Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-04-21
MODERN SEEKER FOR GOLD.
His Methods Differ From Those o
Old Prospectors.

The yield from the gold mines has
increased 60 per cent in less than a
decade. In seeking the reasons for
this truly remarkable development one
is especially prominent-the great ad-
vance which has been made In the
methods followed by the modern gold
seeker. The prospectors. says the
Scientific American, have taken ad-
vantage of progress in geology, chem
istry and other sciences and have pro-
vided themselves with mechanical aids
which are far superior to the crude
implements employed by the metal
hunters Of the past.
Their examination has not been con-
fined to merely the bed Of a creek or
the side Of a mountain, but often Is
so extensive that it embraces miles OF
area. Many a prospecting tour rises
to the dignity Of an expedition and en-
braces a variety of apparatus, to say
nothing of a staff Of geologists and
other experts.
In the old fashioned system. as 1t
might be termed, of seeking precious
metal the prospectors can be divided
into two classes-those who are sat-
isfied to obtain the metal In any form
and the pocket hunters" The latter
Individual considers himself above the
other type of prospector. terming his
calling professional. Many a one has
spent the better part of his life in ex-
ploring beds of streams and dry val
leys in search Of pockets. In south
ern Oregon the pocket hunters nave
been perhaps more numerous than
elsewhere in the United States proper,
as this section Of the state has yielded
a large amount Of gold in this form.
Pocket prospectors depend upon the
pick. shovel and pan, as do their fei-
lows, but they seldom dig further into
the side Of the bank or hill than their
shovel will reach.
The ordinary prospector wades
along the bed Of the stream or tramps
through it's sand IL 1t is dry" here
and there filling his pan with the ma
terial. Then immersing the pan In
water he thus separates the sand from
the other matter and gradually spilling
out the sand, eagerly gazes at the bot
tom of the pan to note any glittering
streak which may betoken the presence
of gold. If he Is working along the
side of a hill where he believes the
ledge of rock may contain vein or
gold bearing ore, he breaks of likely
portions with his pick, crushes them
as best he can and dumping the dust
and fragments into his pan repeats
the separation process.
In the examination Of rock for met
al bearing ore, the arrastra Of the Mex
leans and Spaniards has been used ex-
tensively, especially In California
and Oregon. This contrivance con-
sists of a vertical shaft or axis, which
supports several wooden bars fasten-
ed at right angles to 1t. To the ends
of the bars are attached heavy fiat
stones, which, by the movement OF
the axis, revolve in circular pit. The
specimens Of ore are placed In the pit
a stream of water Is turned upon them
and the arrastra placed in motion by
animal or water power. The ore Is
resolved into a Shiny sediment by be-
ing ground in the water and passes OH
through the sluiceway, which Is pro-
vided with rifles for catching the
gold.
The modern methods for searching
for deposits of precious metal are so
radically different from those describ-
ed that 1t may be said a revolution
has taken place in prospecting In the
United States. In the Rocky Mountain