The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-08-16
DRY WASHING IN THE DESERT.
Gold Hunting After the Old Mexican
Plan.

es made by dry washers. And the
dry washer Is not laundry utensil
designed for use where water is too
scarce to be used other than inter-
nally. 1t is the sole mechanical in
venlion with which the native Mexi-
can is credited, a means Of taking pla-
Ger gold from the sand in which wind
supplies the place Of water.
Given a good head Of water and
the man with the hydraulic giant will
wash a fortune for auriferous gravel
that carries a few cents worth Of
gcid to the square yard. The fellow
with the pan must find fifty cents
worth or better in the same area to
make wages but the dry washer re-
CARDS the ground as barren if he
does not find dollars worth Of the
yellow metal on his rifles after
screening the same amount Of sand.
There was old man Cushenberry,
whose haunt was south of Casa Donna,
that curious volcanic plateau which is
visible from a hundred miles around
Yuma: He was in his chronic condi-
cion Of hard luck when a shovelful
of sand left the rifles Of his primi-
tive dry washer clogged to overflow
ing with dust and nuggets.
In half an hour he had taken out
$4,000 and in the next six months he
had spent every cent Of it in an inef-
fectual effort to raise water from the
Colorado for more extensive opera
tons. He never found another pock-
ct.
Down around Yuma, when you talk
Of dry washing, they will also tell you
Of the ditched hobo. A Southern Pa
cifc brakeman elected him from side
door Pullman, and he sought the wa
terfront, which was an institution
then celebrated from the Dallas to the
Yaqui country.
1.-THE 'FRONT.' was a narrow strip
of shore just below the old govern
ment> corral, where by ancient usage
was established the commonwealth OF
the dead broke. Everything was own
ed in common. They had mayor
and an unwritten code enforced by a
kangaroo court. In earlier days No
loss Of caste attached to residence on
"Thc Front" today's insolvent was
frequently tomorrow's magnate. Gra-
dually however, the hobo element
came to be predominant, and the city
marshal abated the sanctuary as a
nuisance.
But to return to the ditched hobo
He told the Frontiers a hard luck
story that would a. few years ago have
insured aid, comfort and Incidence.
The tanning Of the Apache and the ex-
tension of the Santa Fe and the
Southern Pacafc had, however, made
them familiar with his kind, and his
was very promptly disposed of. A
crubstaAe was made up and he was
advised to accompany couple Of mer.
who were just starting on a dry wash
ing expedition up the river.
That same day the outfit uncover
ed gold ledge that was shot and
speckled with free gold and the hobo's
share brought him $4,000. All hobo
land preserves traditions Of the per
led OF plenty that followed. Inciden-
tallv not one Of the trio that struck
the lode was alive a year later.
But as to the dry washer and the
man who operates it. The tourist
who crosses the sand and alkai wastes
in Pullman, Or is whirled in an au-
tomobile to the bonanza to look at
the good thing the superintendent
has framed up for him sees neither.
The desert prospector is the broth
er Of silence, a silence so profound
and pervasive that when a vasrant
wind raises a level jet Of sand and
moves it a yard or two the silken
swish of its transit is audible Tor tur-
longs. :,
The scamper Of the horned toad
fills the void corridor Of the ear, the
football of the sad-eyed burro is per-
cussive. Only at night, when the
coyote lifts lean muzzle to the
bland moon is the stiffness shattered
as infinite desolation finds voice.
Another sound there is that speaks
of mans presence. In the heart OF
the waste, miles from the railway and
equally remote from wood and water
there may be heard a reeurrent pop
n;no that is not to be confounded