davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

been a resident of Denver for twenty
two years, and for the greater number
of those has been at work figuring on
plant that would handle large quanti-
ties of gravel and save the fine gold-
Even now he admits that his note book
is filed with notes suggestive of inn
provements, not on the saving method.
but on principles OF speed in handling
the machine. For instance, where he
now uses screw jacks in raising the
ponderous mass. he will hereafter use
a quick action jack, and so on to in
sure greater speed in all its workings
He is now at work building two more
machines at his plant in Denver, and
has orders on his book for eleven more
A NEW YORK MAN CONDUCTING
IT
Within the past few days D. w. Spen-
Ger, of Batavia, n. Y. has been SEM
on to act as superintendent. Mr. Ben
nett is still on the ground and will
remain to personally supervise until the;
first of the month, when he will turn 1T
over TO the new superintendent. Mr..
Edwards is the notorneer of the plant,
and has become strongly familiar with
all the working details-so much so,
that he can toss out his hat and with a
deft touch of the levers within the lobe
reach out with the dipper and pick it.
up free of gravel.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
The Green river sand bars are above
par right now
Indications are that the coming sea-
son will witness more Bennett ma
chimes down the river.
1t is said on the q. t. that parties up
in Idaho are contracting for just SUCH
machines to work the fine Snake river
gold.
A new and improved ferry boat Isl
being built at Green River station for
the increased traffic.
NJ H. Beardsley now has charge Of
the Palmer house at Green River. Mrs.
Phelan of Ogden, is managing it, and
the meals set up are par excellence.
The genial and whole-souled Charliel
Farnsworth, of Green River, does all.
the plotting and hauling of passengers
through that country, and will neglect.
his private business at any time to;
take people about that country. The.
Herald thanks him for never failing it
when assistance was needed.
The oil wells four miles below Greens
River, which have heretofore been de-
scribed by The Herald exclusively, are
showing up remarkably well. The shaft.
is now down 40 feet and some tunnel;
ing has been done along the seams. A.
load of the oil is now awaiting ship:
ment to Salt Lake. 1t is learned that:
diamond drill has been sent for to
prosecute the work and most any day
now a 'gusher" is liable to be tapped. J.
There were parties at Green River
last week looking over the country
with view of launching vast irri-i
cation scheme. and from all appear
ances the canal will be 60 !.
Ex-Agent T. H. F'yl1e, who resigned
some time ago at that place, is still
basking in sunny chimes, and is evil !:
IDENTIFY casting an anchor to windward !,
on business propositions
RAY RAYMOND.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

Green Rivers golden sands promise
from now on to yield treasure at a
rate that will astonish even those who
are familiar with placer mining.
Latter day men and measures have
successfully solved the problem Of
handling cheaply and i'm quantity the
gold bars that abound along the Green
river for hundreds of miles, and ex-
tract from them gold in such proper
ton as will make the investment of
capital very lucrative, with the pros
pect of revolutionizing placer mining.
The statement is not overdrawn.
1t has been demonstrated, and the first
fine finish of the test has been within
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

section represents the letter "W," and
is provided with a series of jets at the
bottom of each valley through which
all the water employed enters. These
jets are furnished with water from the
river by Worthington pump at the
power house. and forced through the
500 feet of twelve inch pipe. and
through flexible connections to the
tank BY flexible connections is meant
rubber hose that admits of the ma
chine being moved forward without
further adjustment of the pipe line
to correspond.
By means of these jets the washed
material is forced upward and for
ward, and on one side and the other,
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

which means an added and soon to be
active development of the many rich
placer properties in the Green River
country.
The Herald was the first and only pa
per that dispatched a representative to
the bars now being so successfully
worked on the river at point seven
miles below Green River station, on
the line of the Rio Grande Western
railway the time being last Deem
Der, and when the thirteen car loads
of machinery comprising the great
plant that was shipped from Denver
was being hauled by slow and labor
ious process to the bars selected for OPP
erations. AT that time this paper gave
q detailed statement of forthcoming
opera tons as clearly as might be- Two
months later its representative again
visited the site. Operations had not
begun, as there was yet much to do in
detail ere would be heard the busy
hum of machinery betokening the dawn
of a new life in PLACER mining.
STARTED UP LAST WEEK.
During the past week operations
commenced and so soon as they did,
The Herald's representative visited the
section for the third time, making the
lorg and arduous trip, embracing 1S6
miles by rail and seven miles by pri-
vate conveyance down the river, thence
across by boat over the river that was
swollen from melting SHOWS in the
mountains. At the point where crossed
1T is 700 feet in width, and with an up
stream gale blowing and the waves
three feet high, there was some slight
danger attending the passage of a
frail boat-this for the benefit of others
who come after US.
In the party was the well known
placer mining experts, Cass Hbte and
a. B. Hover of this city, who was
special photographer, and secured a
number of fine views that clearly con-
vev to the observer the scale of oper-
atoms being conducted.
THE VIEW is INSPIRING.
The view is inspiring when one
stands upon the opposite side Of the
river and is confronted with large
qoower house builI securely on bed rock
above the high water mark, the while
from a. great smokestack is belched
forth clouds of black smoke, and the
whir.r of machinery goes ceaselessly on
TO the left and sheltered securely I'M
der the brow of the bluff may be seen
fen snow white tents, comfortable DOM
iciies for those who abide there A
line of poles stretches away to the
right from the power hoUse, on which
are strung the heavy copper wires that
give life TO the great machine contin-
llousIy working its way through the
gravel bed. There, where but a short
tSme ago was heard only the swish
of the river and the howl of the coyote,
is now given to the hum of an industry
that speaks for itself, reared at a cost
Of more than 100000.
South PARK MINING COMPANY.
The South Park Mining company is
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

ties for seeking hiding places when in
motion-the old pan process has
demonstrated this to the placer miners
enrichment in the days gone by.
The sides of the great tank are lined
with plates to catch the gold. They
are made of copper, coated with silver,
and charged with quicksilver. They
are formed in GU" shape, and every
other one is doubled in an inverse ratio,
thus insuring a secure hiding place for
the fine gold being so mercilessly
threshed about. Should it escape one
of the double plates, it must necessarily
be caught in the next plate charged
with mercury. OF such surface in the
great tank, there one 1000 feet surface
of such plates, the aggregate. weight
being 1000 pounds, and costing S., 900.
There are three patents on these plates,
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19
SUNDAY PAGES

to 1000 cubic yards per day of twenty
four hours. Under favorable condi-
tons it will handle 1900 yards. The
Herald man timed the work, and found
it handling $50 cubic yards per hour, or
$500 cubic yards for the twentyfour
hours, and in gravel from the smallest
size up to that of an average water
melon.
THE LABOR THAT IS REQUIRED.
The labor that is required consists of
three laborers and the motorneer on
the machine, besides an engineer and
fireman at the power house. This is
exclusive of a superintendent. The
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19
GREEN RIVER COLD BARS.

the name of the corporation doing bus
mess on the Green river bars, and
they intended at first to work in the
South Park region, in Colorado. At
forwards they concluded to operate in
Utah, owing partly to the fact that the
seasons in Utah admitted of much
steadier operations than in Colorado,
a point not to be lost sight of. as so
vast a plant is intended to be worked
every day in the year that may be.
Again, the richness of the Green river
bars appealed to them, and, taken as
a whole, was the means of making
Utah the base Of operations.
THE PLANT.
The Bennett amalgamator is manu-
featured in Denver by the Bennett
Amalgamator company, and the plant
was shipped to Green river last De-
cember, it taking thirteen cars in all to
haul it.
The power house is rs by "a feet,
solidly built on the bed rock above high
water mark. It is equipped with two
eighty horse power boilers, and the en-
CINE is a high speed automatic The
Edison dynamos are 120 horse power.
There is a double Worthington pump
with a capacity of 1000. gallons per
minute that forces the water from the
river to the amalgamator 500 feet dis
tant, through a twelve-inch pipe. To
provide clear water for the boilers
when the river is high and muddy,
well has been sunk near the waters
edge and then d tunnel run out for
fifty feet under the river. This inSures
a supply of clear water at all times.
The boiler feed pump is placed down
in this well. The smokestack is sixty
seven feet in height and gives most
excellent draught.
There are guages that register
everything accurately. One guage of
the Edison system, registers the am
peremetres up to 16O. Another is Of the
Bains patent-direct current volt me-
tire, of 14,700 ohms, and registers up
to 600 volts There is another Bains'
patent direct current ampere metre
that registers up to 100. Everything is
Of the latest and most approved patent,
and the engineer at the power house
knows from reading the guage just
how the power is being manipulated
by the motorneer handling the current
at the other end of the line.
Number copper wire is used to
convey the power and on the same
poles is strung a signal wire that in
structs the engineer when need be-
The voltage used is but 500.
MACHINE WEIGHS SEVENTY
TONS.
The machine weighs seventy tons
when empty. 1t requires its own
specially constructed railway, having
a guage of eight feet, and laid with
seventy-five pound steel rails 1t
moves backward and forward by it's
own power, and responds to the cleo
trio current as readily and easily as
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

jacks also serve another purpose, as
they lift the entire machine clear of
its working track when backed up
and ready to be moved and over
started in on another swath. 1t is
provided with sets of transverse trucks,
and when transverse truck is run
under these, the seventy tons of ma
chinery moves sideways as easily as
the other way, and but little time is
consumed in the change.
The dipper holds three and one-third
cubic yards, and has a cutting capacity
of fifty-five feet from rim to- rim of
the excavation. 1t is calculated TO
make two trips per minute The dip
per is operated by crucible steel
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

falling through the water Ito one side
and the other OF the a1nalgamated
plates which are formed into peculiarly
shaped rifles and pockets with which
the material must come in contact 600
times prior to it's exit
In the course of its travel. the ma
terial gets twelve severe scourings
through the action of the jets, and
also twelve opportunities to gravitate
in still water. 1t also passes over or
into 600 pockets provided with mercury
and and about an equal number of
hiding places. 1t is well known that
gold and mercury both have propensi-
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

experience in placer mining, having
been engaged in that particular indus
try from the pan and rocker up to hy-
draulic work in every phase, a goodly
portion Of that time, and having tested
very many of the devices for saving
fine gold, and examining many others,
studying the business of handling
water and gold bearing gravel in all its
muftiform character, and having
watched with a great deal of interest
the progress of the Bennett amalgama-
tor and placer machine, 1 unhesitating
ly pronounce it a complete success. By
that I do not mean that some little
improvements can not be made, which
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

formed into a. cone AZ feet at base, Is
inches at top and u feet high. From
the top of such cone on a 41a-inch
spindle is suspended the upper end Of
the boom by two cables. and the thrust
is relieved on these cables by the 20
ton springs concealed in a street cross
head The boom weighs, complete,
$500 pounds. The cylinder that grinds
and so completely works the gravel,
weighs 10000 pounds, and can be read
lily lifted by the boom in and out of
place.
CAPACITY OF MACHINE.
The capacity of the Bennett amalga-
mator now in operation is from 1000
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

nail we scraped it along the plates
it was there. The bulk of it was down
in the 'sV'' shaped bottom of the pan
on either side, and of course not WISH
bic without going through clean up
process. But the machine is saving the
gold, without a doubt, and all there is
of it, the all important point.
No more experienced placer miner
than Cass Hite can be found in this
western country. and to the writer he
gave his views on the train homeward
bound. He is thoroughly conversant
with early history as well as with lat
ter day methods in placer mining
Mr.. Hite said, With thirty years of
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

plant as described is the smallest size
manufactured. There are two larger
sizes, one rated at 1000 cubic yards,
and the other rated at 5000 cubic
yards per day of twenty-four hours.
BARS NOW BEING HANDLED.
The bars now being handled contain
at least 10 cents per yard, and are be-
ing worked at a cost not to exceed 8
cents per yard. 1t will be seen from
this the revenue that accrues. The
gravel beds are II feet in depth and on
the bed rock are now and then to be
encountered boulders weighing from
two to three tons. How are they ham
died? Easily enough. After being
loosened, the motorneer handles the
dipper to such perfection that he can
reach out for them and pick them up
at will, when he gets them balanced
on the dipper, and 10, he swings them
to one side and out of the way-thats
how.
ARCHIMEDIAN SCREW WHEEL.
The archimedian screw wheel that
does the work. has four discharge open
ings This because there is an inner
and outer wheel all combined. Two of
the openings discharge the fine gravel
and it's action, too, discharges the
larger stones, some Of them as large
as half bushel measure. The wheel
makes eight revolutions per minute.
REDUCED COST BY WATER
POWER.
The Bennett arnalgamator can be op-
Grated at a much lower cost when run
by water power, as the consumption of
coal cuts some figure. Coal now costs
them $2.75 per ton on board the cars
at Green River, and the cost of haul
ing it down the river is considerable in
itself. The river cannot now be forded
by teams from this side, and the South
Park Mining company is putting up a
strong wire cable that is 800 feet in
length, for the purpose Of carrying coal
across by the basket system.
THE GOLD IS BEING SAVED.
For months past the outside world
has been agog over the prospective OPP
erations of the great Bennett amalga-
nator on Green river. Would it save
the fine gold, and in quantity? That
was the question.
For days and even weeks past GER
tain papers have been announcing that
the Bennett machine was at work, and
that gold was being taken out all the
way from $500 to $1,000 per day. 1t was
simply rot. Nothing Of the kind was
being done, for the plant was not in
operation, except for an hour or so
at time to timber up it's joints. No
clean up has been made, nor will there
be for weeks to come. 1t is not neces-
sary. All the gold saved will be re-
tanned in the machine until such time
as a clean up is in order.
For information of The Herald ex-
clusively Mr.. Bennett ceased work suf-
ficiently long to draw off the water
from the work, and after the plates
were washed off by a hose, The Her
aid representative and Cass Hite were
invited to go within the tank and in
spect them. We inspected them, and it
must be said that every one of the
plates showed gold in coating upon
them. The lower plates showed more
than the upper ones, according to the
natural law governing gold in gravita-
ton. Some of the plates were handed
us for inspection, and with the finger
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

and twenty-five on the machine.
FINER DEBRIS WASHED OUT.
The finer debris is driven to the rear
of the tank and washed out through
the Pinch discharge pipe by means of
a 72-inch toiling elevator wheel. The
action of the jets in the bottom of the
tank carries the sand to the rear, thus
necessitating such cleaning wheel.
CAB AND DIPPER BOOM.
The cab and dipper boom is swung
on a mast made of one-half-inch steel
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

buckets which deliver the washed
gravel by way of a heavy steel cone
into the carrier. The carrier is thirty
five feet long, four feet wide, and
consists of an endless chain of sheet
steel buckets travelling on track up
per and lower side. The capacity of
such carrier is four cubic yards per
minute.
THE TANK CONSTRUCTION.
The tank is twenty-seven feet long,
twelve feet wide, and is made of one
quarter inch boiler steel. It's cross
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

does locomotive-in fact, it responds
taneous.
1t has a length of eighty feet over
all when the clipper is at its greatest
mean extension. The frame is COM
posed of two steel beams each forty
feet in length, and twenty inches wide,
resting on standard car trucks. There
are also steel cross beams twelve feet
in length provided on each end with
powerful jacks that tend to brace and
thus give a twelve foot base for the
machine to do its work upon. These
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

No excuse for sleepless nights when
you can procure One Minute Coughs
Cure. This will relieve all annoyances,
cure the most severe cough and give
you rest and health. Can you afford
to do without it? For sale by Nelden4i
Judson Drug co.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19
Bennett AmalgamatOr is
Now in Successful
Operation.
FINE GOLD IS SAVED.
The Enterprise Indicates In
creased Activity All Along
the Green River.
WORK GOING STEADILY ON
1t May Result in Revolutionizing
Placer Filming.
WORK GOING STEADILY ON
1t May Result in Revolutionizing
Placer Timing.

The Plant Cost Sixty Thousand Dol
lars-Detafled Description of It
Cost of Operating and Values of
the Dirt-Cass Hite Gives His
Opinion of the Project-A New
Irrigation scheme-on Wells Are
Flowing.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

Hewlett Bros Three Crown Spicea
are positively the only home ground
spices. Try them, they are fresh
and pure and retain their full
strength.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19
DELIVERING THE GRAVEL

When the motorneer fills the dipper,
the cab is made to revolve around with
it until the dipper comes directly over
the hopper. A heavy spring stop is
provided that causes the load to dump,
and the rebound starts it back again.
So soon as the gravel is dumped within
the hopper, it is fed to the great wheel
that churns and washes every particle
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

Of It so thoroughly that not even the
faintest color of gold could by any
means accompany the debris. IT'S
there the gold parts company with all
that hid it from man down through
al the ages.
REVOLVING SEPARATOR.
The cylinder revolving separator
that makes such havoc with the gold
bearing gravel is submerged in water
within the tank. 1t is eight feet long
and nine feet in diameter, and capable
of turning out four cubic yards in
five minutes when taxed to the maxi
mum. This cylinder is marvel of
mechanical construction, consisting as
it does OF an INNER and outer screen,
each provided with an Archimedian
screw ending up with discharge
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19

cables. the one that lifts is one-half
inch by six inches wide and the one
that crowds the dipper out is of the
same dimensions.
The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-19
NOT A STOCK COMPANY.

AS previously announced by The Her
aid the South Park Mining company
and its promoters, who are so cour-
ageously handling the enterprise on the
Green river bars are in no way engaged
in selling stock to carry on operations.
Nothing but cold cash is behind it,
and they have come to Utah simply
to extract gold from the bars that
abound along that river This shows
that the people behind it have conf
dence in the new method as described.
NUMBER OF MACHINES ORDERED
Mr.. Z. S. Bennett, the inventor, has
The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1896-07-19
soermeN1. lsss sv r.t AUTNOe !.

the regularity OF the seasons and leave
but little time for absorption in senti-
mental suffering. The alternate weeks
in the kitchen as housekeeper which fell
TO the lot of the two eldest daughters Of
Pastor Brinckman appeared a terrib'
hardship TO Hulda while her sorroN
was yet new. During the first month,
after Olaf's departure, she was in a
state of what 1 may call eolian sensi-
tiveness, tremulously responsive 70 every
faintest breeze of emotion To be
obliged to weigh out sugar aud coffee to
servants aud farm laborers TO supcrin-
tend the measuring of the milk and the
outstanding of the cream for butter
making and 10 interest herself in the
details Of the bill Of fare for dinner
seemed while this condition lasted sor-
did and degrading To don a long white
apron and plunge into the composite
odors Of the kitchen when she was long
ing TO be alone with her grief was one
of the cruelest necessities that fate could
have imposed upon her, and nothing
but the force Of an unbroken custom,
which had become as inexorablo as the