The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-05-15
In WINTER.
C. L. Westerman of Summit Makes Q Sue
cess Of It.

c. L. Westerman of summit Make q Sue
cess Of 1t.
Conrad L. Westerman has demon
strated that some things can be well
done in mining as well as others, says
the Denver Republican. Mr.. Wester-
man has several hundred acres Of val
liable placer land in the valley of the
Blue, $50 of which are along the creek
above Breckenridge, near the source of
the gold supply, and $50 or more below
town. Last fall Mr.. Westerman spent
some time in the East, AID on his return
on January /, announced that he pro-
posed to commence work with a view
of sinking to bed rock, and that he pro-
posed washing the dirt as he took it out
Of the shaft. The idea was secuted by
old placer miners to whom the PROPOSE
ton Of working placer fields in winter
partook largely Of the elements of pure
romance. Regardless of what others
said concerning his scheme he went to
work and has been at work eve since.
"And now," said he, 81 have demon
strated the practicability of my plan. 1t
is no longer what 1 am going to do but
what I have done. I have washed gold
out during the past winter with the
thermometer at twenty degrees below,
and have shown that deep workings
from below the frost line, can be oper-
ated in winter as well as in summer,
while the warm months can be utilized
for the surface.
"My plan is very simple. I have used
the ordinary sluice boxes, with the ex-
ception that ! have fitted them with a
tight lid. These boxes l have enclosed
in a second set Of boxes, with an in
terstice Of about two inches all around.
At the upper end Of the sluice boxes l
introduced a pipe through which the
exhaust from my pumping engine was
conveyed into the interstice between the
two boxes. The hot steam kept the floor
Of the sluice boxes warm, and not a
particle of ice was formed on the rifles.
1t worked to a charm, and I am salts
fed that it has revolutionized the sys-
NSAA - pIdNSA 1llul1S. L 1ldtc ItCClNcu
letters from placer miners all over the
country inquiring regarding my ex-
perience, and naturally l am inclined to
congratulate myself on my success.
81 have experienced no trouble in
sinking my shaft for the reason that L
have profited by the mistakes Of nv
predecessors along the same lines. I
have used nothing but the heaviest tim
bers, and in sinking, l have been careful
not to take away the earth too close
to the position of the timbers until the
timbers are ready to be put in place.
The earth is not taken away within two
feet Of the line until we are all ready
to put in the stick; then it is quickly
taken out, and the stick put in, driven
into place and tightly wedged up before
the earth behind the cribbing has a
chance to be come loosened up. The
result Of this care is that we have a
massive Grip capable of withstanding
any pressure that we are likely to have,
and u shaft, Gx13 in dimensions, is
perfectly straight and tight. Contrary
to expectations, we found few very
large bculders except on the surface.
When one was encountered too large to
be handled readily, we split it with. a
light charge and lifted it out.
we are now down thirty-eight feet,
and our success so far has demonstrate
ed the value Of the ground. At the
depth of thirty feet the. ground yielded
from 81 to So per yard, and we natural,
~ expect to improve on this as we get
down farther, towards bedrock.
II do not anticipate any difficulty in
drifting when we reach bed rock. W.
will in the first place sink a simple
hole in the bed rock large enough tc
catch all the drainage, from which we
will pump the water, and then run
our drifts on the bed rock, hosting the
dirt to the surface. We know that the
ground is rich, from the small enter
prises that have been conducted will
more or less success for years. The
trouble heretofore has been that we
have had no system that would stand
the test Of experience. We are nov
satisfied that we have solved the ques
ton and I look for great Developments
in the Blue basin during the coming
year..