Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-02-27

SNSSp camps. The merest chances
INDG have resulted in the discov-
Il 81 cry of the great lodes OF
~" gold and silver bearing ore
The accidental finding of a small mug
get in the crop of a chicken was mo-
mentous. 1t was the beginning Of a
series of explorations that unlocked
chain of treasure vaults in the ROCKY
Mountains The remark Of a hunter,
the subsequent sinking Of well ana
the accidental meeting of four men.
constituted a chain of events that re-
veaIed the greatest single deposit OF
ore ever known The kick of donkey
uncovered a ledge from which millions
have been taken.
The man who seeks wealth in the
mines, knowing what he is hunting
for, stumbles across it at the most
unexpected moment. If he recognizes
what he is looking for he is in fair
way 10 become rich.
SawmilI That Opened Up the West.
In January, 1848. near Sacramento
California. James Marshall of New
Jersey constructed for James Suffer
most famous sawmill in history. 1t
quickened the pulse of the world 1t
revived the sluggish streams Of com
merce. 1t made men fighting mad. Il
resulted in wiping the buffalo and the
Indian from the great plains. 1t filled
the Pacific ocean with ships where
previously but few sails had been
h,riITfn1 Of rail
roads, and laid the way for future
millionaires.
The mill was built of logs. Marshall
carefully selected a point for the tail
race, and because he decided that
time could be saved in completing the
mill by permitting a flow of water to
clear the mill-race of the soft dirt,
his name became linked with the ad-
vance of the western states. The wa
ter was turned in and, after running
for several days, the head-gate was
closed. to complete other necessary
work Then Marshall noticed a few
shining specks in the banks Of the
race He took a step forward, gasped,
halted. flushed and laughed at himself
uncertainty. The next morning, jan
uary 10, 184S, he stepped into the tail
race and picked up a few pieces of
brassy-colored metal. He showed
them to the men at the mill. They all
laughed He pounded one piece I'M
der hammer. He placed them in his
pocket
Throw them away. Marshall" said
one of the men, land let's get the
mill turning"
The next day Marshall rode into
Sacramento and refining his foam
fecked horse in front of Suffers
store. Suffer to rear room. the door
of which he locked.
it,"
No. Why?"
Then Marshall produced the brassy
bits They hammered out a piece
the size of a half-dollar. and weighed
it in scales against a silver 5O-cent
piece 1t was heavier. They tested it
with acids. They decided it was gold.
Together they returned to the mill,
and before night had gathered a pan
full of coarse gold nuggets.
When they did that they tapped the
top of the treasurer vault of the West
ern States. The news Of that find
populated the Pacific Coast. A flame
of excitement ran up and down the
Sacramento Valley. 1t reached the
four corners of the earth. People
came from everywhere. Those few
specks of gold found in the mill-race
at Columa, in Eldorado county, were
the first of a production of S1,75O,O00,-
GOO that California was to yield! Then
followed the hordes that travelled to
the new gold coast by sea, around the
Horn, and across the plains, fighting
Indians and wild beast. and uncover
ing other mining camps that made the
western states famous. Between 1S4S
and 1859 California produced more
gold than had been gained in all of
North and South America in the pre-
vious two centuries.
Finding of the Comstock Lode.
The chance remark of hunter, fol-
lowed by the accidental meeting of
four men. is responsible for the I'M
covering of the most sensational body
of ore IN the history of mining. Pros
pectOrs swarmed all over the state of
Nevada in 1859. They were men who
had failed to find wealth in California,
reinforced by immigrants who lacked
the money to go farther a hunter.
whose name is not known, told Pat
Mclaughlin that there were mineral
indications on Gold Hill. They found
the pIace-and an outcrop. but no
mineral. The ground had been pros
pecUed before and deserted
1t was discouraging. They worked
without result. They decided to sink
a well in a depression. At a depth of
four feet they ran across some black
looking stuff that puzzled them. They
washed some of it in rocker" and
were amazed to find the bottom OF the
rocker alive" with gold. In a few
moments the men were making fifty
dollars an hour In the midst of this