Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-05-23
IN OLD CALIFORNIA.
A MINER WHO PUT IN FIFTY YEARS
AT GOLD HUNTING.


He Took All the Courses From Pan 60
DynAmite-His Story OF the Marshall
Find-Barkeepers who Had Big Thumbs
and Fingers.
Gathered in and around Butte arc
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 q 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.
Yes, I was out in Californy in the
old days" he replied TO a question, and
then added with a pleasant smile: II
was thar from 1 $40 to 1889 and took all
tho courses, from pan TO little giant and
from handmade black powder cartridges
Co dinnymite.
"When gold was discovered BY Mar
shall in that tail race and Suffer was dig
ging for his sawmil at Coloma, not a
man in that country knew n thing about
mining. Never heard how they knew
it was gold, hey? Well, there has been
great many stories told about il, but
here is the right one: 1t was 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 a clear idea what
it was Several thought il 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 I've. Marshall
proposed the lady should boil the mug
get in I've a 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 a lower class of humans God
knows they were all low enough, but
the cross was no improvement ON the
| SNhNAeAA AoAA Va VIC OeAOlAO- 4ut kIt<tcCI
brought his willow made pan and knife
as his mining tools He cut and scraped
among crevices of rocks at the-water' IS
edge for 'chispas,' or, as we call them,
nuggets An enterprising white man
made rocker. That was great inn
provement over the willow pan and
knife. In the fall of 1S49 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 a pair and whisky
pinch drink. That was the price In
mining camps A pinch was what q
barkeeper could take between his fore
finger and thumb. They had big fingers
and thumbs in those days, and bar
keepers salary was measured by thei1
size. Wages was an ounce day.
1.-THE Georgia bumper displaced the
rocker. twas something like rocker
but much larger, and had several riff
fles' to catch the gold The ends of the
rockers bump against blocks Of WOOD
TO jar the gravel in the screen and be
tween rifles. A bumper cost 5000, {
wheelbarrow two ounces, and Chins
pump $25. That made a 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 wa
thrown Water was conducted on tn,
screen, the wash falling through tn,
perforations while one of the hands
forl1ed out the rocks or small stones.
"a sluice or two were added TO thu
Tom. These, as we'll rs the Tom, wer'
supplied with rifles, which generally
caught about all the dust. Long TOM
were first used in Nevada City in 1850
: Improvements in modes of placer min
ing rapidly followed. Sets Of sluice
without the Toms were used, thel
ground sluicing came next, and bydrau
lie mining, where water and fall coulC
, be obtained, displaced the rocker, bump
er and Tom Hydraulic mining is az
old thing now. "
Chow about underground mining?'
inquired the reporter.
Gold bearing quartz was first dis
covered by some miners in the bed o
D Deer creek, below Nevada City, in tn
summer of 1850. 1t was found in mar
row vein, but the discovery led to tn
opening up Of the magnificent gold bear
ing quartz mines of Grass valley in Ne
l vada county. All the equipments of tn
j mines were at first crude, but the mine
Q We're rich and paid we'll Black powde
: was used in blasting where blasting wa
D necessary. Some years after nitroglyC
Q erin was introduced In the state, bu
e an explosion of the stuff in San Francis
r co express office knocked it out and 81
ant powder came into use. You koH
g the rest. Butte Inter Mountain.
d RattIesD4se Prices.