The Red Cloud chief., 1889-10-04
REAL GOLDEN SAND.


Visitors to the Gin House, in So
Francisco. may have noticed severa
!. Cinnamon at low tide gathering up tn
black sand on the beach and loading i
into wheezy old wagons drawn By
horses still more heezy. The curiou:
OnlOOker on asking what they intended
t. do with the sand would be told that
there was Il small amount of gold dust
in it. and that the Cinnamon extract 1t;
that the amount of gold was very
small. and that nobody but Cinnamon
could make a living at the work. Until
a few weeks ago that was the only
known instance OF the poetical im-
agery OF golden sands being prac-
tically demonstrated.
But now, Mt what is called the LOm-
poe mining district. about " hundred
men are making largo wages by wash
ing the sea-beach sand. Lompoe beach
lies about fifty miles north OF Santa
Barbara. and is just nOrthward of Point
Conception. A mountain chain. called
locally the Santa Inez. skirts the roast
for many miles in the region. with but
one break in it. and that is where the
Santa Ynez river breaks through tho
mountains and reaches the sea. Where
the river ernpties is the northern eX-
tremity of a black sand deposit which
extends for about fifteen miles south,
and abruptly terminates. At high tide
the sea entirely covers the beach. and
breaks against the foot Of high bluffs
Of clay. sandstone. shaie. limestone
and a blue conslomerate rock. This
is constantly being undermined and
washed away.
This black sand is found To be very
rich in gold. but at first i: Was very
difficult to- extract it. as the dust was
SO very fine. The discovery was made
in the latter part .. March. and the
rocker" anu pan were used with
some success. but it was discovered
that but a small percentage of the gold
was obtained. 4 peculiar fact and n
which gives the district "a certainty Of
being permanent. is that the sea re-
places the sand rs rapidly rs the miners
cart it away. This was illustrated on
one Of the first days workings. At low
tide. when the deposit vas uncovered
by the recedins tide. "a miner drove IL
stake in his claim. and from the sand
ut the bottom of it washed ont 2JO
''cOlOrs." On the nex day when the
tide went down. the hole he had made
the day before wa, found filled up. and.
in a short time. at exactly the same
spot. he washed twenty q ''colOrs.'
The mex day the hole was again found
10 be flied and he got over 800 col
ors." This was with the wastefUl pam
And so it has been Eel since.
Now the sand is taken out by the
wagon load during low tide. but is al
ways replaced by the high tide. This
is all the more remarkable as, though
the deposit extends for some distance.
being fifteen miles long. and extending
indefinitely out under the water. it is
very shallow close to the shore. being
but about two feet thick. and at the
deepest four feet. The sand is dark
gray in color. and is highly magnetic;
when seen under water it appears to
consist OF myriads of biOOd-red rubies,
presenting amost beautiful appearance.
Since the discovery a method Of
washing has been devised which
about ninety per cent. OF the gold and
the lucky men who took up claims
literally under the ocean are making
money rapidly. At low tide the sand
is shOveled into wagons and hauled
above high water mark. where the
sluice boxes are placed. These cOn
tain a succession of mercury covered
plates. which catch nearly if not all
of the gold dust. This is excessively
fine. in fact. almost microscopic, but is
very pure, and is readily sold at the
high price of S22 per ounce.
The beach is all taken up and there
are no claims on the market. About
two hundred men arc working claims
of their own and several companies
have been formed and are working
CldiLiS tuuS law UCCu Jul CAdcCu- IhS
Santa Barbara Black Sand Mining Com
pany in March put four men at work
on their claims, anu in four weeks re-
ceived from them $500; this. was be-
fore the introduction of the improved
sluice boxes. The men. however,
average between S. and $40 per day.
Various theories are adduced to ac-
count for the deposit. The most gen
orally accepted one is that there is a
rich gold ledge which crops up in the
bed of the ocean some distance out,
and which is ground by the action OF
the sea and carried by the Japanese
current. which sweeps in at that point.
to the California coast. Another Opin-
ion. held by soule Of the miners. is
that the gold Genes from the bluff.
which. at every high tide is washed
away to some extent But the most
persistent and careful prospecting has
so far failed TO disclose the slightest
deposit Of gold in the soil or the stone
which eomp0s , these bluffs. Another
plausible thec .ry is that the gold comes
down the Sar Ia Ynez river. A tribu-
&C.,, ~ <hoH --ro. oollo1 tho Con E-;y-