The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-10-18
THE PROSPECTOR AND HIS BURRO
Success Is Only Relative Term"
OWN c. Higgins in Salt Lake Mining Review

THE laundering of the stamps in
the big mill up the canyon said the
prospector to his burro, lis pleasant
music to my ears, and although We
portation facilities are not of the best,
there is every reason to believe that
no difficulty will be experienced in
getting the product of the mill to the
nearest railroad, as gold bricks can
be toted down the mountain in a pack
saddle or even in gunny sack, for
that matter; and a gold brick always
looks like ready money to me and is
counter or the bar of the Always We'll
come down in the little camp at the
mouth of the canyon. And a miner
with a few nuggets of the yellow stuff
given the glad hand wherever he goes.
As you have frequently observed, l am
never more happy than when shovel
ing up the gravel in gold placer dig
running of "a little gold mill and, while
there may be as much money to be
made in mining for silver, lead or cop
per- there is always something so fas-
cinating in handling the Wall street
metal that | spend the greater portion
of my time in the search for deposits
of either placer or quartz, in which
gold predominates; and the more free
more ! am satisfied and pleased. And
believe that this feeling and prefer
ence prevails in the breast of almost
every od-time prospector, and espe-
OF men and penetrate almost inaccess-
ible regions far back into interior
ranges. In such places, in many in
stances, | have found traces OF these
developed big mines there is no ques-
ton of doubt that they have found
rich veins and rich gravel from which
they have taken gold far beyond their
sire for wealth being satisfied, they
have abandoned it's source in order to
turn their footsteps once again to-
wards the cities and towns where they
would be able to buy what was to
them unobtainable before; for it is on
ly with the miser that the boarding Of
gold is a real pleasure.
Evidences of Skill.
But what is of great interest to
me is the primitive methods employed
in the recovery of gold from the quartz
or in placer mining operations by these
old time mining men of the hills. In
many isolated localities one may still
find evidences of the skill and inge-
nuity of prospectors of many years
ago. and in my Wanderings through
the CANYONS and mountains | have Of
ten stumbled upon the half-buried re-
mains of crude arrastras or little
stamp mills from which, undoubtedly
many thousands in the yellow metal
had been taken, while | have fire.
quently found the remains Of OLD
sluice boxes along the course of small
streams or near some unknown spring
all of which goes to show that 1t is
not always necessary to make bis
investment in equipment in order tt
receive satisfactory returns. And, nc
matter how crude the equipment foi
treatment may be, if the ore or the
gravel is rich enough the output VII
most always enrich the small opera
tor
A Queer Mill.
Some twenty years ago. continued
the prospector, when | was down II
the Misqute range, | found the aban
doned camp of early-day miners. ina
there were two of them | could easll.
see, as there were two old hunks II
the little stone cabin they had bull
by the side of a great rock. Near tn
cabin there was a water hole that nel'
water a greater portion of the year
, while over a big boulder nearby ther
, had been hung spring pole to TN
free end of which, attached by strll
, of rawhide, there was 4O-pound irol
STAMP. Below the stamp mortar ma
been contrived out of an old quicksil
, yer flask, the top of which had bee
sawn or cut off while. near the bottom
{ holes had been bored as an outlet 10
, the pulp while a fine wire screen ha
been wrapped around the bottom o
] the flask-or improvised mortar, $
that the feed could be retained unit
3 reduced to the desired mesh IN
E stamp fitted into the mortar with blu
little play and, as one partner worke
e the spring pole the other hand fed tn
S little mill, at the same time supplyln
e the necessary water by means OF a
!, improvised dipper made out of an OF
s baking powder can From the llttl
\ mill the free gold ladened pulp wa
v fed onto a series of rifles after frs
/. passing over a very small copper plat
e and while the recovery was not ne
S cessarily high, it was evident that Tn
a two men had taken out quite iortur
e by this method; and of this am quit
confident as later on followed an a
n most indistnct trail that led to
: prospect up in the hills and found tt
i source of their gold-bearing ore.