1 68
THE WEST SHORE.
June, 1880
DISSEMINATION OF COLD.
Wc Iwlicvc it to be a sound principle,
that the working cIim.- lrcncrallv
m no 0
should hive a practical knowledge of
all those elements of wealth which con
titutc the lending resources of the
country in which they live. A little
knowledge It a dangerotM thing," in
every tense of the word ; while a lib
eral share of useful Information eon
earning ,nc feoeral topic of the age in
which wc live, is ever an ark ol safety
In whatever situation we may lie
placed.
There ii a rcmarkalile dilTercncc be
tween American ami Bnroptan 1 rafts
men. Our mechanics coma into the
peaaaaaion of their trade with a fund of
inlormalion based upon a wide experi
erne and observation. A blacksmith.
fr example, know how to huild hit.
own lorgc ami prepare his own char-
coal. A wagon-maker not unfreipieutly
Implies such u man as is able to huild
the woodwork of a carriage, i"' and
uphol.tcr it. A machinist knows how
to fashion his tools as well as he knows
hw to use them in the execution of a
piece of work. Not so, however, with
the Kiil'IisIi nneiativc. lust as I hoist
km.ws how to turn a treadmill, so is
the r.uroncau mechanic irenerallv. con
versant only with those things whu h
come within the narrow limits of the
sole tiosineu to which his father np-
pfnttond him.
With these Introductory remarks, we
w ill proceed to the subject liefore us, .
Gold is one of the acknow ledged ie
sources of the Pacific States and f er
tit 'iies, and, as such, it becomes our
coplc to uudetstaml something about
lis geological history and the most ap
proved methods of cs-racting the
metal fiom the arious earths vshciciii
it is found dtMsitcd. Old mincis and
prmptcting experts ate, as a rule, art im
to the study of elaloiale works on 111.11
eralogy and metallurgy. Thcv require
but few tbaoraUcal principles, and will
tolctaU those only which they can re
time to practic-e on the spur of the mo
ment when most in need. Hence, Wl
conclude that a newspaper or magaiinc
article, Writtan in an easy and popular
Myle, will Is read and lieasured up
vshen unwieldy tomes would grow
musty upon theii ihclxes.
It may not he generally understood
that gold is one of the most unisertalh
diascmmatrd of all lbs met sis. Iron,
mi fad, is the onlv exception. It is only
a few veais aim that the auriferous belts
j n
of the earth were supposed, by the
leading geologists, to be extremely lim
ited. Kut few isolated gold -producing
regions were known to the ancients.
These were doubled in number during
the medieval sues, while thcv have
been mart than quadrupled by the ex
plorations of modern times.
The gold regions of the United
States, the onlv ones of which wc shall
treal in the 'present article, may be di
vided into two principal sections the
Appalachian and the Californian, The
first named section comprises all those
auriferous rocks, alluvia and dilui ia.cx
tending from Georgia to the Canada ;
gold hal ing been found to a greater or
less extent in portioni of Georgia.
North and South Carolina, Virginia,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachu
setts, Vermont, New Hampshire and
Maine. Cold, in small quantities. hl
also bean discovered in portions of
I ennessce, Alabama and Michigan.
The California section comprehends
an auriferous svstem of mountains and
hills extending from Lower California
to iititish Columbia, and eastward to
theSieir.i Nevada and Cascade moun
tains. Latterly, the precious metal has
als., ken found in New Mexico, Colo
rado, Arlaona, l tab and Idaho. The
fold producing areai of Oregon
und Washington art daily widening as
adventurer push their way into the
bare tobra unexplored sections. It is
getting to be a inattei of common nr.
eurrtnea to And gold indications n
all qui river-bedi and gravelly drift.
may, we are persuaded to believe th.t
ssWTI IT! but few of our old pioneers
throughout thli,the Pacific Northwest,
who would be afraid tit Mmr Ikaii
they could find the "coloi " in the- hats.
f the streams thai water their farms.
Tins wonderful dissemination of an-
"! row particlca is vet an 1
pioblcm among mineralogists. Tint
the 1 rests of mct.il.rw:,.; IJ
abraded and torn by the com ulsioiJof
Zr.y """ l""1- there .s M
'"T. ,C'UC' " " ""' dillicult to
oiueie how thesr I
----- . 1 a"-s am
masses of earth u, r
"! the vancvsXillwXr
I bis i the rrndrtin,. ..t ..... 'W'
osimegration of min.
rial r.w-L .1. t R
PMkK .7 ItSr.lJ.IW in making Vxtend d
continues in our own day, though with
far less violence and activity than in
former times. Let not any of our
readers be startled when we tell them
that in many instances placer gold is
none other than an actual crop of an
nual renewal. This is conclusively
i )..- itsA r.Ktornrinti rtf m-inu nf
the California river bars, which have
become a second and third time im
pregnated with auriferous particles
since they were first worked out in the
early days 01 then discovery.
It is but reasonable to suppose that,
bv the melting' of enormous masses ni
snow and ice, annual mountain torrents
ire formed in the Nevada and Cascade
ranges, ot whose violence we can form
no adequate conception. Thus, through
the instrumentality of these streams,
various mineraliferous ledges are broken
down and their mingled debris carried
headlong into the canyons below, and
theme, by slower and less active pro
cessess, their smaller particles are trans
ported by purling brooklets to the
table-lands and plains, where they arc
finally ensconced in the all-pervading
alluvial deposits.
It is only about fifteen years ago, or,
at the longest, within the last two de
cades, thnl amnnatmtm l... Iw.l.ll.. - J
, I.N.V I'wnuy mm
confidently predicted the finding of gold
in certain definite formations. While it
is, to a certain extent, true that nunrtz
rock is the natural matrix of gold, it is
a conceded principle that where the
main geological formation largely com
prises talcotf. stillr. with linr,. or.,1 u
i, " .... .i.v ..ml nil L
intrusive rods, there gold.thcorctically
.m.l ...-St.. .11.. sir v .. J
'7i " v e neiicve it was
1'vson who
, . O J i"Miv,WI 1.1113
coincidence as a natural law in geology,
while a few years later, Dana first
made a practical application of the
principle on the Pacific coast.
By far the greater amount of gold
taken from the earth mint .,.)
c ii . . imui cooio
from alluvial deposits, and in these
iinww is more extensively dis
tributed than in any other localities.
From what has We,, said, it will
llius appear that the So-called
'kumgs will continue to be the most
ProfitaBle depoalta for solitary miners
am smal corporations. "Panning"
and "rockin.r" ,.. i -i 6 .
.;.. , ' "-"'"ps, UN most
piimitivc methods .,r
- . . - I'.o.iioij. m
gold from the containing earths, and
,l,l mwc 110 slH"dal olltly- Sluic-
" ""c little ready capital to
n-gura.c efficient operations; while
h.vdraul,c process necessitates a
uu expenditure for apparatus. The
reduction of irold.rsesrinwILl.. i .c
-'-.ion of the metai'is'on y'
Plbe.1 by the most costlv maMTV
rm!;uS;i("S!r:.''.i
,.i i : . ' "Ul "uierwisc em-
cxplora-
U0'W thc precious metal.