River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-08-05


on the Pacific slope was to a large ex-
tent carried on by what is known as
the hydraulic method. The process
was so far perfected that the manipula-
ting of cubic yards of earth, though
not yielding more than two cents
worth of gold, was nevertheless sufli-
GENTLY renumeratiye to warrant the
working In order to extract the pre-
cious metal, the hydraulic companies,
most if not all of which were organized
by foreigners and with large foreign
capital, forced powerful streams OF
water through pipes, tearing down
hillsides and washing the soil itself
with astonishing rapidity.
The devastation which this system
has accomplished can only be cOmpre-
hended by an eyewitness. You have
but to travel hither by way of the Cen
trail Pacific railroad, and you will be
Mortified by the baleful results of by
draulic mining along the western slope
of the Serras at the Dutch Flats, and
at many other points.
The earth which was dislodged by
the hydraulic machinery was carried
down the water courses, filling up the
river bottoms, covering miles of rich
farming land with the washings, tail
iugs, and debris. Desolation and ruin
was threatened to prosperous towns
like Marvsville and Sacramento. There
was even danger that the harbor of
: an Francisco would be filled u and
INSTRUCTED, and that the expenditure
from tue national Treasury to protect
and keep open This harbor woald far
exceed all the value of metal produced
by these corporations. Meanwhile
they left behind them, instead of the
fair face of nature, and lands fit for
cultivation, or al least pasturage only
a scene of desolation-the unchecked
greed and sellishness of man destroy
ing the very earth itself.
An action was at length instituted
in the United States Circuit Court by
the city of Marysville and by land
owners in the vicinity against one of
the largest of these corporations. a
perpetual injunction was finally pro-
cured restraining the company from
further operations. This should have
been done many years before. The
mischief was apparent, and, in
deed had grown to gigantic proper
| tions. The tearing away and destruc-
ton not of rock, but of soil, in order to
get two cents worth of gold per cubic
| foot out of it, is a palpable crime
against the human race. The discon-
tinuance of hydraulic mining inevita-
| bly, wrought a large falling off in the
amount of gold produced on the Pacific
slope. Ruinous as that method was in
many respects, it had proved very
successful, and the yield of gold was
accordingly very great.
Fortunately, however, American in
genuitv has been found equal to this
emergency, Stimulated by the large
premium of gold, quartz mining has
received new impetus which bids fair
to repair all, and more than all, that
has been lost by the suspension of the
hydraulic process. The mountains of
| Trinity county, Shasta county, and
other districts of the State have been
diligently prospected for gold quartz
formations. Many quartz mills are
now ia operation and many more are
| erecting.
4 gold mill is very simple and in
expensive structure in comparison with
a silver mill. The heavy and costly
| appendages of the latter, such as pans
and settlers, are generally omitted in
| gold mills. Indeed, if the gold in the
! quartz is free the necessary provision
| consists merely of stamps and copper
! plates, over which the crushed rock is
made to run. In mills of the better
class it may be remarked that some
device is also commonly employed to
! concentrate the tailings.
There are are. likewise, several
small patented machines in use, which
would not be trusted in silver milling.
| but which work reasonably well in
gold milling. In short, gold milling,
/ while it seldom yields the enormous
| profits which are sometimes. although
| seldom, made in the mining of silver or
copper, can nevertheless be safely
undertaken on much humber scale
and by men of much smaller means.
The gross product of the mills now
in operation will probably range from
! SO, 600 to $4,000 each per mOnths
| But the increase is steady and the
| business viii continue to grow for
years to come. This opinion is fully
| borne out by observation, as well as by
| diligent investigation and inquiry.
Judging from the present outlook, it is
safe to conclude that the prospective
augmentation in the gold product of
| the Pacific slope is destined to play an
important part in the final adjustment
/ of the problem of a metallic currency
| for this country and the world