Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-08-19

would separate the gold from the dirt a.
thoroughly as a tanning machine sepa
rates grain from chaff. But the earth is
of irregular shape as it comes to the ma.
chine. 1t is full of cobble stones, roots.
Jumps of clay, STRAY chips and what not,
making it difficult to pass it rapidly
through the machine. Moreover, the
ground is often very wet, and is gener-
ally damp, and this quality tends to
choke the machine.
This adverse news was not reassuring
sanguine turn Of mind. sought
the maker of the machines, to
get his views on his business.
He stated that in a little over year he
had sold about $50 machines of various
sizes. Some of these are being used
near here, in Soledad cafIon, in Lytle
Cresk csfion, and in others. Some of
them are being worked on the Colorado
desert, out towards Yuma. Others are
IA Arizona and New Mexico. In fact
there are some of them in all the West.
ern States and Territories where mining
is carried on. Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, Montana, Dakota, Utah, Color
ado and Nevada have a few each scat
tered all over the territories. There are
good many in Lower California, and
four have been shipped to Mszatlan in
Old Mexico.
These machines require from two to
six men to work one of them. With a
force of six men 80 tons OF dirt day can
be put through. In some cases two men
work machine, and run IL tons q day
through. Dirt that "pans out" as low
as 25 cents to the ton is worked. If so
tons of such dirt is run through by six
men, they make $12.50 day, or little
more than 81 each day. This ia prob.
ably the reason why the big mining men
do not GO into it. To work $4,000 tons
q day through these machines requires
a good deal of labor, and the
dirt must, be pretty rich to pay.
Still ifit only went little over 25 cents
ton, which would pay the men, and 50,-
600 tons day were worked the profits
would not be small.
AS to the condition of the dirt in re-
gard to being pulverized, and as to being
dry, the inventor stated that he had been
at work on machine to pulverize the
matter worked, and he also had kiln
devised in which to dry it, but those who
use the "dry washer" say they do not
care to complicate thAr industry in this
way. Such an apparatus would be
costly to buy and would require both
water and fuel to run. These are scarce
in the camps where the machines
are used and would add greatly
to the cost of extracting the gold.
Where they are used the ground is
plowed in the morning and let dry until
afternoon, when it is worked. The dirt
plowed in the afternoon is let lie until
next morning, when it is found TO be dry
enough. In q climate like this there
would be no difficulty in drying the dirt
all the year round. Even in damp
place like Oregon this plan works to
charm.
OF course this machine is only re.
cent invention. 1t is not long in use.
and then on the most part in a small
way by little band of men, who are in
the main satisfied to m axe wages. On
the Colorado desert those working the
machine make as much as $25 day each.
There are very large beds OF dirt in
many parts of the Coast remote from
water and full Il precious ore. The
"dry-washer" seems to be destined to
play an important part in mining opera
tions hereafter. In time big beds of
"pay gravel" such as the girls father
in Bret Harte's poem struck "while
drifting on Poverty Flat" will be dis
covered, and a combination will be
made which will justify, perhaps, the
kiln and the crusher. In these camps
large amounts of dirt will be handled
daily and large amounts of gold will be
separated by these means,