The Washington herald., 1908-01-04

they could not be reached by hydraulic
mining, Then the laws q the State. in
order TO protect the farms. prohibited the
dehling Of the streams. and much gold
bearing gravel vas thus locked away
from the miners. The d-edge digs down
below the wateT-leYel and brings ND the
gold. 1t uses its water over and over
again. and does not defile the streams
IL piles Its tailings IN the place from
which it dug the gravel. and in its wake
leaves long waves Of gravel and earth.
robbed Of the gold that it had misery
Aoarded for SO many centuries.
Thus far the gold ships have avoided
the rivers and have crulsed in the
benches Of gravels along the valleys.
p1 Is dug Inland the hull Of the dredge
buiIt IN the pit. and then noated with
water The giant machinery is Installed
ana the ship is ready to sail. The dredge
begins its work. Il must dig and eYt
away az the bank Of gravel carry the
gravel into itself, screen and wash If all
thoroughly. save all the gold and then
dispose Of tie tailngs As tons Of the
gravel come in every momen: and as tons
Of the tailings are carried out every
moment, the process Of saving me
minute particles Of gold must be &c rapid
as II Is sure. This ability TO do The work
OF 300 men every day. ard TO do that
WoFk better than it can be done by hand
= 'he reason for the victory Of the gold
sn'ps' ana gives one confidence TO pre-
dlct continued success in the future
II must not be taken for granted that
the gold dredges can work In any place
+heTe there is little gold IN the gravel
II REQUIRES a practically far area. and
the goid values must be widely dissent
AaIed- IL cannot follow the course Of
mountain streams where powders abound
10 matter now rich may be the paw
dirt Against its drawbacks is set the
practical advantage thar the e1tire a.,
NesJthent may be accurately calculated in
The cost Of the lard .rd 49,,
Duiloins o. the dTedge are known ouanti-
tles. The cost per yard Of handling
aehhite amount OF gravel IN a definite
space Of time may De calculated Tbsr
the area Of gravel suitable for dre5oine
may be prospected easily and the arooUr3
Of gold estimated with a fair degree ~
accuracy before operations are beq,,r
On this account capital has been easy m
obtain, and the gold-dredging operations
are increasing rapidly. Then gravel car
rying Is cents TO the cubic ward means
big profits. aud when it is remembered
that there is available gravel in Calf
Lornia running as high as so cents and
some even higher than that IT Is not
strange that the Californian gold feet f.
increasing rapidly. These ships are now
to he found in Montana. Oregon. and sev-
aral other States. az well as in Alasks
New Zealand, Africa, South America
and Australia
in Alaska the gold ships encounter the
same difficulty which besets other ,-o,--
ageTs-ice. Much of the gravel that could
De dredged at great profit is frozen. and
me cost Of thawing makes the work not
nearly so profitable. However. there are
areas of gravel along the river beds which
ire not frozen. and in such places the
1Tedges are working with great success
me season is not more than 100 DAVIS
rom June to October, but then some of |
ne gravel pays more than 81 a cubic
ara. The cost Of dredging in Alaska is /
perhaps % per cent higher than in Cali
ornia. Power Is q question but it is on /
'ecord that one Alaskan dredging opera /
ion has paid, in spite of the fact that it /
Uses steam for power. with coal at so a /
on! Most Of the Alaskan operations now
being installed viii use electricity gener-
lted by water power,
Gold mining has commanded greater I
human interest than any other Industry |
since the earliest dawn Of history. A |
discovery Of gold in a new field will at /
ract the argonauts from all over he 1
world. New gold New gold" has been 4
he cry for centuries. And now comes /
he genius Of machinery and finds new
SOld fields under our feet-the problem /
changes from finding gold to saving I
hat which has been found Meanwhile /
he years now produce as much gold as |
decades used to bring forth. ard a de- /
ade now eclipses the performances of /
centuries of the past. What will the gold /
lood do for the world? The answer Is /
lot yet framed, bur the cruise Of the /
,old fleet is bringing it nearer to the ears
Il men.
TO-r,oTrow-Tbe National \. u. T.