Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1900-06-23

working the Beach oravels 10 Com
auctcd By the Ala Of Primitive
Appliances.

The methods Of mining In the Nome
region have 80 far been Of o very
primitive character. On the creeks
and in the gulches the process con-
sists Of stripping, damming and box
sluicing. In some places rockers are
also used. The gold Ia mainly coarse,
20 that its separation from the black
and ruby sand In the box 10 not din.
cult. On the beach the principal
method Of mining last summer was
by hand-rocking, though at Q few
points sluice boxes were laid and the
surf water was used for washing the
dirt. A dredge or two were also there,
but not extensively operated. Much
Of the beach from Nome to the cape
ID hardly rich enough for working by
the ordinary method Of rocking. Il
can be worked at profit, however, with
the proper sort Of dredging machin-
cry. In q few instances Chinese
pumps and water wheels have been
employed near the mouth Of Snake
river In raising the water to high
sluice boxes, whence II was conducted
to the beach gravels, says the Denver
Post.
The principal method Of working
the beach gravels during the last sea-
SON consisted Of hand-rocking. Each
man would select his own small block
Of ground, ten or fifteen feet in area,
and proceed to sink n prospect hole to
the clay bedrock" usually reached
at q depth Of from two to five feet.
The several layers Of sand and gravel
passed through were carefully pros
pected by panning, to ascertain tho
presence and approximate amount Of
gold. Upon finding q good pay streak
1t was worked with the rocker. Wa
ter is usually found in these prospect
holes and utilized In rocking the pay
dirt. II no water IL found, the pay
dirt Is packed in boxes or bags and
carried to the waters edge, where the
surf Is used for rocking. In rocking,
most Of the beach gold for some time
was caught on blankets. Some Of the
gold, however, Is SO fine that mercury
is needed to save It. The appliances
were very crude last season and many
Of the men inexperienced, and, as q
consequence, much Of the gold was
lost. The extreme purity Of the Nome
beach renders II admirable for collec-
ton by the mercurial process; far
more SO than the oxide-coated gold OF
the gulches.
The gold caught on the blanket Is
collected by rinsing the blanket in q
tub Of water and panning the rem.
nants. The gold caught by the mer.
curial process is separated from the
quicksilver by heating the amalgam,
which Is generally done on the ordin.
airy frying pan Of the miner. The
mercury evaporates and the gold re.
mains In the pan. In fineness the
Nome gold Is quoted ut between SIS
and $40 per ounce, II being purer than
the average found In the Yukon dis.
trict. The trading companies, how
ever, did not pay over SIC per ounce
last season. As better facilities will
be offered this season, the miner will
have q chance to secure something
like the real value Of his product. The
tundra placers were not worked last
season and but little prospected. They
are not like the beach placers, which
are prominently "poor-man dig
gings." The tundra requires capita
for development and can only b,
worked with profit In large tract,
where dead work may be performed
on an extensive scale. It Is expected
that this season will see the introduc
ton Of hydraulic machinery for opera
| tions on the tundra.