The Meeker herald., 1898-02-05
CALIFORNIA; KLONDIKE.
In tho Mojave Desert Gold Is
Mined with Plows.
RnndsburR, Only One Year Old, Al
ready Has 5000 Fortune seekers
They Expect to Produce s1O,-
100000 Next Year.

To the southeast Of where Mount n
Paso towers above the Dry lakes. and
between it and Pilot peak to the north.
east, is wide section of desert, which
has become famous in the last few
months as ''the Rand mining district p
The Tehachipi range walls it from
northern California. Death valley is
just beyond it's northeastern border,
and it is separated from the bloom and
beauty of southern California by a
grim barrier of bleak hills and snow
capped mountains.
Like its world-renowned uamesake of
South Africa, the Rand is golden coun-
try, but unlike the African Rand, the
gold discovered has been in hitherto un-
known forma tons and combinations.
''The Rand" is in that portion of
southeastern California which is known
as the MojaNe desert, region OF arid
desolation. supporting only the fiercest
and most forbidding Of vegetable forms.
It was not until the summer of 1896
that the carefully kept secret of gold in
the Mojave desert became public prop
erty, and then the rush began. In a few
weeks a town of 5000 souls grew up as
center of the gold fields, and took the
name of Randsburg. Thither adventur-
er= focked from every part Of the coun-
try, and thousands of ciaipswere mon
umcnted" in the desert
Two men, in digging hole IL feet
deep, took out $4,000 worth of gold in
two weeks, and three feet further down
struck 4 pocket" from which they
took 900 acks of ore assaNing sil0to the
ton. By he time they had'gone down
10 feet and drifted in IA feet they had
realized $4,000, and similar 'coyot-
ing" with similar results was done in
all the surrounding hills.
Unwilling to await the slow process
of pick and shovel. the pillow was
brought into use, and though plowing
for gold would seem Munchausen tale
to the ordinary, individual, it gave in
the Rand the richest harvest ever yield
cd to the husbandnan.
The prospector followed in the fur
rows. picking up float ore as farmers
gather potatoes. Some OF these pieces
Of quartz assayed into the Thousands,
others were comparatively worthless,
but AL spoke eloquently of the precious
metal in the ledge for which search
was thus being made.
Men who were accustomed 10 long
and expensive search underground for
veins Of ore, could not believe that the
numerous outcrops on the surface
would come to any thing when followed
deeper, yet the 'coyoting" brought
auch marvellous results that owners of
claims were enabled to develop their
mines solely with the output realized
IN fact, RantIsburg was "a poor mans
camp" .e.r .u
Sow, many of the Rand mines are
heavily bonded, and the total output
is $4,000 monthly, with a prospect
based on, development work now being
done of eight times that amount month
ly. year from this time. s.
In the hills to the southwest of th<
town of Randsburg nature has shown
strange freaks in the deposits of gold
Veins Of quartz run in every direction
appearing above the ground, disappear
ing far beneath it, running straight fol
few feet, then diverging with as many
angles us streak OF lightning, thes'
"stringcrs" perpkxed all calculation
These tiny veins OF quartz are almos
fa5ulously rich in gold, and at frs
were supposed to descend only few
feet, and to be streams, as it were. cas-
off in the general upheaval, and scat
tered on the surface of the soil.
When they were, followed deeper
however, they were found to unite AMI
form feeders" to rich bodies ct ore
md 1.-The etringer district" bids fair y
become the most famous portion OF tn
god fields. From consecutive run o
20 tons, $50 sacks o ore, $3.50 va
realized by one Of these "strdnger
mines in the month Of june. Tn
"coyoting" OF single minein tAe Ran
fon.six months produced $4,000 and i
] nine months the same sno1AA va