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

% hl"oe Dy dry washers. And the
ary washer Is not Il laundry utensil
designed for use where water ;s tno
scarce to be used other than ;rtar
nally. 1t is the sole mechanical in
venlion with which the native Mexi-
can is credited, means of takiny nla
Ger gold from the sand in which WIND
supplies the place of water.
Given Il good head of wafer and
the man with the hydraulic piant will
wash fortune for auriferous gravel
'hat carries few cents worth Of
Eoi1 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 aftcr
screening the same amount of sand
There was old man Cushenberrv
whose haunt was south of Casa Donna,
that curious volcanic plateau which is
visible from hundred miles around
Yuma: He was in his chronic condi-
ton Of hard luck when a shoyelful
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 ont
$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
tlons. lie never found another pock-
ct.
Down around Yuma, when you talk
of dry washing. they will also tell Won
of the ditched hobo. a Southern Pa
clfic brakeman elected him from side
door Pullman, and he sought the wa
tcrfront, which was an institution
then celebrated from the Dallas to the
Iaqui country.
"rhc Front,' was IL narrow strip
OF shore just below the old govern
mcnt 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 M
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
lie told the Frontiers 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
grubstahc was made up and he was
advised 10 accompany couple of me,.
who were just starting on dry wash
ing expedition up the river.
That same day the fit 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. Incidcn-
tally 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 alkali wastes
in a Pullman, or is whirled in an au-
tomobilc to the honanza to look at
the good thing the superintendent
has framed up for him sees neither.
The desert prospector is the BROTH
er of silence, silence so profound
and pcrvasive that when va9rant
wind raises level ja Of sand and
moves it yard or two the silken
swish Of its transit is audible for fur
longs.
The scamper of the horned toad
fills the void corridor Of the ear, the
football of the sad-eyca burro is per-
cussivc. 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 man s presence. In the heart of
the waste, miles from the railway and
equally remote from wood and water,
there may be heard a rccurrent pop
ping that is not to be confounded
with the PAIRING rataplan Of the