The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-31

EAehrN LFaL long -cL A-4Nr al MIN Win
some bucksn0r, but the eyes blinked al
me and disappeared
When we went ashore the captain said
that We had been attacked by a twenty
nine foot alligator. and that / had killed
j. or We should have been eaten The
black men were SO scared that nothing
could Induce them 10 80 near the boat
that night, ana they insisted upon leaving
enormous fires built. The TWO Indians
We're equally frightened ID was custo-
mary ior them 70 steep IN the boat to keep
the blacks from stealing provisions but no
amount Of swearing could make them stay
IN it that night.
one Of the managers had brought a lit
tie dog with hlm-a cross between a barn
yard poodle and back alley yellow eur.
" hen got into my hammock noticed
MN sleeping under H. 1 think it was
about O'Clock in the morning that I was
awakened by something humping against
the bottom OF my hammock-tIe end one
and al the same time ! heard yell from
the cur and saw yellow streak disappear
iuto the bush on the other side of the
clearing II was a 1aguar, and the beast
helped himself 70 our dog. The big fires
had almost died out. and he had sralked
right into our camp. The men heard the
dogs yell. and one or TWO of them saw
They built up the fires and sat about
them trembling till mornlng-nO more ia
guar, either.
ON the seventh day we reached the Tam
aJamari Falls in the POtarO river, which
runs into the Essequebo from the west
POtarO Landing is quite town in ap-
pearance, there being seventy houses
there; but it is all in appearance. for
they are store-houses belonging to the
companies
If il were not for the fever. the Potaro
gold camps would be very decent places
IN which TO spend few weeks, but the
fever is so strong there that one can
almost imagine that he smells it, All the
placers are near creeks, for water is the
most essential thing; so there always is
plenty of fresh water for drinking and
cooking and bathing. The underbrush is
cleared away, but most of the trees are
left standing, so that there is plenty of
shade. The men live in large huts called
'logies.' the sides of which are open, but
the roofs are covered with waterproof
paper.
The blacks who had come up with us
started 10 work next morning and 1
had ample opportunity to see the placers
in operation for the next two days. In
the first place, the surface dirt is re-
moved from a space twenty-fOur feet
square, and two sluices are set up in
this, or rather running across this. The
slu.ces are composed of six or seven sep
arate troughs, or "daals,' as they are
called. fitted one into the other. every
one about thirteen feet long. In each of
these daals-it is pronounced 'dOll'-are
two RIFLES about eighteen inches apart.
a rifle is made on the principle of a
gridtrOn, only the pieces run lengthw,se
of the daaL They are half an inch apart
and are made of mora wOod-the hardest
in the forest, the daals being of the same
material. Quicksilver is put along the
front of it and on the inside along the
or the rifle are nailed; also where the
one daal joins the other there is a piece
of wood across the end called a check,
and quicksilver is put in front of it. 1t is
about an inch high.
The sluice is built on an angle of five
degrees, ana steady stream of water
flows through it. There are twelve men
required TO each sluice; eight shoveling
dirt into it, shaking up the
dirt with pitchforks, and two cleaning
away the tailings.. The two with the forks
uVH m HnfN raN g.
made to fit between the strips on top of
the rifles, so that they can stir up the
dirt that falls into them. The other two
pick out the heavy stones which the run
ming water cannot wash down. ANY gold
that may be in the dirt is separated BY
the water, and being heavy is not wash
tom and is Immediately seized upon by
the quick silver. All day long the sluices
are kept going, the only stop being made
for breakfast at about II o'clock
Then comes the brushing down, which
is the most interesting part of the whole
operation, and is always Superintended
by the manager himself. The rifles and
checks are lifted out one by one, beginning
at the top, and gold and quicksilver to-
gether run down to the last check at the
end of the last. daal. The
whole business is scOOped up then and
put into bag which is squeezed till the
quicksilver runs out between the threads
and the gold remains, though it still has a
thin coating of quicksilver 1t is put in
to frying pan with a bit of butter or
lard, and fried till the quicksilver disap-
pears, and the rich, yellow, shining gold
the sluice is the result of days work
As soon as it is cool it is weighed andput
into safe, shipments to Georgetown be-
ing made once month. where the metal
is sold for about $3.50 an ounce.
The beginning of the end was a com
fu dance, which took place on the sec
ond night. 1t was the most idiotic thing
/ have ever witnessed. After dinner one
0l2QHrg a
wrong in his head, announced that he
would entertain his fellows with a dance
so all the men arranged themselves in a
circle about a big fire in the clearing
between their own logies and the one
the managers and myself had. One man
had a fiddle made out of a cigar box
another a banjo similarly made another
an oil can with a string in it, and the
rest with tin plates and cans which they
beat upon with their fists. The "confu-
man appeared in the circle wrapped in a
white blanket, so that only his eyes
showed and as he stepped into the circle
the music began 1t was a horrible
noise-no tune. but simply a beating Of
time on the cans while the man with the
nddle sawed away on his own hook, and
Ihe one with the Oil can and the string
made MS Instrument moan and grOan in
a most delightful manner. We watched
the show from our hammOcks, which we
had slung between trees out Of the circle
The "confuman's'' dance consisted of
different variations of a hop and nothing
circllng round and round the fire while
ne chanted sort of song. At first the
step was very slow; then it gradually got
faster and faster and faster the music
increasing in volume all the time Then
the dancer began to wave his arms about.
and finally, after he had been at it for
fully an hour and a half, he started to
run about the fire for all he was worth
BY this time the band was wildly ex-
cited, and was singing as well as pounding
desperately on its Instruments Then
Just as some of them We're beginning to
jump up themselves, the dancer made a
wild leap over the fire, another jump over
the fiddler, and tore away down stream
at terrific pace, winding UP by falling
into an old pit that was half full of water.
He was dragged out by some of his fell
lows. trothing at the mouth; and he
struggled so that he had to be tied down
Inc dance had been concluded at 10
o'clock and al half past ten an was Quiet
the "confuman' still bound in his ham
mock, snoring peacefully; the rest of the
camp also was snoring-au except myself
Lying in my hammock, which was stiIl
under the trees, l amused myself trying TO
count the stars, but even that occupa ton
did not make me drowsy. Finally gave
II up and sat up trying to decide whether
1t were worth while TO go into the logic
10 get my pipe. On the edge of the clear
ing, where lay the refuse from our dinner