Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-06-06
IN OLD CALIFORNIA.
A MINER WHO PUT IN FIFTY YEARS
AT GOLD HUNTING.

Al 0OLD f1ON IIN0.
He Took All the Courses From Pan to
Dynamite-His Story Of the Marshall
Find-Barkeepers Who Had Big Thumbs
and Fingers.
Gathered in and around Butte are
men who have mined in almost every
country under the sun: but, although
charming conversationalists in the So
ciety of their friends, for some unac-
countable reason they become suddenly
dumb when approached by a newspaper
man. 1t was a 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 a man who had watch
ed with close interest the progress of
mining on the Pacific coast since the
historic days of 1S49.
Eyes, was out in Californy in the
old days." he replied to question, and
then added with pleasant smile: II
was thar from 1849 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 in that tail race and Suffer was dig
cling for his sawmill at Coloma, not a
man in that country knew thing about
mining. Never heard how they knew
it was gold, hey? Well, there has been
IA great many stories told about it, but
here is the right one: 1t was q little
nugget Marshall picked up, worth So or
81. 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 struck Marshall. Mrs. Weber
boarded the hands. She was making
soft soap from pine ashes lye Marshall
proposed the lady should boil the mug
get in I've day or two, and if it didn't
change color Or lose its substance in the
test it was sure enough gold. Well, it
stood the test. The world knows the
rest.
Among the first on the ground was
a lot of greasers, a cross between Mex
leans and lower class of humans. God
knows they were 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 great i'm
provement over the willow pan and
knife. In the fall of 1849 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 a quarter of an ounce,
gum boots an ounce pair and whisky
Il pinch drink. That was the price in
mining camps. A pinch was what a
ibarkeeper could take between his fore
finger and thumb. They had big fingers
and thumbs in those days, and bar
keepers salary was measured by their
size. Wages was an ounce day.
'"The Georgia bumper displaced the
rocker. twas something like rocker,
but much larger, and had several riff
iles' to catch the gold. The ends Of the
rockers bump against blocks Of wood
Ito jar the gravel in the screen and be-
tween rifles. A bumper cost 5000, a
wheelbarrow two ounces, and China
pump $25. 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 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
ga sluice or two were added to the
Tom. These, as we'll as the Tom, We're
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 We're used, then
ground sluicing came next, and hydrau-
JIG 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
lvada county. All the equipments of the
mines were at first crude, but the mines
were rich and paid well. 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 i'll San Francis
GO express Office knocked it out, and gi-
ant powder came into use. You know
the rest Butte Inter- Mountain.
Rattlesnake Prices.
Potf1acpalyoc 1.-Two opoc GRO c,,r,,,; G.