The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-07
IN OLD CALIFORNIA.
A MINER WHO PUT IN FIFTY YEARS
AT GOLD HUNTING.

He Took All the Courses From Pan to
Dynamite-His Story of the Marshall
Find-Barkeepers Who HID Big Thumbs
and Fingers.
Gathered in and around Butte arc
men who have mified in almost every
country under the sun; but, although
| charming conversationalists in tho So
ciety of their friends, for some unac-
countable reason they become suddenly
dumb when approached by newspaper
man. 1t was reporters luck yesterday
to run against one who talked in an in
teresting way. He was large, rather
fine looking man, apparently about 70
years of age, and q man who had watch
ed with close interest the progress of
mining on the Pacific coast since the
historic days Of 1S49.
Yes, was out in Californy in the
old days, he replied to a question, and
then added with n pleasant smile: 81
was thar from $40 to 1889 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 Ill that tail race and Suffer was Dig
ging for his sawmill at Coloma, not a
man i'll that country knew thing about
mining. Never heard how they knew
it was gold, hey? Well there has been
great many stories told about it, but
here is the right one: 1t was little
nugget Marshall picked up, worth So or
81. Each one of the gang looked at it,
bit it, tasted 1t, rubbed it, smelled it,
but none Of them had clear idea what
1T was Several thought it might be
gold, but none was sure of it A happy
thought struck Marshall. Mrs. Weber
boarded the hands. She was making
soft soap from pine ashes I've. Marshall
proposed the lady should boil the mug
get i'll I've day or two, and if it didn't
change color or lose its 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, n cross between Mex
leans and II lower class of humans. God
knows they We're all low enough, but
the cross was no improvement ON the
general run of the cattle 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 rocker. That was a. great i'm
provement over the willow pan and
knife. In the fall of 1S49 picks, shovels,
iron pans and sheet iron for rocker
screens had been shipped in from the
outside. Rockers sold for three ounces,
shovels half an ounce apiece, picks the
same; pans for Il quarter of an ounce,
gum boots an ounce pair and whisky
pinch drink. That was the price in
mining camps. \ pinch was what
barkeeper could take between his fore
finger and thumb. They had big fingers
and thumbs in those days, and a bar
keepers salary was measured by their
size. Wages was an ounce day.
1.-The Georgia bumper displaced the
rocker TWAS something like rocker,
but much larger, and had several riff
ies' to catch the gold. The ends Of tho
rockers bump against blocks Of wood
to jar the gravel in the screen and be-
tween rifles. A bumper cost 5000, O
wheelbarrow two ounces, and China
pump $50. That made bumper min
ing outfit The bumper didn last long,
for the Long Tom soon took it's place.
That was stationary affair, with long
screen In which the pay dirt was
thrown. Water was conducted 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 10 the
Tom These, as we'll as the Tom, Were
supplied with rifles, which generally
caught about all the dust. Long Toms
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 hydrau-
lie mining, where water and fall could
be obtained, displaced the rocker, bump
er and Tom. Hydraulic mining is an
old thing now"
How about underground mining?"
inquired the reporter.
Gold bearing quartz was first dis
covered by some miners in the bed Of
Deer creek, below Nevada City, in the
summer of 1850. 1t was found in mar
row vein, but the discovery led to the
opening up of the magnificent gold bear
ing quartz mines of Grass valley in Ne
vada county. All the equipments Of the
mines were ut first crude, but tho mines
were rich and paid we'll. Black powder
was used in blasting where blasting was
necessary. Some years after nitroglyc-
erin was introduced in the state. but
an explosion of the stuff in o San Francis