The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-23
THE DECLINE IN SILVER.
Attributed Largely to The Action of
sJapan.

Cheyenne, Wyo., May 21.-Your cor
respondent has just returned from a
trip to the mountains in eastern Car
bon county. Wyo., where the extensive
placer mining plant of the Overland
Gold Mining company, situated on
Foote and Wagonhound creeks, was in
spected. This is the largest plant of
its kind in Wyoming, as well as the
largest east of California, and repre-
SentS the expenditure of many thou
sands of dollars in bitches, fumes, ma
chinery, etc. The company, which is
composed of English capitalists, owns
II, 900 acres of the richest placer ground
in the west and has already estab-
liShed a plant for the development of
the claims. This company began op-
erations with a large force of men in
January of the present year, since
which time it has constructed three
mines of ditch through almost solid
rock leading from Foote and Wagon
hound creeks; has erected 20 largs
frame buildings. laid a 15-inch steel
pipe line $500 feet in length. a lumber
f1ume 500 feet long. fitted with Lam
bings iron rifles for % feet and bar
rifles for the remaining distance. This
pipe has a capacity of 10 cubic feet
per second and a fall of 200 feet. giving
a pressure of slightly under 100 pounds
per square inch al the nozzle of the
giant.
Arrangements are made for the use
of two giants on this pipe, but the
second one will not be in use for a
week yet The one giant which has
been in use since last Saturday has
shown its ability to dispose of 800 cubic
yards of earth each "A hours.
Careful, thorough and extensive
prospecting of the company's ground
has shown that the soil will yield from
60 cents to 81 per yard. The dirt will
average at least $3.50 per yard. This
return is simply marvellous and will
make millionaires out of the owners if
they are not already the possessors of
that enviable title. The development
of this property will surely cause
great influx of capitalists into Wyo-
ming and her sister state, Utah.
Not the least important feature of
the Rockdale placer plant, as it is
called. is the abundant and never
failing water supply. In addition to
the ditch taken from Foote and Wag-
onhound creeks, the company has sur
veyed a line of ditch three and one-half
miles in length that will tap Rock
creek. This ditch will be eight feet
wide. two feet leep and will have a
carrying capacity Of 81 cubic feet of
water per second, furnishing an album
dant supply for at least four giants,
with three-inch nozzles. 1t Is esti-
mated that at least 1000 yards Of dirt
will be handled by this plant every "a
hours. The bedrock on the property
runs from four to nine feet, the gold
being widely dispersed and of a gran
ular nature, rendering its saving not
at all difficult. This ground, which is
reached by good roads, has been known
10 the mining fraternity for many
years, having been worked by primi-
tive methods nearly quarter of a CEN
fury ago. The owners are at present
a large force of men day and
night, the illumination at night being
obtained from locomotive engine head
lights; but machinery for an electric
plant has been ordered shipped and
will soon be in place. Old placer min
ers who have visited the company's
plant say it is the largest, most costly
and most modern mining concern of
the day.