The San Francisco call., 1904-04-09
MEN analMAa9EERS In
THE fCREH WORLD
MONEE

where II would De lldDIe 10 De NdShoo
therefrom or removed thereto, and
from suffering or allowing its or their
claims to be worked by the hydraulic
process or ground sluice process and
the debris therefrom discharged into
said river, creek or tributaries thereof,
was warranted by the pleadings, evil
dence and findings. The decree further
restrains defendants from suffering
others to use his or its water supply
or any part thereof for the purpose
Of washing into such streams or
gulches. any earth, rocks, powders.
clay. sand or other solid material con-
tanned in any other ground or mine,
with knowledge on the part of the said
defendants that the same is 10 be used
in such manner as TO work injury to
the property of the plaintiff described
in the complaint; and also from sell
ing. leasing or in any manner convey
ing, transferring or disposing OF said
mine and mining ground. or any part
thereof. or the water supply Of the said
defendants or either of them, to any
person whatever for the purpose of
being worked or used by the hydraulic
process of the ground sluicing process
anu AAAillAAlS Ot04 IL alSNnaA StA AINi y
from into said creek or river or any
Of its tributaries. with knowledge OF
said purposes on the part of said de-
PENDANTS"
Extracts from one Of the letters that
have been received by the officers of
the California Miners Association are
given herewith. A mining man in
Butte Valley, Plumas County, writes:
Mining is carried on along the north
fork OF the Feather River principally
by tunneling. but ground sluicing is
being more considered. We have be-
fore US a picture of vast proportions.
The decision can lead to causing all
forms OF mining in this State ulti-
mately to cease. 1t will in the next
demand be easier TO say that is but
step from ground sluicing to tunnel
ing, because the difference, in effect
between hydraulicking and ground
sluicing is vastly greater in results
as TO the amount of debris discharged
than the amount discharged by ground
sluicing as compared with tunneling.
Hence we feel confident that if ground
sluicing be prohibited it viii be a mat
ter of but a short time then an effort
will be madS TO restrain the work of
tunneling, from the fact that the
amount of debris carried down the river
will not have been materially lessened
by restraining the ground sluicing.
While it is an admitted fact that the
debris of these mines gradually goes
into the river, we can, without fear
Of contradiction, say that by far the
greater amount of debris carried down
the river is not from the mines, but
from the mountain sides and ravines,
whence il is carried to the river dur
ing high water periods; also from land
slides, all without molestation by the
miners
A letter from Downieville is in part
as follows: IF there is no law pro-
hibiting mining except by the hydraulic
process. il is impossible TO convince
the honest miner that he is doing an
unlawful act by working his claim by
the ground sluice process"
Part of a letter from Gibsonville is
as follows: "As 1 understand it, our
State laws have not prohibited any
kind of mining, but has defined what
was heretofore the only Objectionable
kind of mining as water under pres
sure through nozzle against nat
ural bank This is hydraulic mining
and, under the Caminetti act, is legal
under certain restrictions No other
kind of mining is prohibited under any
and all circumstances. There is no law
against drift, ground sluicing or quartz
mining 1t seems to me that the Su
preme Court has gone beyond its sphere
Of authority. Under the courts de-
cision the hydraulic process, the ground
sluice, the drift dirt and the quartz
crushing processes are one and the
same thing, and all may be enjOined."
One of the most extensive operators
in this State and abroad wrote that
This is a subject Of very far reaching
tendencies. California should lead the
way in the construction on concrete
dams and the Government should help
and allow mining to any extent
II is impossible to give extracts from
each of the several hundred letters that
the mining men have written. AS be-
fore said, all but one of the writer's
predict serious interference with all
kinds Of mining "Unquestionably," so
reads a letter from Buch, "the decision
is a step further toward the final stop
ping of mining operations in this State,
and if this course is followed it will
ultimately stop all operations in quartz
mining, in drift mining and in river
dredging, all of which produce the same
effect in kind as the hydraulic process,
only to a less degree"
The entire matter will undoubtedly
be live topic for discussion when the
California Miners Convention is next
assembled.