The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-08-10
SEVERAL KINDS OF GOLD.
Dust From Different Camps That HAD
VARYING Values.

tHbaeA.
To the uninitiated who assume that
gold Is gold, the same everywhere. some
thing about The varying values OF the
metal will be of interest. The gold found
in the early ffties. in the Limestone
boulder range tTuolumne county taie,
according to an interesting article oy
Prentice Milford In Lip2incott's Maya
zine for May. issl, was worth 81 and y
more per ounce than that dug from other
and nearer localities. Columbia gold
brought nearly si9 an ounce; Stanislaus
river gold, only two miles distant, might
bring only 81. owing TO its greater alloy
with silver or some baser metal. The dust
from different camps only few miss
apart bore many different valuations The
buyers could tell az a glance where it was
dug. They told by certain indications IN
color and in the shape of the grains. River
dus, was fiat and scaly; 1t was so worn
from having been ground between the
rolling bouiders on the bed of the stream
for centuries. Gold from the higher mats
and guiches OF the dry diggings was
esSsser. the angularities of the grains
were not entirely worn smooth. Dust
from some camps would hold white sand,
others black. Strange dust was Ike
strange coin. Tuolumne county retail
provision dealer might be as much puz-
zled 10 fix the proper valuation on Stanis-
laus county dust as on an ancient Hebrew
shekel. Each camp dealt mainly with us
own dust: miners seldom traded outside
OF certain boundaries.
The Limestone boulder range produced
large nuggets. One day in 1881 an idle
miner. while sauntering about the out
skirts of Columbia, sat down under the
shade of an evergreen oak. He was out
of luck broke discouraged and dis
gusted He sat there under that Tree, and
with his stick poked and pr!ed at such
stones as were lying within reach. mn
betidcd In the red earth. A certain earth
stained piece of rock seemed much heavier
than the rest: he could scarcely pry 1t
over He arose and attempted TO lift IL.
1t was very heavy. His heart began beat
ing fast Clearing one side OF the earth.
he caught sight of the duh yellow color
Of native gold. Ii was a $1,000 lump. He
was on the stage the next morning, bound
for the East.
Nuggets and mixed gold and quartz in
pieces were often lost by being "forked
out of sluice or tom" and deposited with
the pile of refuse and rock which re-
NAMED after the earth was washed
away MANY such a piece remains today
In the long deserted gulches.
From 1853 10 1859 the Point Mining Com
panv worked a rich claim at Indian bar.
on the TuolumDe rives. Finally the point
was declared worked out, and the COM
pany brok. up Indian Bar declined, and
finally lost it's dignity as an elec,oneer-
ing precinct 4 few men remained. and
they were neither industrious nor sober.
They wers content TO grub on the Eiean-
!ngs left By the Point company. making
perhaps dollar or two day. Ihat tur-
niShed them with -four beef and-wn1t
was of more consequence than an
whisky. More gold in California has been
a1i- for an inferior article of corn whisky
at g rer gallon than for any other arti-
Gle OF food or drink. These miners HFeu
In rude cabins with stone frepiaces and
nnrd-ulas.cred chimneys. They went ctASi
TIE, year round liz dungaree pants, graz
shirts and cowskin boots The footfiii
nlirnate makes 10 great demand on the
rlntbsng store although men so dressed
live II, sigh. OF the eternal snow On the
higher Sierrss FIVE or six thousand ieet
above them and a hundred miles away
on law a Pointer" an old sailor
from Boston. named Jones. who had dog
ard drunk up three or four stisAi foF-
tunes. concluded % prospect a streak OF
gravel a few inches IN thickness iNit Al
t-a hasa of the Point eompany's WASHED
o,t. hank which was twenty-five CT
ti-sr+x Pct in height and perhaps as Tar
aa.,,,s the river Jones dug painful.
washed II ard found gold-ahout pit
urospect. He dug lille deeper INTO the
r7ouufai,'s base found more. ana ois-
covered that me nara. "a ~ = e~+-f-N -
pitebe-i downward instead Of rising ard
l. ring his prcgress. He found TIE
gravel streak growing wider and fea''g
a. h. ssfva need. In week Jones atsA
his comrades knew they w-re once no'e
rte,, ,-qen. They had struck an 90 river
cnar-s1 From their coyote nole was
fake- ont a. much az forty ounces Gay
Tfow ala they improve The opportunity
which fortune had once more Hung 10
.her,2 They- proceeded ar once 10 cefs-
hra.e h,,vfng whisky by the b@FTei ana
5~f-tscv Il nv The pint. Ia year. uffle
- rs F.aer drowned another bad died
- zrgt-4,,~, srer.7enS Il third had Killed
- 80. s,s eea the country Eventual
- s1reva nat.ent individual. who hs1
- .E.-A from the first Of TIE "strike.
49,. ~, ths several claims for sums
- rro,, SEQ 20 g 1"0 He went 20
v,-.~r automatically. and IN TWO years
.t-na h@ Rad IN his pocket t2a.sta
0gs ro-ss the Boston sailor, Ga Hos
~b,ra .ra total ruin q his three part
ra-~ sfser he had sold out al tue 70
h4s uo-derful discovery, be stayed i1e1S
~s.- ..r-.s4siv. rocking his dollar or 0"t4EF
aud raIf day. Just az h Sad oone pc
fo-e he great find. lie excused as
business irlfuaseiouSnsSs In selling ogf Of
s.x-trr maj Il was too rna-a money Tor
mir 70 have anything 20 10 VITA L cos.
Icn@s yearly about So FOR clothing; s4tv
fas htry. ard ire remainder CT his earnings
vr4n. "a negu the dtsfsiier59s and the In
ternal revenue tax on WHISKY and tobacco
..s,rsx}etnx'' ~as hot, hard work. Gold
IL seams was c1.er found twenty-five or