ore is received
from the mines in rocks which vary in size
from Il mans head to fine dust. When these
rocks are put in the mill there is mixed with
them fifteen per cent. of their weight of com
mon rock salt. The rocks and salt together 20
to large 'tBlake CrliShcr.' This machine
consists of a strong. heavy east iron frame; in
this frame are SET pair of strong jaws, which
are put in motion by Il system of levers. The
ore is thrown into these open jaws, where it is
crushed, falling lower ard becoming finer as ii
dcscends, until it i reduced to the size Of
walnutS, OF finer.
From this machine the ore is conveyed bv
bucket elevator TO a driving furnace This i, a
large iron cylinder lined with brick which re-
volNes slowly Oh Il plane slightly inclined. The
flame and the heat enters one side from great
brick furnace, that the drying process is
rapidly carried ON. From the furnace the ore
and salt find themselves tumbed into Il great
bin and then are transported to the stamp
mill which is a huge mortar and peStle. The
latter is a heavy head of iron on the end of
thick round iron bar The mortar is Il great
iron box. rectangular in IFS form, securely
fastened 10 a solid foundation. In each NOR
tar work five pc>tlc> The mortmS are ranged
in a long line. along one side of which passes
horizontal shaft furnished with arms. which
lift alternately the pc>lc>. letting them drop
with great force upon the ore contained in the
mortar. it is singular spectacle to sec the
lon@ line of pe>tcs rising and falling in turn
They make dcafening noise and fill the air
with dust, and make things generally uupca>
ant. The machinery which conveys the ore
from the furnace to the stamps is so simple
that Single man can look after one hundred
stamps at the same time. Each mortar con-
tain> openings in il, sides which are covered
with screens. The ore, when il becomes fine
enough. is forced through these screens a> the
pe~tle crashes down into the mortar. The
crushed ore and salt is now called pulp. From
the screens it falls upon An Arrhmcdcan
screw which carries The pulp to an elevator,
which in turn li!t- il up into the roasting and
! chlOraiiZing furnaces These are made much
ike the drying furnace. They are longer, how
ever. and the degree of heat is much greater,
producing chemical action III the pulp. The
intense heat liberatc> the >ulphuric acid. THIS
acid attacks the salt and thus letting loose the
chlorine Of sodium; this chlorine in it~ turn
makes lcr"e assault upon the combinations of
silver contained in the ore and with them forms
chloride of silver. which is the form in which it
| i made to amalgamatc with quicksilver.
Ii requires about an hour for the ore to pass
| through the above named furnace, and during
| that time nlnty-iVc per cent of the silver is
conN crtc into chloride The whole mass once
more falls into great bins from which ii is con-
| yryri in iron ears to a cooling floor. where it
! remains in heaps for forty-cght hours more.
| y jet of water is then played upon ii for the
| double purpose of cooling, and to prevent the
! loss of dust. The pulp is then once more on
| the move. this time in great pans with wooden
| sides and iron bottoms. each pan containing
some twenty five hundred pounds. Hot water
| l. poured upon the contents Of the pan. quick
! silver and a little metallic zinc is added: the
| pan is then put in motion for eight hours, the
! action of the pan being such that all IFS con-
tents are brought into contact With the quick
silver At the end Of the eight hours big plug
| is pulled out of the bottom Of the pan and the
/ whole mass falls into Il ''stirrcr" which is made
! much like the pan, only ii is longer. Water
| runs hr>kly into the stirrcr from one side and
as swiftly from the other, bearing the ''trail-
! is here gathered and put in canvas bags. 4
| large part of the quicksilver and copper re-
mains. This amalgam is then carried in canvas
to the ''retort>,' where the remainder of the
| quicksilver is distilled Oft. These retortS are
iron tubes four feet long and fourteen inches
in diameter, built horizontally over Il fire place ;
these are filled with amalgam, the covers fast
| cned on. and the fires are kindled beneath
them.
In the back end of each retort is pipe which
leads to Il tank of water. The heat causes the
quicksilver to volatiize, and in the form of Il
vapor it passes through the pipe TO the water,
where it is condensed and is ready for use
again. The bullion left in the rctort is ready
for melting and casting into brass which is
The bullion contains about sixty per cent. of
| silver, the remainder being nearly all copper.
! Takcn altogether it is Il wonderful process,
| which produces more wonderful results. The
Alice mines treat one hundred tons of ore each
day, their product in bullion being 500 900 per
month. The Lexington mines have yielded 81
0e0,O0o each year for four years. The copper
mines of Butte, however, far exceed in impor-
iance its silver mines. Thousand, of miners
are seen upon its streets every evening. The
city. of some 5000 inhabitants, is the center of
a 'a>t mining region which i constantly pour
ing it, miners upon this, its central point. Bus
mess is always booming; hotels, saloons, beer
gardens, and gamblinghouses are crowded back
and forth along its crooked sidewalks ebb and
flow the human tides. Miners are there who
represent every land beneath the sun. Every
grade of dress can be pointed out. Revolvers
peep from belts and pockets; knives are uni
Vcrsay worn. and are too frequently used and
a. these brown. brave, reckless men 90 on in
search of pleasure, saloons and dance houses
run at full blast. Gambling is universal
practice. Chips rattle on scores of tables.
Glasses clink in constant use. Hundreds of
thirsty men crowd the bars, spending their
money for that liquid which only increases
their thirst. There Is much drunkenness and
more profanity. Stand by that table for mo-
ment and watch these dozen players. Ameri-
cans, Germans, Engli>hmcn, Irishmen, French
men, Italians and Chinese, each playing for
himself. The banker sits at the head of the
board and deals the cards with a scientific ra-
pidity No words are spoken. The work is too
earnest for conversation. The chips represent
each so much gold They are heaped upon the
board as they bet upon the cards they hold. each
believing that his own will win. 1t is Il sad,
| sad picture. There sits a thin-faced young man
twenty years of age -; he has been losing heavi-
ly during the evening; his eyes sparkle as he
looks upon his cards and the small pile of chips
which he has left d.; he stakes them all, and the
500 which he takes from the board makes
good the losses of the evening" and with sigh
of relief he leaves the circle and the saloon.
Near him sat tall, dark man of sixty years
his features were like iron. 'Been in the
mines since 49," whispered my companion to
me as he moved towards this individual mo
fellow fools with him much; he would rather
shoot than eat; he is worth half IL million and
is making money every day"
The games went on, money changed hands
with a remarkable rapidty. A lions share of
it seemed to 90 to the bankers. Men were con-
stantly leaving, disguised with their losses.
Their places were soon filled. and thus the
stream of sin flowed on until the small hours
of the morning. That stream never ceases to
flow. Sunday offers no check to its advance,
but rather accelerates its speed, for Sunday is
but holiday to the majority of these people,
day in which they revel in all that is sinful