El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-07-22


have been reduced to science The
first miners used wood fires. which
they kept burning until they mao
thaWed a shaft down to the gold Other
fires were then built along the bed
rock and the earth taken out until they
had made great caverns and tunnels
far down under the so or 40 feet OF
ice overhead They used hot stones 10
aid in the thawing and took out the
melted material in WheelharroWs and
carried it in buckets TO the surface by
windlasses like an old fashioned we'll
sweep
The thawing of today IS done by
steam generated in great boilers on
the TOP OF the ground The setam is
carried through pipes 10 where needed.
and forced into the earth through steel
tubes three-forths OF an inch in diam
eter. and from 10 to 80 feet long. These
tubes are really galvanized iron
pipe about as big around as my thumb.
and stood upon end. the longest would
reach TO the roof Of three or four
story house Each tube has a hard
metal cap or steel head on the top. and
below this an opening where the con-
nectiOn with the main steam pipe Is
made. The bottom of the tube is point
ed and the steel there is so strong that
the tube can he driven down into the
The driving is done with the tube
standing upright on the ground II IL
usually inside a derrick which is often
stands on the derrick holding a sledg
hammer weighing twelve pounds. AMI
with this he drives the steam carrying
pipe. inch by inch through the earth
The steam melts the ice as II goes
down and a second man stands at the
bottom and twists the pipe this wav
and that TO aid in the work After A
long time bed rock is reached and the
tube is left there for two or three days
oozing forth steam
Like Quilts on POrcupine.
The tubes are so sunk that each
softens the frozen earth for a radius OF
three or more feet around il. and these
circles OF melting six feet in diameter
some together. making the whole of the
ground so that il can be worked by the
dredges. Hundreds OF such nipes have
TO be sunk and all are connected by
other pipes with the steam forcing
plant. In places the pipes are so tnl .;5
that they stand out on the back OF old
Mother Earth like the quilts on a por-
cupine. They soften the earth so that
il is dangerous 10 walk over II until
il has cooled. The ground may seem
solid. when all at once a man may
drop TO his knees or his waist in scald-
ing hot mud. The work Of thawing IS
done by skilled men. some OF whom re-
ceive from s. to $40 day
SIuce Down Icy sand
Leaving the dredging I rode along
the sides OF the mountains where they
were sluicinG down the icy sand 10 get
out the gold. Here the sun and the
water alone do the thaWing. After the
earth is stripped off the suns rays can
make their way into the strata Of ice
10 such an extent that in one summer
they viii penetrate TO A distance oI
from six to ten feet The water DASH
ing gainst the half frozen earth adds
TO the thawing. and the sand and bout
GAL s@CARPENTER-S RDAY
ders roll down IN great streams The
amount sluiced away is inconceivable-
There are parts OF these valleys that
are half filled with great sheets o.
white tailings. They spread out like
so many glaciers. leaving here and
there great caves in the hills.
The earth thus washed down is the
color Of pipe clay Some of il looks
like Portland cement as it lies in the
barrel. The sand is white quartz. and
the powders and pebbles are almost
like Stacked lime in color. The gold -
scattered throughout this material, the
most of il lying at the bottom The
sluicing tears down the hills, leaving
gigantic formations. which IN some
places are like forts or great castles
I saw one such as big as business
half square of ground Its walls were
and at the top Ters
spires like those OF a church Il was
almost snow white and in the distance
looked not unlike marble
white River Antedates History.
is a characteristic of the bed Of the
famous White river channel. which
flowed through this region in prehis-
toric times at an altitude several hun
dred feet above the present beds of the
creeks. The streams Of later ages have
cut their way down through the old
river bottom. and are now running
through valleys far below It is in
what is left of the banks Of the old
White river bed that the low grade
gold dust washed out by hydraulics is
found The old river probably carried
all the gold now found in the creeks I
far below and they are now sluicing
down its former banks to get the gold
dust remaining. How long ago the old !
river flowed no one knows. The miners |
have discovered fossils Of tropical ]
plants. showing that il antedated the !
glacial period. and they wash out nov
and then the remains Of mastOdons and /
other prehistoric animals which until /
now have been locked up in the per- /
petual ice
Rifles Catch the Gold
In getting the gold the water washes
the sand and gravel down the sluice
boxes filled with steel rifles bedded
in mercury As the stuff runs over the
rifles the quicksilver catches the gold
the tailings below Some of the gold !
sinks into the pile at the foot of the
sluicing and does not get into the boxes
until the clean up Of the fall. when a
Atl d Hllllpn collars may be
found in the gravel and sand at tho
foot Of the cliff Something like
!. 100000 cubic yards of earth is han
died this way by the hydraulic giants
each year, and this brings out gold to 1
the amount of over $500. 900. The aver
age gold contents Of the gravel is in
the neighborhood of 90 cents per cubic
yard, and of this one-half is said to be
profit.
Lose Only TrifIe to Ton.
As We rode UP the.valIeys asked Mr.
Ihomas whether they were able TO win /
al the gold. He replied
We may lose a cent or two to the !
-on, but the amount is so small that |
We are unable to tell Just what il IS.
The stuff that goes through the dredg-
IS may at times yield 60 cents a yard.
and there may he patches that Will run /
. per yard or more We work only I
n large Quantities and We know what |
)ur averages are"
! asked as TO the amount Of material
handled, and was told that within the |
asst eight years more than 10000 0O0
'ubic yards of earth and rock had been
Washed by the dredges and the by
giants. the output being about I
100000 cubic yards for each year.
hen took my paper and figured
cubic yard of this rock weighs about
ton and half II would be a good (
Dad for two horses. Let US suppose T.
,ould he put upon wagons and each
cam with its wagon take 80 feet space
IN the roadway. The teams required (
% haul the whole mass would he Z