El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-10-21

thatanika flats. where something like
$50 miners are now employed
Dur.ns ml stay ~ Chatauika 0 u-rt lut.
some u thu mines. The gold doe not D..
. ou the surface Of the earth L o. seldom
found boz the gravel Of the streams. and II
cannot De- cIaz-ad ont with rha grass roots.
The most Of The valley il covered with "a
layer II moss and muck under which is
thick layer II gravel. and below that The
bedrock in which the gold ls The muck ami
gravel are frozen The cold Of some thou
sends VI year. ago has turned them into
Hl* solid mass 90 Ice rock and sand as
solid stone Tine moss ou the top has
proven an almost perfect non conductor Of
heat and the only way -e get at the gold
is to strip Off the moss and- by means OF
down 10 where the gold lies This may b.
90. 90. 30 ~ even 100 feet The sold strata
itself still h.in" fraz.n-
Tunnels IN Frozen Ground.
Iu the Nolan mine they were worElng az
-r f-st from The surface We got into e.
Bod. ile- and were lowered down well of
-h4t depth From the bottom tunnels had
been luE OF Into tn ice frozen gold bear
INK ruch- we ief- the pu-Set ana walked
through ths tunnels, stopping nov ana then
SEP watch fhe miners tnaw OUT -he strata
fu. uori IS done Win steam points or steel
pipes through which steam is driven into
tL- lre- The pipes are three quarters ~
-l inch iu diameter They have heads ~
-u.ld steel and below them connections
..ita steam boilers outside.
The boilers force The steam through ruo-
Per hos INTO the steel pipes- Ins-e end
boz points ot steel iu which Lheie are
small holes lo iet out Ihe steam The pipe
are driven into the frozen rock with steel
hammer working their way inch bs inch
a- tne steam th4ws out the ice. Dr. melf-
the gravel r1r several feet about the pip.
ne thawed stuff can then be dug down and
throw into wheel harrous which carry BE-
Co the shaft and the huiei--
We saw the gold bearine earth going out
af the mine BOZ the same bucket we '-me
down in- steam engine did the work rais-
ing th- bucket by "a steel cable hirl auovs
lh. shaft whence d. slid pulley Co The
dun over The sluice box The wa~h o-
-rrt4nl our the ore goes on winter and
summer. tut tL- siuicus cr washing out
he gold can De- done oull when the weather
is -arul-
Have Weei,ly Cleanup.
al the Nolan mine they nave q cleanup
once week by this IS meant tnal obey
wash out the gold 81 that time We were
fortunate il being there when one of the
trough which is perhaps gard wide
yard nigh and several hundred feet Ions
This hos b the siuice box II is mad. Of
rough pl,ink- and is set uu an au angle of d
cor 20 degrees SO thar % runs from Tho hign
crib containing the dump 90 The ground
When the time FOR the cleanup occurs
door is opened iu the dump. and the gold
t.ariag gravel pours down into The sluice
box a stream Of water flows over 81. fore
us o. onward ami washing rhe dirt and
--a-sI away ia ths hotfom ~ tho slui-e box
are rifles ur crates of steel uhIch catch the
gold The gold is heavier than the rock.
sand and earth. and D. fails into the RIFLES
a~ fhe stream was hes the debris away
Gold in Rushing Torrent
ST first the water comes iu 81 flood lr
carries the stone gravel and sand down
with rush Five miners clad in rough
stand u zinc ,I-reut aud stir a= The water
I,our- down. They throw our rho big hOul-
der- and pitch and fork over the mortar
and sand They stop b. here and there with
their -noVaie. $50 shat every hIr 81 gold dust
is washed Off After a. tisnc bits ~ rhe bot
tom are visible IN some places the box has