The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-01-07

IlCu. A6 l0 I0I0ly VoAS 40O = OOAS
the lame, halt, blind and otherwise
ailing focked to him by scores.
Wonderful cures were reported, and
by the more ignorant mountain
people MoH6tt was looked upon as
a wizard healer With little short of
supernatural attributes. When Moi
fit was heard from in Stockton
those inyalids and sick people
flocked this way. .Mofitt would re-
ceive nobody in the sheds, guard
ing jealously the secret he had hid
den there. However, he did get
quarters at a levee hotel, and there
received those who insisted on be-
ing his patients. One woman who
was stricken with what was called
tumor came to the hotel expecting
to die, but went back to the noun
tains in few weeks cured by Moi
fits herbs. Other cures quite as
miraculous are spoken of by those
in charge of the hotel where the
invalids stopped.
Excepting for the time spent with
these sick people Mofitt lived with
his idea, which gradually took the
the shape of a machine. Several
times it was torn apart, thrown
away and then rebuilt. Only with
in the last week have outsiders been
permitted to go into the shed. At
ter all, there is not much to see.
The interior of the shslter-it de-
serves no more digni6ed name than
that, although to Moffitt it is lab
oratory-looks to novice like an
ordinary machine shop. One COR
ner is walled of, but that contains
window and has floor. This is
where Moffitt did his thinking. The
room contains scales, goldpan, a
safe, writing desk, cook stove, bunk,
shelves filled with quartz and ores,
few books and many other arti-
cles. Moffitt cooked, ate, slept,
planned and experimental in this
little place, while his mine on the
Tuolumne river lay idle. The won
derful machine-for miners agree
that it is wonderful-stands in the
highest shed under q canvas cover
about thirty feet from this corner
hut.
Molfitt's machine is so totally
unlike anything heretofore made
for working ores that no one would
take it to be what it is. The stamp
mill is done away with altogether.
The ores are broken into pieces as
large as walnuts, runs into crush
ing machine in which rough steel
plates runs against one another.
The ore comes out in particles like
river sand. Miners understand that
these rebellious ores contain ordi-
narily no free gold whatever. One
can look at this sand as it come
out of Moffitt's crushers without
seeing the glitter ofgold or anything
to indicate that there is bit of the
yellow metal in it. The gold is
held in combinations, and such
combinations that only the most
costly chemical processes have here
tofore been able to separate then
This sandlike ore is fed into the
"oxidizing" machine, the most inn
portant part of Mofitt's invention.
Externally this "oxidizing" ma
chine looks not unlike boiler with
some cogwheels at one end, a pipe
at the other and frehole beneath.
A pressure blower is connected with
it. Internally the machine is quite
complicated. Within the outer cas-
ing there are two cylinders, one re-
volving within the other. They re-.
volve in the same direction, but the
inner one much faster than the
other. Wood is fed into the fire.
hole and burns in such q manner
under pressure that it becomes char
coal before being finally consumed
and so gives out an intense heat
This fire brings the outer cylinder
to a white heat. The crushed ore
is fed into this cylinder, and is, of
course, heated with it.
Here the inner cylinder gets in
its work. It has scores and scores
of blow-pipes upon its surface, and
air is forced through them at tre-
mendous rate by the pressure blower
which connects with the interior of
the cylinder. As the outer heated
cylinder slowly revolves the ore
drops on the blow-pipes and thus
gets the full benefit of the BLAST
So much oxygen is furnished that
everything in the ore but precious
metals and soft, powdery ash is
burned in this cyclone motion.
The force of the blast is such
that the lighter particles of metal
and ash are forced upward and pre-
cipitated in tank Of water above
the revolving cylinders. The heav-
| ier particles are blown downward
and forced into another tank of
water. Nothing is lost. If what
| is left of the ore at this time Is ok
amined the ash will be found to be
glistening with bits Of gold, the
metal having been released from
the rebellious combinations which
held it.
The process does not stop here.