Bisbee daily review., 1903-01-04

directly down the slope, but has drift ed down the gulch from some point above with its accompanying debris Should similar ore be found in the pit first dug, without finding the vein, an other would be evacuated at a higher point on the hillside. Care should be taken to note the kind of material in which the pieces of detached ore are found and particularly the height above bedrock at which it is found. If this height is found to decrease as the excavations progress up the hill the indications are that the work is nearing the vein. General, too, the pieces of float are found to be larger as the vein is approached. It is the relative guide. This is explained by the fact that piece of ore detached from the outcrop of a vein, whether, it be exposed on the surface or not. is
 when first broken off, close to bed rock, but it slowly makes its way by gravity down the slope, a process re- quiring centuries, possibly. and becom- !, ing mixed with other detrius of the surrounding rocks. some of which is l finely disintegrated forming, with , carbonaceous matter. soil. the piece of i ore gradually reaches an increasingly 1 greater height from bed rock as dis ! talce from its original position is 1 gained. This process goes on much more rapidly on Q steep slope than i on a gentle one.
 1 The search for the hidden vein is
 simply a process of following the de- | tached fragments up hill to the 1 source of their origin. This is the general principle underlying the quest of minerals of all kinds where the veins are buried from sight All trenches should be made to bed rock, particularly as the work progresses up the hill, that the worker may not be
 misled and pass over the vein for
 which he is looking. Where no float occurs on the hill side the difficulties are multiplied. and the chance for sue cess is greatly lessened. h such cases, the absence of float may be due to the fact that there are no veins.
 but some veins have a crystalizsd or comb structure and the outcrops dis integrate into material so fine as to at
 tract no attention from the prospector
 In the search for gold this condition
 is met in a measure by banning care
 fully for gold. and it will be found,
 where gold exists. it will act in much
 the same manner as float quartz as
 above described, though the quartz
 will rise to a greater height above bed
 rock in a given distance than the gold.
 This indicates that the prospector may
 have to search further to find the out
 crop by following the gold than the
 float
 The most satisfactory method of
 prospecting extensively for blind leads
 is by means of a tunnel with crosscuts.
 but this contemplates the expenditure
 of a large amount of capita'-either
 money or labor. or both. and the pros pector usually being only able to sup ply one of these essentials. does not
 adopt a method requiring so large an outlay Moreover, the tunnel is only justified when the outcrop of one or more valuable veins has actually been
 found.
 The 'prospector should be a close ob- server and a good judge of rock.
 that he may distinguish the various kinds of quartz or other rock he meets
 one from the other. and not be led to
 follow worthless rock. by being unable , to distinguish the different kinds ot ore. The safest plan is to crush tht prospect fer gold or have it assayet it for silver or base metals.