Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-25
PUMPING by CURRENT POWER.
Montana Invention Which Raise

Montana Invention Which Raises
Water over River Banks.
Agricultural and mining men are greatly
interested at present in mechanical device
known as the current pump" which has
been invented, perfected tested and sue
cessfully operated in Montana. 1t promises
to revoutionze the placer mining and agri-
cultural industries of many portions of the
northwest says the Chicago Record. This
device is the invention of Louis E. Miller of
Montana and has been designed by him to
supply water along streams whose banks
rise so abruptly and to such heights as to,
render impracticable all efforts hitherto made
to use the water for irrigation or for placer
mining.
Banks along the rivers and streams of the
west rise sharply, often nearly perpendicu
larly, ranging all the way from twenty to
100 feet The land Immediately bordering
these streams frequently contains a large
amount of mineral wealth in the shape of
placer gold, while perhaps a little further
back upon the banks are lands that with
irrigation would become valuable for agricul-
tural purposes, but the enormous expense
involved in getting the requisite quantity
of water for sluice mining or for irrigation
would leave little margin for the investor
With the aid of this recent invention, how
ever, thousands of acres of land now lying
idle may be rendered valuable.
The principal features OF the new pump
are it's simplicity of construction and opera
tion and its wonderful adaptation to the
work for which 1t is designed 1t is simple
and compact and can be easily carried from
place to place; it requires no preparatory
construction work in the way of anchorage
and it needs no power to operate 1t other
than the force Of the current of the river or
stream in which it is placed. Placed in
stream of water and depending alone upon
ntIrr of hn ctr FOR yt,ilJ
pump 900 gallons of water an hour In a five
mile current-the quantity of water increas-
ing as the current increases-and will raise
this amount OF water to an elevation vary
ing from seventy-five to 100 feet, in proper
tion to the rapidity of the current
The mechanism OF this invention is de-
scribed as operating on the inside of
galvanized casing, conical in form and hav-
ing screws somewhat resembling the pro-
pellors on a steamboat. This casing turns
upon hollow axle, the latter having
closure between the inlets to the dia-
phragm chamber and serving the twofold
purpose Of an axle and inlets to the pump
ing mechanism. The action Of the current
upon the propellor-like screws attached to
the casing causes the case to revolve upon
the hollow axle, while on the inside of the
case, and attached to it, is a cam, which
by means of connections converts the ro-
tary to reciprocating motion, thus oper
ating the pump. The pump proper consists
of two concave disks, in the shape of sau-
GERS, attached to the hollow axle, and a
crosshead, free to move or slide on the
hollow axle, with convex disks, which fit
into the concave disks attached to the axle,
on or near the center of the movable disks,
while to the outside edge of the mmoyable
disks are fastened heavy hydraulic canvas
diaphragms. The rotary motion of the case,
through the medium of the cam a rocker
shaft and connecting links, imparts to the
crosshead and the disks attached thereto
a reciprocating motion that causes the NOV
able disks to seat close into the fixed
disks, thus alternately filling and discharg-
ing each chamber and causing a constant
flow. The inlet and discharge valves are
attached to the hollow axle at each end.
The pump is anchored in the stream by
means of a crossarm and guy lines running
either to the shores or to piles driven In the
bed of the stream.
1t Is asserted by those familiar with the
lands in Montana, Idaho and other north
western states lying along such rivers as the
Missouri, Snake and Columbia that they are
almost without exception rich in placer gold
and would yield immense profits could they
be worked at a moderate expense. Owing
to the nature OF the banks, however, 1t has
been impossible to work these lands with
out involving such enormous expenditures
in the construction Of bitches, fumes and
reservoirs as to absorb all the profits re-
sulting from mining. The same truth holds
in regard to irrigation. Now, with this
simple but effective device, 1t is asserted
that placer grounds may be operated and
fertile agricultural lands cultivated at
minimum expense.