Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-12-24
MINING FOR GOLD.
Interesting Letter to the Courier From
w. w. Hinsey.

w. w. Hinsey.
From Saturdays Daily.]
Mining for gold in California in the
present day is the subject for an in
teresting letter written by w. w.
rier. Mr. Hinsey is former Ottum-
wa boy and his many friends here
will take great interest in the expert
ence he recounts. The letter is as fol- |
lows:
Newcastle, Cal, Dec. 16, 1901.
My dear Courier Folks: | have writ
ten SO often of the glory of the golden
state, and my ftllsome praise of her
fruit, flowers climate and varied in
dustries may have become hackneyed
and embarrassing, if not monotonous.
So, if you will indulge me. | will, with
out modifying in the least my opinion
of the aforesaid blessings add anoth
er chapter in a phase of life here in
which the general interest is more
universally centered. Namely, the
quest of gold. l recently visited a
gold producing section not many miles
from the historic Suffers mill, near
Fair Oaks, the thriving young colony
of eastern people situated in the les
| ideal home spot of the whole state of
which we boast. 1t may not be gen
orally known but right here meath
faultless skies, and where everything
that makes living pleasure abounds,
there is a veritable Klondike. One of
the bars, of which California streams
are noted, Sailor par, and over which
the men of 40 dug and gave the ''sweat
that produced no bread as often as
otherwise. mere stands the gigantic
dredger of the Ashburton Mining Co.
of Boston, Mass. 1t is an immense
boat of great weight and strength, so
arranged that it hoists soil, gravel,
anything and everything down to bed
rock. In it's present location it rests
in thirty-five feet of water. 1t is Sc
Icurely anchored there, by dead men,
sunk deep in the shore in several di-
rections. Every particle of the ma
chinery is cast steel and very expen-
! sive The dredger is the largest of
the kind in the world. The contract
price of it was $4,000 and $4,000
, more was put into it before it would
do the work required. There is well
to the fore an endless chain of buck
cts, ah la chain pump fashion, which
, are hoisted by two dynamos of SOC
, horse power each. The chain consists
of sixty-six buckets, each weighing
one ton and cost about 5000 each anc
t freight from the east. Each bucket
holds seven and a half cubic feet, ant
!. the whole has a capacity of 1000 tt
5000 yards per day, and the result o
clean ups to date have been an aver
age of $25 per yard. The dredger il
about eighty feet long and when work
ing the rumble of the machinery ant
e the boulders falling and the waite
+ splashing makes a noise almost deaf
ening The dirt is hoisted and dump
X ed into huge boiler like arrangement
: perforated, called grisley. This re
wolves and with the use of water tn
= fine dirt and small stones are deposit
- ed under the grisley, the larger bould
" ers going out the end. The dirt an
stones are washed down long line Q
l, rifles eighty feet long and in Sigh
n ly inclined sluice box. By the free us
of mercury every particle of gold
t. saved and everything else washe
" away and dumped to the rear. The
clean up once week, the rifles ar
- lifted out of the sluice box and a pc
:, feet river of water is turned on to tn
. mass of sand and amalgam that wa
held by the rifles. Cinnamon stan
e almost knee deep in this rushing ,roa
g ing flow and constantly stir the d.
post. 1t is quite task but with WI
e. ter and hoe, and whisk broom ever
a. particle of foreign substance is dunn
ed on the tailings pile and every fra
% ton of an ounce of mercury or anna
~ gam is saved. Cinnamon are used fl
y this particular work because of the
known patience, economy and dexte
L ity in doing small things. witnesse
al a clean UP representing an 100 hou1
n. run with the nice result of about 500
Mt and was told the clean ups run fro
C. "a 900 to $4,000. The superintendei
is was brother Arcanum and fully e
emplified the trusts of the order
nc his treatment and kindness to visitor
40 A remarkable thing in connection wi
the institution is the zeal manifesto
g by all those that labor there and l a
sure you | have never been more
u terested tl4an | was the few hours
~ spent on the deck of this coloss
oil thing.
But lest | weary you l will clio
" and with esteem for all l am We
ay truly yours. w. w. Hinsey.