The morning call., 1893-06-18

own few acres of ground. but their mines
have been idle for years, their small plants
nave gone TO pieces and thew are bus ted.'
They haven't the clpital to build dam
AMI resume. The best that many small
miners can do will be to sell out to men
with money. There are many miners who
could work at small profit before, but
cannot do so now.
Besides the cost of dams, plant, opera
tlons ard the per cent tax there Will be
the impossibility in many cases to wash
gravel fast enough to make 1t profitable.
When miner puts up a dam he will not
be allowed to wash into it more tailings
than will properly settle. He will be al
lowed to wash only so much in such
time, and then instead OF working twenty
four hours day, as the big companies
used to do. he will have to stop so many
hours day to let the mud settle so that
it will not be carried over the dam. His
plant and operations will be just as expen-
sive. but his production will be smaller.
Il regard hydraulic mining as having
passed from the domain OF law into that
of engineering. 1t is In the hands of Gov
ernment engineers who care nothing for
political influences. nothing tor hydraulic
miners and nothing for anti-debris ass0-
Citations. The resumption OF hydraulic
mining is now an engineering problem. /
expect thaG the anti-debris people, though
supposed to be satisfied with the law, will
con tinue TO fight the miners; but the min
ers are safe as long as they act within the
law"
The present prospects mean great
deal to Sierra, Plumas, Nevada and other
counties along the western slope of the
Slerras, and these counties are already
feeling thrill of new life. They see popu-
lation and prosperity returning to them.
Many miners have already begun actual
q hQ
Debris Commission allows general under
standing of what Otheys will require the
hustle of operations will commence.
1t will take millions of dollars and con-
siderable time to get all the important
gravel mines worked by the hydraulic
processin operationsagain Twelve years
ago Slo0. .00e. 600 was invested In the plants
for the hydraulic mines. including the
great reservoirs, bitches, fumes, pipe lines,
etc.
Since then the great bulk of this valu-
able property has been idle. Pipes have
been rusting for years on the mountain
sides, fumes have rotted and been
knocked to pieces. bitches have been
tillsd up. washed out aud wrecked gener-
ally; dams have gone 10 decay; gravel
banks. half torn away, have grown green,
while rusting giants in front of them have
lain as harmless as an abandoned plow.
So it will cost millions for the monitors to
resume their irresistible play where they
left off twelve years ago.
Mining men lsay that the new law will
produce prosperity that will be felt all
through the State. When hydraulic min
ing was stopped several thousand men had
to seek employment elsewhere. Now,
several thousand men will find employ
ment as the work of rehabilitatiOn, ,goes on.
The assessment-roll in Nevada County is
now S10,000000 less than it was in 1880, its
population has greatly dwindlsd and the
rate of taxation has doubled.
If hydraulic mining is resumed on ap-
proximately Its former scale. the old pop
ulation, life and wealth will be recovered.
Thousands OF people will again find homes
on the pine-clad mountain slopes, and the
mountain roads will again be alive with
freighters.
at will give an impetus to business that
nothing else could give in short time"
said well-kn0wn hydraulic mining man
yesterday. Besides giving employment
directly to several thousand men it will
give employment to many indirectly. An
immense amount of supplies will have 20
be manufactured. handled and hauled. and
II will stimulate business in San Francisco,
Sacramento, Marysville and all the noun
tain towns in that region. Towns and
camps will be repopulated. and something
like the old times will be seen again.
Starting the hydraulic mines will create
an immense demand for iron pipe for one
lulnS. LUXURIOUS Oh miles OF THIS pipe
have been laid in the mountains, where
bitches and fumes could not be used.
Some of them were three feet in diameter.
and often formed inverted sphons"
through ich water was brought a thou
sand or more feet down one declivity and
as far up the other side of the ravine,
thence conveying the water a long dis
tance to where it would be delivered
against bank through nine-inch nozzles
of big hydraulic giants with such terrific
force that knife could not cut the stream ::
rocks weighing ton or more would be
tossed about like chips and hillsides would
melt away like icicles in furnace.
The scale upon which the operations
were carried on may be illustra by the
North Bloomfield Company in Nevada
County, which expended S20O0,00O in lis
plant. 1t had immense resources, with
the biggest dams in California. a vast
stretch of great bitches and fumes, a
tunnel that cost $500, Geo. and payroll of
$4,000 month. Recently 1t has mined a
little. after building restraining dams, but
its payroll is only about $1,000 now, and
much of its expense is simply keeping un-
used works In repair. This company ex
poets to operate nearly as extensively as
before.
The amount of workable auriferous
gravel in the main region about the Sacra-
mento River watershed has been officially
estimated as follows: