Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-12-31
CARPENTER Visits the Gold Mines Near Nome, Alaska

plain running back from the seashore
for distance of five or six miles TO a
low range of mountains you will have
some idea Of the present gold mining
district of Nome. The plain consists OF
three old sea beaches. each of which
contains gold. The first begins at the
shore and runs for mile or SO back. 1t
consists Of tundra. which means that IL
is hidden by moss, grass. niggerheads
and other vegetation. and that the land
below is of ice-frozen gravel. The Sec
ofd beach, which is little higher and
farther back, is also tundra: but II con-
ssts OF material deposited at a different
period. as does also the third beach.
which runs into the foothills of the
mountains. For all practical purposes
the beaches are one. Just now they are
gold mines have caused the excavation
of the ground beneath. They looked
much like meadows when the, gold
miners first came.
Beyond these beaches and in the
mountains. and especially in the
creeks that flow from them. great guam
titles of gold have been found. The
whole region, in fact. seems to have
been more or less peppered with grains
OF gold. flakes of gold. -four gold and
small nuggets. As 1t is now, the coun-
fry is covered with piles of gravel. thd
tailings from which the gold has been
washed. and there are also great gravel
beds that mark the workings OF the s
larger properties. such as those Of the I.
Pioneer Mining Company.
The Pioneer properties are in ana
about Anvil creek. and they include
the site of the original discovery.
The chief agent in getting out the
gold is water. which bursts forth from
pipes in streams as big around as a
telegraphS pole and often several hun
dred feet long. The force of these
streams is such that they would cut a
man in two IL he tried to cross one.
them with an AK. They are sent
against the hills, and they lift up
rocks and gravel ard shoot them in
clouds through the air At one poitlt
of my trip today one OF these streams
came between me and the sun, and the
sand. gravel and water composing II
took on all the co'ors of the rainbow
j stood for awhile and watched thA
men working. They were clad in
sicl.ers and white rubber boots that
reached to their waists. One man al
rected the pipe from which the strean,
came. This was so hung on a piyot
that it could be moved with the touch
OF finger. and made to carry the gold 4
bearing earth where the man wjIled.
the most Of the mining here is done
with hydraulic lifts. The sIuice boxes
are great trouehs about as wide as n
wagon-bed and perhaps $50 feet long
Their sides are two feet In height.
ana IN the bottom are steel gratirxs,
known as rifles. which catch the gold
as.the stream % gravel and water runs
over them. These sluice boxes arr
made OF stee'. They are inclined ar
an angle OF about 80 degrees. and are
supported on trestle-work. the ton
being at an altitude Of fifty feet or
more above the ground. At the upper
end or the sluice box there is a steel
which extends from there
to the ground. This is connected with
the hydraulic stream. and the water
sent from the pipes I have described
and rock up through this pine into
the sluice box The gold is so heavy
that il drops to the bottom of the box
within the first thirty forty feet,
and is caught in the rif1es, and the
force of the stream is such that il car
ries away tire refuse. stones and other
During my visit to the mines
walked with Mr.. Lindeberg up the
steps that led to these sluices, and
looked down upon the foaming muddy
rivers which were thus carrying these
fortunes in gold. The streams are at
work day and night. and the gold drops
down into the rifles at the rate of
s 5000 per day, or about 100000 per
month. throughout the open season.
when the weather is so warm that the
water can flow.
After looking at the sluice boxes Mr.
took us to the side of a hill
and demonstrated the richness of the
gold bearing sand of that part of the
mine. He drove a shovel into the hill
and carried couple of quarts of tho
sand and gravel to one of the little
streams that ran through the bed of
the pit. He dipped the shovel into the
water and moved it slowly about,
washing away the dirt and the sand
Finally, all the rock and sand were
brown out and at the end he showed
is a good sized pinch Of pure gold in
grains ranging from the size OF coarse
y-ground coffee to those of fine table
,alt. My daughter. who was with me,
wish to do likewise. and
dr Lindeberg gave her the shovel. She
;cooped up about a hatfull OF earth and
washed 1t. At the end, she had perhaps
shovel. the value Of which. was about
9 cents. FRANK q. CARSENTEh