Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-05-27
IN OLD CALIFORNIA.
A MINER WHO PUT IN FIFTY YEARS
AT GOLD HUNTING.

~ SSe0 1SNtuNSs
Ne 1oak All the Courses From Pan 10
Dynanite-Hs Story q the Afarshall
Rind-Barkeepen who Had Big Thumhs
snd Hingers.
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 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 20
years Of age, and 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 a question, and
then added with a pleasant smile: 81
was thar from 1S49 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
ging for his sawmill at Coloma, not a
man in that country knew a thing about
mining. Never heard how they knew
ii was gold, hey? Well, there has been
great many stories told about it, but
here is the right one: 1t was a little
nugget Marshall picked UP, worth So OF
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 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 I've. Marshall
proposed the lady should boil the mug
get i'll I've day or two, and if it didn I
change color or lCse its substance in the
test il was sure enough gold. Well, il
stood the test. The world knows the
rest. .....
Among the first on the ground was
a lot Of greasers, n 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
rs his mining tools. He cut and scraped
among crevices of rocks at the water
| edge for 'chispas,' or, as we call them,
nuggets An enterprising white man
made rocker That was u great inn
provement over the willow pan and
knife. In the fall Of 1SIS picks, shovels,
iron pans and sheet iron for rccker
screens had been shipped in from the
outside. Rockers sold for three ounces,
shovels half an ounce apiece, picks the
same; pans for quarter Of an ounce,
gum boots an ounce pair and whisky
q pinch drink. That was the price in
mining camps. a pinch was what a
blrkeeper could take between his fore
finger and thumb. They had big fingers
and thumbs in those days, and a bar
keepers salary was measured by thciI
size. Wages was an ounce q day.
THE Georgia bumper displaced the
rocker 1t was something like a 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, 8
wheelbarrow two ounces, and China
pump $25. That made II bumper min
| ing outfit. The bumper didn't last long
for the Long Tom soon took its place
That was a stationary affair, with a Ions
screen i'll which the pay dirt wa.
thrown. Water was conducted on tn,
screen, the wash falling through tn,
perforations while. one of the handl
forked out the rocks or small stones.
| "A sluice or two We're added to tn,
Tom. These, as well rs the Tom, wer,
supplied with rifles, which general,
caught about all the dust. Long Tom
were first used in Nevada City in 1850
Improvements i'll modes of placer min
ing rapidly followed. Sets of sluicc
without the Toms We're used, thel
ground smicing came next, and hydrau
lie mining, where water and fall coul,
be obtained, displaced the rocker, bump
er and Tom. Hydraulic mining is a,
old thing now"
"How about underground mining?'
inquired the reporter.
Gold bearing quartz was first dis
covered by some miners in the bed o
Deer creek, below Nevada City, in tn
summer of 1850. 1t was found in mar
row vein, but the discovery led to tn
opening mp Of the magnificent gold bear
ing quartz mines Of Grass valley in Ne
vada county. All the equipments Of tn
mines were ut first crude. but the mine
were rich and paid well. Black powde
was used in blasting where blasting wa
necessary. Some years after nitroglyc
erin was introduced in the state, bu
an explosion of the stuff in San Francis
CO express Office knocked it ont, and 81
ant powder came into use. You know
the rest. Butte Inter Mountain.