The Washington bee., 1893-07-01
California; Gold Hunters.

No matter how often he is disap-
pointed in his search for gold, the
fprospector never loses hope; some day
| he will strike it rich" and come into
scamp with a sack full of rich ore
! Meanwhile his life, though not without
tits privations, is comparatively free
from care, and he enjoys it; his dislike
I xof routine employment is intense. The
I old and seasoned gold hunter usually
E'summers" in some mining camp or
! fsmall railroad town on the desert,
where his tales of a once profitable
s"ledge" or claim seldom fail to pro-
! scure for him the credit or the cash
necessary for an early start in the fall,
the person so furnishing the needful,
being said to "grub-stake, the miner,
in return for which he usually acquires
la half interest in the prospective dis
Ecoveries. The sum required to pur-
fchase complete "outGt" for winters
kcampaign may be roughly fixed at three
Ehundred dollars. This will buy cou-
Fple of mules, wagon and harness, a
sstoch of provisions consisting mainly
fof bacon, potatoes-called "spuds -
scoffee and -four, few miners tools
land a roll of blankets, over all of
which is drawn a broad and heavy
tpiece Of canvas to protect from heat.
dust and rain. A barrel to carry water
for dry camps" is slung on one side,
and if going to section of desert with
Eout grass, half the load must be barley
land baled hay for the animals. The
start for the winter trip is usually made
in the early part of November, when
the heavy rains have filled up the
Isprings and basins in the rocks. These
tanks, as they are called, abound in
the Eagle mountain district, and their
location is known to experienced travel
lers. Nevertheless, the danger of scar
lcity of water is very great, and although
rich in gold bearing deposits this re-
Egion is but little travelled. A long
tday's journey over the burning sands
Ito an empty tank has proved the last
disappointment in many poor fellows
wanderings. The gold is usually found
IN veins of quartz cropping out from
fnill or mountain side. They vary
Efrom an inch in thickness to many feet
1.-THE narrow veins being often very rich.
tWhen the gold hunter has found his
kprospect, his first cars is to ascertain as
Enearly as possible the direction and
Elength of the vein at the surface. He
tthen measures a claim fifteen hundred
l feet long by six hundred wide, being
ltwenty acres, SO as best to include his
ldiscovery whether it be a vein or q
I'placer" claim of sand or gravel. A
monument of stones is built at each
corner of this parallelogram and a fifth
lat the point where he has begun work,
talso a notice containing a description
of the claim is posted, copy of which
lis sent to the county seat for record
Each year after the one in which the
discovery is made Uncle Sam requires
1.-THE claimant to do one hundred dollars
Eworth of work on the claim in order
Ethat he may hold it, but after five hun,
sdred dollars are so expended in de-
lvelopment, patent will issue on ap
tplication and payment to the govern
tment of the United States of five dol
liars per acre or one hundred dollars in
iall, after which the prospector or owner
holds the title without further duty OF
texpense.