The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-04-30
'--------i---------- -
EIRLY MINING DA Us.
Advantage of Big Fingers in Bar-Ten-
der.

|
| der.
| (From the Butte Inter Mountain,)
| Gathered in and around Butte are
men who have mined in almost every
country under the SUM- 1t was a re-
porter's luck yesterday to run against
one who talked in an interesting way.
He was a large, rather fine looking
man, apparently about seventy years
old, and man who had watched with
close interest the progress OF mining on
the Pacific coast since the historic days
of 40
Yes 1 was out in Californy in the
old days, he replied to a question, and
then added with pleasant smile, II
was thar from 40 to 'S9, and took all
| the courses, from pan to little giant,
and from handmade black powder
cartridges to dinnymite.
when gold was discovered by Mar
shall in that tail race Suffer was dig
ging for his saw mill at Coloma, not a
man in that country knew a thing
about mining. Never heard how they
knew it was gold, hey? Well. there
has been a great many stories told
about it, but here is the right one. 1t
was little nugget Marshall picked up,
worth three or four dollars. Each one
of the gang looked at it. bit it, tasted
it, rubbed it, smelled it, but none OF
them had clear idea what it was.
Several thought it might be gold, but
none was sure of it. A happy thought
Nov, Noe LODI
the hands She was making soft soap
from pine ashes I've. Marshall pro
/ posed the lady should boil the nugget
| in. lye a day or two, and if it didn't
change color or lose it's substance in
the test 1t was sure enough gold. Well,
| it stood the test The world knows the
rest.
among the first on the ground was
| lot of greasers, cross between Mexl-
cans and lower class Of humans The
| greaser brought his willow made pan
| and knife as his mining tools. He cut
and scraped among crevices of rocks at
| the waters edge for 'chispas,' or, as we
call them, nuggets An enterprising
| white man made a rocker That was
| a great Improvement over the willow
pan and knife. In the fall of 40, picks,
| shovels, iron pans and sheet iron for
rocker screens had been shipped in
from the outside. Rockers sold for
three ounces shoyels for half an ounce
| apiece, picks the same, pans for a
quarter of an ounce, gum boots an
ounce pair and whiskey a pinch
| drink. That was the price in mining
camps. pinch was what barkeeper
could take between his forefnger and
thumb They had big fingers and
thumbs in those days, and barkeep-
er's salary was measured by their size.
Wages was an ounce day.
THE Georgia bumper displaced the
rocker 1t was something like rock
err, but much larger, and had several
| rifles to catch the gold The ends Of
the rockers bump against blocks Of
wood to jar the gravel in the screen
and between the rifles. A bumper cost
two hundred dollars a wheelbarrow
two ounces, and China pump twenty
five dollars That made bumper min
ing outfit. The bumper didn't last
long, for the Long Tom soon took its
place. That was a stationary affair
with a long screen in which the pay
dirt was thrown. Water was conduct
ed on the screen, the wash falling
through the perforations while one of
the hands forked out the rocks or small
stones
"a sluice or two were added to the
Tom. These, as well as the Tom, were
supplied with rifles, which generally
caught about all the dust Long Tom
were first used in Nevada City in 1850.
improvements in modes Of placer min
ing rapidly followed. Sets of sluices
without the Toms were used; then
ground sluicing came next, and hy-
draulic mining, where water and fall
could be obtained displaced the rocker,
bumper and Tom. Hydraulic mining
is an old thing now"