The Great West- its attractions and resources. Containing a popular description of the marvellous scenery, physical geography, fossils, and glaciers of this wonderful region; and the recent (14759142116)

Identifier: greatwestitsattr00brod (find matches)
Title: The Great West: its attractions and resources. Containing a popular description of the marvellous scenery, physical geography, fossils, and glaciers of this wonderful region; and the recent explorations in the Yellowstone park ... by Prof. F.V. Hayden ... Also, valuable information to travellers and settlers concerning climate, health, mining, husbandry, education, the Indians, Mormonism, the Chinese; with the homestead, pre-emption, land, and mining laws
Year: 1880 (1880s)
Authors: Brodix, Charles R., (from old catalog) pub Hayden, F. V. (Ferdinand Vandeveer), 1829-1887
Subjects:
Publisher: Bloomington, Ill., C.R. Brodix
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation



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anks of the rivers grew lessauriferous beyond a certain point. This led to the discovery of the blue-gravel leads, or the beds of the dead rivers, as they have been called.In some places this gravel is found cemented, and has to be crushed withstamps, like gold-quartz. These gravel deposits were sometimes buriedto the depths of thousands of feet beneath the lava of volcanic eruptions.Under these the miners were compelled to tunnel. What has been saidin regard to tunnelling veins does not apply to these horizontal depositsof auriferous gravel, that could not be reached in any other manner. Thepropensity for tunnelling, so common in California under all circumstances,was doubtless acquired by these early examples. High up in the recesses of the Sierra Nevada Mountains are to befound immense deposits of auriferous dirt several hundred feet in depth.Where these beds are extensive and water plenty and convenient, theseclaims pay to work even though the gold present does not exceed one cent
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CALIFORNIA. 385 to the square foot of dirt, though most of them pay much more than that.It is necessary to have a good head of water—not less than fifty feet abovethe bed-rock. This water is led into a small reservoir, into which it iscontinuously pouring. From this a hose extends to the bottom of theclaim. At the end of this hose is a nozzle, tapering from eight inchesat the butt to two inches at the orifice. From this the water rushes withsuch force that it will kill a man as quick as if struck by a bar of steel.When this stream of water is projected against the bank, the dirt or clayis loosened and carried by the current into the sluices, where it is pulver-ized and the gold set free by pounding against the riffles in its down-ward course. Hydraulic mining may be considered the perfection ofplacer-mining, and Americans may pride themselves with being theinventors. When the dirt in these claims is very compact, it is sometimes blastedout. Long tunnels are run with cross-cuts at th