The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-10-12
MINING On THE sARIMA.


- A@1Ao~N ~ EA32AN GAMA4a ~ A9AMM
worhsd VIA saooeaa-
When / discovered that the only
way of obtaining employment on a
placer was to own one. in the fall Of
1894 I joined fortur with another
miner and started for the Barima
river. We arranged 70 stay two or
three months and our provisions
for that time cost $3.50. Tcking pas
sage on q steamer. we entered the
Barima through the Moro passage
and at Mount Everard were taken
into boat which. propelled by pad
dies. was carrying provisions and
men to a placer mine near Arakaka.
tho English governments station,
eight or nine days up.
On the way mp the river ! noticed
mud reefsorossing the Barima every
few miles and ranging In width
from a few feet to 40. prospected
some Of them and found q few
specks Of ane gold. which miners
called eyes" I think these reefs
indicate issure veins. We passed by
several placer mines. but visited
none until we came to tho waremba
syndicate. about four miles below
Arakaka and the same distance in
from the river on the west bank.
While prospecting inland we lost
ourselves in one Of the swAmps
which abound In that region. On
our search for camp we cE>ssed nc
least 20 times n oree- running
through the swamp and finally
came to n gigantic cypress tree.
which served as q landmark. Each
attempt that we made 70 get out Of
the swamp brought rs back 20 the
Cypress tree. Finally we succeeded
In reaching higher ground. where
we found an old line cut through
the underRrowth In the manner Of
marking . mining claim. BY follow
ing this we succeeded in getting out
It Is impossible 70 travel through
the thick undergrowth Of that TO
gion withUlt n COMPASS, and, a. 10
this instance, even n compass proves
to be almost useless
At our camp near Arakaka we
bewed n boat out of n tree and pad
died Is miles up the stream 10 the
first rapids There / was taken III
with dysentsry. which was prova-
lent thereabout. and was compelled
TO return to the hospital at Araka-
ka. While there visited the Ara
kaka Development COMPANY mines,
under the management of Mr.. Ow-
ems, an American. This company
was working both quartz and placer
claims which were very rich
The region is of volcanic formA-
ton. The quartz ledges are not 90
well defined as on the Cuyuni, but
eventually. think, the BarimA viii
abound in quartz mines. The ledges
run invariably from the northeast
TO the southwest
The Arakaka Development oom-
pany owns 60 placer claims. / may
explain that placer claims are To-
Gated on water ooursas and are 500
feet wide by 1900 in length. The
method Of working them is simple.
The ground IL cleared Of brush. and
the first covering Of clay is removed
until the gold bearing gravel is ex-
posed. This Is called stripping O
pit" on the creek. Then a sluioe Ia
put in, to which the water Of the
creek is confined. Men are stationed
on each side of the sluice 70 shovel
in the gravel This Is washed by the
water, and the gold is caught by the
quicksilver in the rifles at the bot
tom of the sluioe. A "olean up" 90
ours every night. and therefore the
miners know just what they are
making from day to day. A section
Of the sluioe Is moved forward an
they advance up the Creek--"Ths
Goldfelds Of Guiana" by Thomas
Dalgleish, in Century.